Can Novak Djokovic be stopped? That’s the question on everyone’s lips ahead of his third-round clash with Sam Querrey. With his straight-sets win against Adrian Mannarino in the round of 64, Djokovic extended his winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments to a whopping 30 matches. Only Don Budge (37) and Rod Laver (31) have done better than the all-conquering world no. 1.
Djokovic will fancy his chances of extending that excellent form against Querrey as he has fared extremely well against the American of late. The Serbian star is 8-1 against Querrey in their last nine matches with the 12-time Grand Slam champion winning each of their last four meetings. Djokovic defeated Querrey in their last showdown in the US Open back in 2014, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Djokovic is 9-1 in his last 10 matches. He is pegged at -150to win his third straight Wimbledon title.
For Querrey to grab the massive upset against Djokovic, he will need to continue his excellent play on the receiving end. He won 41 percent of his receiving points in his second-round win against Thomaz Bellucci with Querrey converting five of his 12 break point chances. Querrey will also take heart in the fact that he’s serving the ball beautifully in this year’s event. He put into play 62 percent of his first serves against Belucci with Querrey winning an incredible 83 percent (39/47) of those points.
That being said, Querrey has to be aggressive right from the get-go for him to stand a chance against the reigning Wimbledon champion. He will need to put pressure on the world no. 1 and he can do that by employing his highly-effective net play. He won 15 of his 22 net points in the previous round against Belucci. For the tournament, Querrey has won 67 percent (35-of-52) of his total net points.
Querrey is 6-4 in his last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction: Novak Djokovic (-8,000) destroys Sam Querrey in straight sets.
