Novak Djokovic vs Holger Rune – Breakdown and Prediction

July 8, 2024

Novak Djokovic vs Holger Rune: Wimbledon – Round of 16

The seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will take on Holger Rune in the round of 16 of the tournament.

Novak Djokovic Profile

Novak Djokovic dropped from the top of the rankings after the French Open, and now he is second. The Serbian are 21-6 for the season and 3-0 on grass.

He is coming off a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Alexei Popyrin in the previous round. Earlier in the tournament, he defeated Jacob Fearnley and Vit Kopriva.

Djokovic has yet to win a title this season. His best result was the semifinal at the Australian Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner, and he reached the same stage in Monte Carlo and Geneva.

Djokovic has won seven titles, including Wimbledon. Last year, he lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz after winning the previous four editions.

Holger Rune Profile

Holger Rune is 15th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 4 in the world. The Danish is 26-13 for the season and 3-1 on grass.

Rune is coming off a 1-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 win over Quentin Halys in the previous round. Earlier in the tournament, he defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild and Soon Woo Kwon.

Rune’s best result of the season was the final in Brisbane where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov and he also reached the semis in Montpellier, Acapulco and Munich.

This is his third appearance at Wimbledon and last year he lost in the quarterfinal to Carlos Alcaraz.

Head-to-Head Djokovic leads 3-2

Djokovic vs Rune 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 (2023 ATP Masters Cup)
Djokovic vs Rune 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 (2023 ATP Paris Masters, quarterfinals)
Rune vs Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 (2023 ATP Rome, quarterfinals)
Rune vs Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 (2022 ATP Paris Masters, final)
Djokovic vs Rune 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 (2021 US Open, first round)

Prediction and Conclusion

Novak Djokovic had a pretty easy draw in the first three rounds of the tournament, but now things are getting more challenging. Holger Rune has beaten Djokovic twice before, and he will definitely stand a chance in this match. Still, Rune is not on the level he was a couple of years ago and had to come back from two sets down in the previous match. Djokovic is still the favorite to win, but that will not come easy, so we go with over 3.5 sets in total.