Novak Djokovic
Cameron Norrie will take on top seed Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Italian Open
World No.1 Novak Djokovic is back in action on the ATP tour a month-long layoff due to injury. The Serbian had withdrawn from the ATP 1000 Masters event in Madrid and the Barcelona Open due to an injury to his elbow. Djokovic was last seen in action at the Srpska Open in April, where he lost at the quarter-final stage to Dusan Lajovic.
Djokovic has made a strong comeback from injury and would now aim to prolong his run at the Italian Open. He began his campaign with a convincing straight sets victory against Tomas Etcheverry. In his second encounter, he emerged victorious in a thrilling clash against 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic beat Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to set up a Round of 16 clash against Cameron Norrie.
Norrie had begun the year in an incredible fashion by finishing runners-up at the Argentina Open and then winning the Rio Open but his form has faded off recently. The British star has come to Rome at the back of early exits in his recent few tournaments – the Madrid Open, the Barcelona Open, the Monte Carlo Masters and the Miami Open. He will look to turn things around in Rome and he has made a decent start to the Italian Open.
As the No.13 seed, Norrie received a ‘Bye’ in the Round of 128. He registered two impressive victories in the next rounds, getting the better of Alexandre Muller and Marton Fucsovics. Despite not being in the best form, Norrie has the experience and skills to beat any opponent on his day and he will certainly look to go deep into the tournament. He faces a tough challenge against Djokovic but the British star is capable of pulling off an upset.
Details:
Date – Tuesday, 16th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 16 match
Djokovic and Norrie have played each other two times before on the ATP Tour. Both players know each other’s game pretty well. Djokovic has got the upper hand and leads 2-0 on head to head. On paper, the Serbian star is the clear favourite going into this match both in terms of experience and rankings. It will be an uphill task for the British ace in this encounter, but he’s certainly no pushover. We are predicting an intense clash with Djokovic eventually edging out Norrie in three sets.
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