Novak Djokovic vs Holger Rune Highlights, Wimbledon 2024

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Novak Djokovic is on a quest to win his first title of 2024 season and an eighth Wimbledon Championship mere weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee. That quest moved a step closer to reality when the second seed overcame an inspired Alexei Popyrin on Saturday evening at Wimbledon 2024. 

The big-hitting Popyrin took the opening set off the former World No. #1 with a break of serve in the seventh game. But the seven-time champion was not to be denied victory. The Serbian rallied to secure the third-round triumph with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) win just as the on-court clock timed the match duration at three hours and five minutes. 

With the latest win, Djokovic has drawn alongside second-place Jimmy Connors for most last-16 appearances at Wimbledon. The Serbian will be playing in the fourth round for the 16th time, second only to Roger Federer, who is on 18. The Serbian also clocked 1000 aces at Wimbledon, only the sixth player in tournament history to achieve the feat.

A sixth career meeting with 15th-seed Holger Rune of Denmark awaits the 24-time Grand Slam Champion.

Holger Rune set up the meeting with Djokovic after a hard-fought win from two sets down 1-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-1 against Frenchman Quentin Halys. The No. 15 seed was backed into a corner against Halys, who was in control on Court 18. After the rain-affected match was moved to Court 1, the Dane clawed his way back to send the Frenchman home after three hours of game time.

Novak Djokovic vs Holger Rune match details

Date: July 8th, Monday

Time: TBD

Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London

Also Read: Wimbledon 2024: Updated schedule, fixtures, results, live streaming details

Novak Djokovic vs Holger Rune preview

The winner of the Djokovic–Rune encounter will go on to face ninth-seed Alex de Minaur or unseeded French player Arthur Fils in the last eight. Waiting further along, likely semi-final opponents in the picture are 2024 French Open finalist Alexander Zverev or another Frenchman and lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The French qualifier from Lyon is making his main draw debut at SW19 this year in his very first attempt. 

Perricard, taking the place of Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the main draw, fired 51 aces and 93 winners in his match against Seb Korda to win in five sets.

As the field grows smaller, with only 16 players left in the men’s draw, the fight for the much-desired trophy is still tight. Potential finalists include Halle 2024 semifinalist Alexander Zverev, 2023 Wimbledon semifinalist Jannik Sinner, 2023 champion Carlos Alcaraz, seven-time winner Novak Djokovic and last year’s semifinalist Daniil Medvedev.

Ben Shelton and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, given their solid performances, have an outside chance of making a deep run at the year’s Wimbledon.

Head-to-head records

Matches – 5

Novak Djokovic – 3

Holger Rune – 2

As Djokovic and Rune prepare for their latest face-off, they have five matches behind them. The Serbian leads 3-2, claiming a three-set win when the duo last met at the round-robin stage of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals.

Prediction

Holger Rune, playing his third Wimbledon, is 7-2 on the hallowed turf. He goes up against Serbian star Novak Djokovic. The former No. #1 is an ATP Tour veteran who played for the first time here in 2005 and picked up the first of his seven titles in 2011. For Rune to go up against a man with a 95-11 record at Wimbledon will be no easy task. 

After his haul of 10 Australian Open titles, it is at Wimbledon that Djokovic has been most successful. Even when not at his best and playing with a knee sleeve, the Serbian former World No. #1 played inspired tennis to overcome gritty performances from British wildcard Jacob Fearnley and unseeded Australian Alexei Popyrin.

Also Read: Five milestones Novak Djokovic can reach at Wimbledon 2024

Despite having a year without a title under his belt, Djokovic has tied with Rune by winning 83% of service games played. He has also converted 46% of 226 breakpoint opportunities to 36% by Rune from his 236 breakpoint opportunities. 

Djokovic will be determined to claim his 25th Grand Slam title and move into the all-time leader position, and that will be powerful motivation to cross the finish line against Rune.

Result: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.

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