‘Novak Djokovic has the hunger and desire to do well’, says expert

Novak Djokovic has won the last three editions of Wimbledon and has no plans to stop there. The former world number 1 has had a disappointing season so far, also thanks to his choice not to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus. The Serbian champion was unable to participate in the Australian Open, in addition to having suffered serious damage to his image. Nole hoped to redeem himself at Roland Garros, but his race was already interrupted in the quarter-finals at the hands of his eternal rival Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard won for the 14th time in Paris, further stretching Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time Grand Slam standings. The 35-year-old from Belgrade is virtually forced to win in London to stay in the running, but it won’t be easy to lift his seventh trophy on Church Road. The number 1 seed is expected to face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals before a hypothetical semi-final against one between Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud. In a long interview with ‘PICKSWISE’, Pam Shriver analyzed Djokovic’s chances at the Championships.

Pam Shriver on Novak Djokovic

“Novak Djokovic has the hunger and desire to do well. He won’t want [Rafael] Nadal to go three Grand Slams ahead of him after defeat in France and the debacle in Australia earlier this year,” Shriver said. The 59-year-old said that Djokovic is a fantastic player on grass courts and backed him to defend his Wimbledon title this year. “He is my favorite to win. His grass-court game is superb, he’s won the last two Wimbledons played, and I feel like the French Open getting back to the five-set format, I think he’ll be much more ready for this compared to Paris. Playing grass for him is a different ball game compared to clay,” Shriver said. “I think he’ll find a way to win, he’s my number one pick. His movement on grass is unbelievable, he’s learned how to be a bigger server on grass, and he’s still the best returner in the game,” she added. Novak Djokovic will face Kwon Sun-Woo of South Korea in the first round of the Wimbledon. His progression in the further rounds might make him end up facing tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the grass-court major. If he cruises past the Spanish player, he can face Casper Ruud and then his arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the finals. He would like to break Nadal’s streak of clinching grand slams this year and would want to take the Wimbledon home. Rafael Nadal will face Francisco Cerundolo in the first round and can meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals.