Tennis expert reveals why Novak Djokovic has edge over Jannik Sinner for Wimbledon title
The second week of Wimbledon could prove more challenging for Jannik Sinner than Novak Djokovic, according to tennis expert Greg Rusedski, who has backed the Serb in a potential semi-final between the pair.
Both Djokovic and Sinner have safely progressed through the opening three rounds, dropping a combined four sets along the way.
The Italian is the defending Wimbledon champion, having defeated Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has reached at least the quarter-finals at every edition of the grass-court Grand Slam since 2017.
The Serb defeated Yibing Wu in four sets in his opening match before comfortably overcoming two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
On Friday, he edged past Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) in a three-hour contest to book his place in the last 16.
Former British No 1 Rusedski believes Djokovic is ‘on the path’ to a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Latest Tennis News
How Elena Rybakina’s shock Wimbledon exit affects world No. 1 ranking battle with Aryna Sabalenka
“Novak was absolutely brilliant for two sets, and then all of a sudden there was a little break,” commented the Brit on his podcast, Off Court with Greg.
“Rinderknech went off court, bounced back, but then Djokovic found a way to close it out in the fourth.
“For me, Djokovic is getting better and better with each round. He’s got Safiullin in the next round, a Russian qualifier.
“So Djokovic is on the path, really playing good tennis. I would be surprised if we don’t get a Sinner-Djokovic semifinal, and he’s going to get match win No 106.
“He looks like he’s got a real shot to win Grand Slam No 25.”
Meanwhile, Sinner has won 33 of his last 34 matches, with his only defeat coming in the second round of the French Open, where he suffered a shock loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
During that defeat, the Italian appeared to be significantly hindered by the intense Parisian heat, winning just two of the final 20 games despite leading 6-3, 6-2, 5-1.
At this year’s Wimbledon, Sinner came through a five-set battle against Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.
However, he has since produced two dominant performances, dispatching Nuno Borges and Jenson Brooksby in straight sets.
“Conditions are going to get hotter next week as well, which makes it a little bit more difficult on Sinner rather than Novak,” added Rusedski.
“You’d think it would be the opposite way around with a 39-year-old, but Novak I am always impressed with.
“And at the beginning of the year, this is the Slam, we talked about it. We talked about Djokovic winning this one.”
As Rusedski noted, Djokovic and Sinner are projected to meet in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Their head-to-head currently stands at 6-5 in Sinner’s favour. However, it was Djokovic who won their most recent meeting, prevailing in five sets at this year’s Australian Open.
