Everyone–except Dominic Thiem on clay–looks just about hopeless against the Big 3 these days. But if there is anyone who won’t lack belief, it is Roberto Bautista Agut against Novak Djokovic.
That will be the matchup in the first Wimbledon semifinal on Friday afternoon.
Although Bautista Agut still trails the head-to-head series 7-3, he is 2-0 against Djokovic this season. The Spaniard prevailed 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 in the Doha semis and 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 during fourth-round action in Miami. They have never faced each other on grass, while all three of their previous Grand Slam encounters have gone Djokovic’s way in four sets (2015 U.S. Open, 2016 French Open, 2018 French Open).
“He is very solid from baseline,” Bautista Agut said when asked why he and Djokovic always have tough matches. “He likes to play a lot of rallies. Well, I like to play against opponent like this–to play a match with a lot of rallies. Against Novak, that’s what we do.”
Nothing was difficult about either competitor’s trip to the semis. Djokovic split his first two sets with Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 6-7(5) before rolling, but he otherwise made mincemeat out of Philipp Kohlschreiber, Denis Kudla, Ugo Humbert, and David Goffin. The world No. 1 is now 70-10 lifetime at the All-England Club with four titles, three of which have come in the last five years–including one last summer.
Bautista Agut has also dropped just a single set this fortnight. The world No. 22 trounced Peter Gojowyczk, Steve Darcis, Karen Khachanov, and Benoit Paire before beating Guido Pella 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarters.
“His consistency, I think,” Djokovic answered when asked about the best aspect’s of Bautista Agut’s game. “His ability to stay in the point even when it seems like he’s on the back foot. He’s got amazing consistency I think with his shots. Very flat from both forehand and backhand. He has improved his backhand; I think he’s got more depth on his backhand. The ball bounces lower on the grass, which is I think more suitable to his style of the game. He doesn’t like when the ball bounces higher to his backhand. He’s been playing some very, very high-quality tennis in this tournament. He has won twice against me so far this year. That’s certainly going to give him confidence coming into the match.
“(In the) semifinals of a Grand Slam, (I’m) going to try to use my experience in being in these kind of matches (and) get myself tactically prepared.”
Djokovic is absolutely correct that a slam situation is entirely different from the likes of Doha or even Miami. The top-seeded Serb’s urgency level will increase tenfold and that should allow him to fend off what will be yet another stern test from Bautista Agut.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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