Novak Djokovic is getting right back in action one day after finishing off Hubert Hurkacz, now facing Andrey Rublev in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Another one-sided matchup could in the cards with Jannik Sinner battling Roman Safiullin.
(7) Andrey Rublev vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Rublev has advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in his career, and he got there in dramatic fashion. The world No. 7 survived a 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 6-4 fourth-round thriller against Alexander Bublik and came up with perhaps the shot of the year on the penultimate point of the match. That was preceded by victories over Max Purcell, Aslan Karatsev, and David Goffin–the latter two in four sets.
Unfortunately for Rublev, that is where the good news ends. The 25-year-old Russian is 0-7 lifetime in Grand Slam quarterfinals and now it is Djokovic–again, in fact–who is standing his way of ending such futility. Rublev does have one win over the 23-time major champion, but it came at a small 250 event (albeit in a final and in Belgrade). Djokovic dominated their other three previous encounters, all of which were much more important (at the year-end championships in 2021 and 2022, plus in the quarters of this year’s Australian Open). Moreover, the 36-year-old has triumphed at Wimbledon on four consecutive occasions and he has looked good so far this fortnight while ousting Pedro Cachin, Jordan Thompson, Stan Wawrinka, and Hubert Hurkacz. It wasn’t overly surprising that Hurkacz made things interesting in a 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4 loss, as the Pole wields one of the biggest serves on tour and is a former semifinalist at the All-England Club. Rublev does not come close to presenting the same kind of danger, so from a matchup perspective this should be much more routine for Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
Roman Safiullin vs. (8) Jannik Sinner
Everyone wants to avoid Djokovic in the draw, but at the same time Sinner would relish getting another shot at the current world No. 2–especially because it means he would successfully be through to the semifinals. Sinner faced Djokovic in the quarters last summer in SW19 and surged to a two-set lead before losing in five.
This year’s most surprising quarterfinalist is up next for the eighth-ranked Italian. Safiullin’s run has come completely out of nowhere, having been 2-2 lifetime on grass prior to this summer and having won just a single main-draw match combined in Halle and Mallorca prior to arriving in London. The 92nd-ranked Russian earned his spot in the last eight by beating Roberto Bautista Agut (in five), Corentin Moutet, Guido Pella, and Denis Shapovalov. It has been impressive, but it was also a great draw; only against Bautista Agut was Safiullin a considerable underdog and Shapovalov was less than 100 percent on Sunday. Sinner, who won their only previous meeting in straight sets at the 2022 United Cup, is awesome on grass and represents a steep step up in competition.
Pick: Sinner in 3
WWW?
Joker in 4; Sinner in 3.