Image Credits - Express
Novak Djokovic and Laslo Dere will square off in the Round of 16 of the 2022 Serbia Open on Wednesday, April 20th.
Novak Djokovic will be itching to get back to his best after a rather difficult year. The 20-time Grand Slam winner suffered defeat at the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year. Djokovic then returned to action after almost two months at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week.
But the Serbian star’s return was a rather forgetful one as he was eliminated in the second round by Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina. The World No.1 will now be participating in his second clay tournament this year before defending his Roland Garros title.
Meanwhile, Laslo Dere had a rather impressive Monte Carlo campaign as he beat Maxime Cressy in a tough three-set encounter in the first round. He then went on to record a victory against 16th seed Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets before eventually losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. An intriguing battle with Djokovic now awaits.
These two Serbian players have never played each other before. Wednesday’s encounter at the Novak Tennis Center will be the first time Djokovic and Dere face one another on a tennis court.
Even though Djokovic hasn’t had the best of starts to the clay season, the World No. 1 should have enough in his tank to get past Laslo Dere in the round of 16 at the Serbia Open. Although Dere may pose a few threats to his compatriot, we predict a comfortable win in two sets for Djokovic.
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