Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin highlights, Wimbledon 2024

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Novak Djokovic overcame an intense fight from Jacob Fearnley to proceed to the third round of Wimbledon 2024. The 37-year-old wasn’t as convincing as one would expect a 24-time Grand Slam winner to be, but Djokovic has this knack of stretching games and outlasting his opponents purely on the fitness matrix.

Before the tournament began, all eyes were on Djokovic and his knee which had ruled him midway out of the French Open and the Serb himself had admitted that he wouldn’t have made such a hasty comeback if it weren’t for his favourite tournament. So far, one can say that the effect of his hasty return is showing as the Serbian didn’t appear to be at his usual best particularly in the third and fourth set of his second-round clash.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic’s projected path to Wimbledon 2024 final

Credit must also be given to Fearnley for his impressive outing, stretching the game and coming from behind to win the third set. If it hadn’t been for the double fault on his serve at break point in the fourth set, the match could have headed towards a fifth-set showdown.

Djokovic himself praised the 277th ranked Briton. “He made me work, definitely, I was probably a but lucky in the fourth to not go a break down. Maybe I could have won the match in three, but I think all in all potentially this match deserved to get into the fifth the way we both played, the way he played, especially in the fourth – but very glad it didn’t,” the former World No. #1 said post his victory.

Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin match details

• Date: July 6
• Time: TBD
• Venue: All England Tennis Club, Centre Court

Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin preview

The 24-time Grand Slam champion will next take on the Australian Wildcard Alexei Popyrin at the Centre Court. Popyrin comes into this highly anticipated clash on the back of a four setter and five setter wins. Clearly, he has spent a lot of time on court and has scraped his way through to the third round.

One of the major strengths of the Australian is his powerful serving and that will be tested against the Serb who’s renowned for his quality defense. The Australian has an 86% winning percentage on service games but just a mere 20.3% on return games, a weakness that the second seeded Djokovic would look to exploit.

Djokovic, on the other hand will be eyeing for a more consistent and flawless performance. He would want to improve his first serve success percentage and reduce the number of unforced errors going into the business end of the tournament. A lot of eyes will be on his fitness and if he can engage in lengthy rallies as opposed to his counterpart, who has shown the ability to last long rallies, but is coming off a five-setter win over Tomar Etcheverry.

Head-to-Head records

Matches – 2

Novak Djokovic – 2

Alexei Popyrin – 0

Novak Djokovic has beaten his Australian rival twice with their latest encounter coming at the Australian Open, wherein the Serb was given a tough fight. The match was a four setter, but the highlight was the third set with the Serb clinching it in a closely fought tiebreak.

Prediction

Novak Djokovic has won the first two rounds, but he hasn’t been at his convincing best. He will be up against a spirited Australian who will definitely make the Serb work hard for his points.

Hence, this match would prove to be a real test for Djokovic in terms of his own physical fitness as well as handling the crowd. As seen in the second round, his aggression and antics too might come to the fore.

While Novak might appear as a clear favourite, one expects the Aussie to give him a run for it and a lot would rely on him nailing his aces if he were to give the second seed a scare. The fact that he had made it tough for 37-year-old in their last encounter at the Australian Open, would give the Aussie the much-needed hope and belief.

A thrilling contest awaits us as two fitness freaks go head to head!

Result: Novak Djokovic to win in five sets.

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