One of the last remaining grass-court specialists, Denis Kudla knows that he has to perform during the grass “season.” Down two sets to none to 2017 Boy’s Wimbledon champion and world No. 35 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Kudla came up clutch at 2-4 in the third set tiebreak.

The American, who was just a few points away from reaching the quarterfinals in 2015, stormed back to defeat the Spaniard 5-7, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-3. The past few weeks, Kudla has racked up a 10-3 record on grass in 2021.

When asking Kudla how much the absurdly brief three-week grass season has cost him in prize money, seeing as clay-court specialists can practically compete on their favorite surface all year. He replied, “A lot.”

Kudla will take on Andreas Seppi for a chance to once again play Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. If he wins, he’ll likely play the Serb in the third round.

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