Novak Djokovic’s second seeded opponent of the fortnight will come in the form of Jannik Sinner when quarterfinal competition gets underway on Tuesday. Cameron Norrie and David Goffin are also aiming for a place in the last four.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (10) Jannik Sinner
Djokovic and Sinner will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came last spring in Monte-Carlo, where Djokovic cruised 6-4, 6-2. Of course, another year on tour and a switch to grass should help Sinner. Even though the 20-year-old Italian is inexperienced on this surface, he will have a better chance of minimizing rallies–which he doesn’t want to get into with Djokovic. So far at the All-England Club Sinner has ousted Stan Wawrinka, Mikael Ymer, John Isner, and Carlos Alcaraz without going to five sets on any occasion.
If not dominant (mainly because he hasn’t had to be), Djokovic has been efficient as he bids for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. The top-seeded Serb booked his spot in the last eight by beating Soonwoo Kwon, Thanaski Kokkinakis, Miomir Kecmanovic, and Tim van Rijthoven. Both Kwon and van Rijthoven took a set, which should give Sinner some inspiration. However, Djokovic followed up his hiccup against Kwon by destroying Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 with a ruthless performance two days later. Look for the 35-year-old to answer another wakeup call and win a straight-set but at times competitive contest.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
David Goffin vs. (9) Cameron Norrie
Norrie has taken advantage of a favorable draw, but he shouldn’t have to apologize for finding himself in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. The world No. 12 was a Queen’s Club finalist last year and his game in general works well on grass–specifically a backhand that stays extremely low and an effective lefty serve. Norrie has improved to 31-15 this season with victories over Pablo Andujar, Jaume Munar, Steve Johnson, and Tommy Paul. Munar pushed the 2021 Indian Wells champion to five sets, but the others were straight-set affairs.
Goffin has advanced with victories over Radu Albot, Sebastian Baez, Ugo Humbert, and Frances Tiafoe. The 58th-ranked Belgian had previously reached the fourth round in SW19 twice, so this run is no fluke. The bad news is that Goffin is coming off an absolute battle against Tiafoe that the 31-year-old won 7-6(3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 after four hours and 36 minutes. It won’t be easy to recover in time for what will be another baseline slugfest against Norrie, so look for the crowd favorite to keep going all the way to the semis.
Pick: Norrie in 4
Amy.i.know u want norrie to win being a brit but Norrie winning means Novak gets lefty practice before final.damn..
The crowd will be totally against Novak.. even sinner match they were 65 pc sinners side ..
Both situations will prepare Novak mighty for a potential final against rafa
No I wanted Goffin to win! I never root for players based on nationality!
Oh, hey, amy, I wanted Goffin to win too, but I am happy and surprised with his progress💪🎯
NoVax is used to crowds cheering for his opponents, I am guessing.
If rafa wins tomm,any chance the Novak match will get scheduled second on Friday as brits may want to watch a brit prime time Friday night no ?
Yes that will happen I am sure…
Ricky just tweeted that playing a lefty on Friday is bad preparation for NOvak playing Fritz in the final.
Unless this is a joke I think it’s clear what his pick is going to be.
I mean, it’s incredible that Novak is able to consistently do this. Goes into lockdown mode after losing 2 sets. Have ti respect him for that.
I just looked up the ATP leaderboard.
Fritz is #16 on serve while Rafa is #11.
Fritz is #58! on return while Rafa is #2. He was #1 until very recently.
Amy ..why just him ? Everyone keeps picking against rafa most matches ..ao final med was picked , rg qf Novak was picked ..it’s ok ..it does not matter.
Novak has now reached a position where everyone makes him default fav for every tourney just like serena was few years back
I am not questioning his picking Novak, am questioning his picking Fritz..
Anyway, u are right. It doesn’t matter..
Let them pick against rafa ..rafa will focus on collecting slams 🙂
Please don’t tell me Ricky is picking Fritz!
I am more keen to see Cheryl’s pick. She is objective .
I doubt very much Cheryl will pick Fritz!
It will be Rafa vs Novak. Hopefully it’s close and aRafa wins.
That is my Final pick Rafa v NoVax.
I love Sinner – I hoped he would beat Novak.
But Novak skated away again. Haven’t I seen this before? Novak loses the first two sets (RG) and wins the match, and that loss did mess with Tsitsipas’ head.
I mean, is it possible that NoVax was toying with Sinner, or worse, he made a bet he could lose two sets and finish with a win in the 5th set?
Cynical of me, I know. I hope I am wrong. Someone help me climb out of this rabbit hole, please.
On another note, I am so proud of how Goffin played in this tournament! I thought it was over for him at least a year ago.🤔
And Congrats to Norrie for the win; the crowd deserved that win!😊
Before we all lose our minds because Sinner couldn’t hang on and defeat the reigning Wimbly champ after winning the first two sets. I think he did GREAT to get that far. Sinner is all of 20 years old! What 20 year old male has ever defeated a multiple Wimbledon champ?
I agree with you. However, my thoughts were about Sinner and these young guys moving forward. They will have to improve their physical and mental conditioning. This was good experience for Sinner. He can take positives out of this match. He got a taste of what it’s like to play one of the top players in a slam. Now hopefully he can continue to work on his game. It requires extra skill to win a slam.,
How old was Rafa in 2008? Rafa almost beat Roger in 2007 and was so close that I expected him to beat Federer in 2008. I don’t remember how old they were.
Fed in 2001, he’s 19 when he defeated Sampras in R4 if I’m not wrong.
Rafa was 22 when he won Wimby for the first time, my guess is Roger was about to be 27
I don’t blame Sinner for losing it in five sets as I’ve expected that; no difference even if it’s Alcaraz in the QF, he would also lose in five sets even though the scoreline may be better looking.
Don’t forget, Meddy was way more experienced than both of them， yet he also threw away a two sets and a break’s lead in the AO final to lose to Rafa in the end.
Rafa and Djoko are in a class of their own despite the fact that they are now in their 30s. I think only a Rafa playing great tennis could beat this Djoko in the final. I doubt the likes of Norrie, Fritz, Kyrios or Garin could do the job.