Novak Djokovic heads into Wimbledon as the top seed and the hands-down favorite (-150). He’s set to begin his title defense today against James Ward, who currently ranks No. 177 in the ATP rankings. Can the two-time defending champion easily move onto the next round, or will the world witness an early upset coming from Ward? Read on below for everything you need to know about this first-round matchup.
For more tennis action, click here to see our preview of another opening-round showdown between Roger Federer and Sam Groth.
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Everything’s bound to go Novak Djokovic’s way in this opening-round clash. He’s been playing absolutely brilliant this year, winning 42 of his first 45 matches. That stretch includes a pair of successful campaigns in Melbourne and Paris. In the latter tournament, the Serbian finally vanquished his Roland Garros demons by defeating Andy Murray in the final to claim his first-ever Coupe des Mousquetaires Trophy.
Still, it won’t hurt Djokovic, who currently possesses all Grand Slam titles, to be a little careful in taking on James Ward. The two-time defending Wimbledon champion, after all, has yet to beat or even face the British No. 5. And that being the case, you can expect the World No. 1 to not waste any time in taking full control of this matchup from the get-go.
Djokovic has not tasted defeat in a Grand Slam since his loss to Stan Wawrinka back in last year’s French Open.
Cashing in on James Ward, who is priced at 50,000 to win it all in London, wouldn’t be such a good idea. He’s not just faced with an almost-impossible task of taking on the world’s No. 1 tennis player in the opening round at Wimbledon, but he’s also still searching for his form. The 29-year-old veteran has had a disappointing year thus far, and is still trying to recover from the passing of his longtime coach and close friend, Darren Tandy, last Christmas.
Ward, however, needs to set aside any form of distraction if he wishes to give himself a fighting chance of beating Novak Djokovic. Yes, it’s easier said than done, but the unseeded Briton might just be able to do so later. He managed to make it all the way up to the third round of Wimbledon last year, and is also a Davis Cup champion (2015).
The World No. 177 has lost seven of his past 10 matches overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Djokovic (-15,000) disposes the Brit in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
