With the third round of Wimbledon in the books, it's time to highlight which players are on the rise and which ones look most vulnerable heading into the next round. Players who have been eliminated are of little interest to fantasy owners as the tournament unfolds, so this column is meant to take a look ahead based on what's happened so far rather than reflect on the past.
While the usual suspects are looking good on the men's side, one of the Big 3 could face a stiff test in the fourth round from one of the many big servers remaining in the draw. While a previous Wimbledon women's champ is likely to get all she can handle from a local favorite, history will be on Serena's side in her fourth-round clash. Young players are making noise on both sides of the draw, but a couple of Cinderella runs could be coming to a close here.
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STOCK UP
Milos Raonic - Raonic faced a potentially tough test in the third round against fellow big server Reilly Opelka, and the Canadian aced it with flying colors, winning 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-1. He made the final here in 2016, and Raonic has a great opportunity to get back at least to the semifinals, as nobody in his path is ranked higher than 23rd or has a grass-court resume anywhere near his. Raonic's fourth-round opponent, Guido Pella, had a 4-9 career record on grass prior to winning his first three matches at this tournament.
Sam Querrey - Querrey made the semifinals here in 2017, and he's in the midst of another deep Wimbledon run. He's dropped only one set through three rounds and will be heavily favored against fellow American Tennys Sandgren in the Round of 16. Querrey has a Wimbledon upset over Novak Djokovic on his resume, and he'll likely get an opportunity to add one against Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
STOCK DOWN
Ugo Humbert - Humbert is having a tremendous tournament, having not lost a set since digging out of a two-set hole against Gael Monfils in the first round. Unfortunately for the 21-year-old Frenchman, he got saddled with the hardest possible fourth-round draw against defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic. Humbert's future is extremely bright, but relying on him in the present is unlikely to lead to success.
SLEEPER
Matteo Berrettini - Berrettini is one of the hardest players to break on tour -- he won the grass-court title in Stuttgart without dropping serve and is 12-1 on grass this season. If the Italian brings his A-game on serve, he can make life difficult for any opponent, even Roger Federer.
WOMEN
STOCK UP
Serena Williams - Williams stumbled in the second round but bounced back beautifully with a 6-3, 6-4 third-round win over 18th-seeded Julia Gorges. Serena was untouchable on serve, with a 72 percent first-serve percentage, seven aces, and no double faults or break points faced. Look for Williams to keep building momentum ahead of a potential quarterfinal showdown with top seed Ashleigh Barty. Serena has absolutely demolished fourth-round opponent Carla Suarez Navarro historically -- she's 6-0 with a total of 16 games lost in those six matches.
Shuai Zhang - Zhang has looked extremely impressive through three rounds. Despite already facing two seeded opponents, she's won all six sets so far while dropping a total of 15 games. While 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska won't be an easy out in the fourth round, you have to fancy Zhang's chances if she's able to maintain the form she showed in her first three matches.
STOCK DOWN
Coco Gauff - Gauff has had an incredible run to the fourth round, but No. 7 seed Simona Halep represents a major step up in competition for the 15-year-old American. Halep unceremoniously ended Iga Swiatek's French Open run with a 6-1, 6-0 fourth-round win, and a similar result could be forthcoming in this fourth-round showdown against a teenager. Gauff needed a choke from 60th-ranked Polona Hercog to get through the third round, but she's unlikely to get similar help from Halep.
SLEEPER
Johanna Konta - The clash between Konta and Petra Kvitova will be the most anticipated match of the fourth round, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Brit pull off the upset against the two-time Wimbledon champion. Konta's playing arguably the best tennis of her career over the past couple months, which is saying a lot for someone who has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world. Kvitova leads their career head-to-head 3-1, but they're 1-1 on grass. Whoever wins this match will be favored to advance to the semifinals.
