It’s day 9 at the Wimbledon Championships 2023 and we have Novak Djokovic take on Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal. These two aren’t strangers to each other, having played each other a few times in the past.
Reflecting on the tournament so far, Djokovic was tested for first time during his fourth round encounter against Hubert Hurkacz. The match started late on Sunday and was completed the next day.
Novak Djokovic Overcomes His First Hurdle
The Serb was in a complex situation, giving the sternness of his opponent’s serve. In the four-set match that they played, Hurkacz hit 33 aces past the seven-time champion. The first two set had to be decided by playing out tiebreakers, during which, the Pole had a couple of opportunities to wrap the set.
However, with the experience that Novak has, he changed the outcome in his favor, winning the first two sets 7-6(6). On returning the next day to complete the match, Djokovic dropped the next set as he was struggling to find his rhythm. He did raise his level and booked a spot in the quarterfinal, winning 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4.
On the other end, Rublev got himself in a dicey situation when he faltered a two-sets lead. He was up against Alexander Bublik who took the game to him when he won the third and fourth set.
The Russian could see the momentum shift away and knew he couldn’t leave it late any further, wrapping the fifth set and winning the match 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 6-4.
Novak Djokovic vs Andrey Rublev: Prediction
Coming to the quarterfinal match, Djokovic and Rublev have faced each other on four occasions, winning three of those matches. The last time they played each other was at the Australian Open this year. It was a one-sided contest with the Serb racing towards the finishing line. Today would be the first time they would play each other on grass.
Both these players enjoy dominating points from the baseline. However, the 23-time Major champion has a more complete game who can dictate the points with his more versatile style of play.
Djokovic hasn’t lost a match on Centre Court since 10 years and it doesn’t look like the streak is going to end anytime soon. So far, Andrey has dropped four sets whereas the defending champion has dropped just one set.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in four sets.
