Andy Schooler takes a look at the most eye-catching matches on Thursday’s order at Wimbledon 2025 – and picks out his best bets for them.
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Centre stage
Iga Swiatek v Caty McNally (2nd match on Centre Court)
Maybe Swiatek will fancy her chances of finally going deep at Wimbledon following the early seeded chaos in SW19 this year – she’s yet to make the semis here.
However, I remain unconvinced by her on the grass which is definitely faster than ideal for her game.
McNally was impressive in her first-round dismissal of Briton Jodie Burrage on Tuesday, especially given her recent injury absence from the tour. She faced only one break point on serve and committed just five unforced errors.
Maybe Swiatek’s greater quality will she her hit through the McNally defences but I reckon the American, who was knocking on the door of the top 50 before her injury problems, is capable of being competitive here.
Their only previous meeting (on a hardcourt) ended 6-4 6-4 in the Pole’s favour in 2022. Something similar here would do just fine.
Best of British
Jack Draper v Marin Cilic (3rd match on Court 1)
British title hope Draper returns to action in his increasingly familiar primetime slot but he may not have things all his own way here.
Cilic is a former finalist at the All England Club, one who has slipped down the rankings following a number of injury issues in recent years.
However, if there’s one surface on which he remains capable of causing some damage, it’s grass. He showed that, to some extent, when winning the Nottingham Challenger title last month.
The Croat’s serve has also been a major weapon on this surface and it was in good working order again in the Midlands.
Of course, the level of opponent rises massively here but Draper hasn’t faced the Cilic serve before and he’s had a few struggles against the big servers in faster conditions of late, notably at Queen’s where Alexei Popyrin pushed him to 7-6 in the third, while another good server, Brandon Nakashima, also forced him into a final set.
Essentially, 6/1 shot Cilic can keep this closer than the layers think – and I wouldn’t completely rile out the upset either.
With a decent chance of a tie-break or two, over 34.5 games looks a decent shout, while for something bigger you could back Cilic to claim the first break of serve – that looks a big price at 10/3.
Around the grounds
Fabian Marozsan v Jaume Munar
These two might not be the biggest names around but if you like your rallies long, then this one will be worth checking out.
Both men have played well in 2025, Marozsan beating the likes of Andrey Rublev, Frances Tiafoe and Joao Fonseca, while Munar has taken down Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton.
Grass is neither man’s natural habitat but I suspect that means each will try to turn this into a baseline contest. If that is the case, I don’t think there will be much between them.
In addition, Munar has played a final set in no fewer than 18 of his 32 matches in 2025, while Marozsan’s figure of 12 of 35 isn’t exactly off-putting.
A lengthy, drawn-out affair would be no surprise and I’m happy to go over 39.5 games.
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