Paris Olympics 2024: Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer
Date: July 31, 2024
Tournament: Paris Olympics 2024
Round: Third Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
Category: Olympics
Surface: Clay
Live Telecast: USA - NBC, Peacock | UK - Eurosport, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer | Canada - CBC Gem, Radio Canada, Tou.tv | India - JioCinema, Sports18
Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer preview
Top seed Novak Djokovic will take on Dominik Koepfer in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Serb has not had the best of seasons so far as he is yet to win a title in 2024. However, he still has a formidable 23-7 record in the season, and managed to make his first final of the season, by reaching the summit clash at Wimbledon.
By his lofty standards, Djokovic has fared average on clay courts this season. He reached the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Geneva Open, losing to Casper Ruud and Tomas Machac, respectively. He also suffered a shock loss at the hands of Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open. At Roland Garros, he could not advance beyond the quarter-final due to injury.
Although, Djokovic has been in tremendous form at the Paris Olympics. He lost just one game in the opening round against Matthew Ebden of Australia. In the second round, the Serb faced his long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the 60th encounter of their much-storied rivalry. The 37-year-old won the match comprehensively 6-1, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Dominik Koepfer has a 14-16 record for the season indicating that the German player has not had a good time on the Tour this year. Koepfer has made a handful of quarter-final appearances in the Acapulco Open and the Lyon Open. He lost against Holger Rune and Tomas Martin Etcheverry, respectively, in those matches.
At the Olympics, Koepfer has shown decent form. He defeated a former Top 10 player, Milos Raonic, in three tough tiebreaks in the first round. He then came back from a set down to beat Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in the second round.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer head-to-head
Djokovic and Kopefer have faced off against each other only once. The Serb won in the quarter-final of the 2020 Italian Open in three sets.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Novak Djokovic vs Dominik Koepfer prediction
Djokovic has an 80 percent win ratio on clay courts in his career with 19 clay-court titles. At the French Open, which is the clay-court Major, he is a three-time winner. Overall he has a 96-16 record at Roland Garros, with an 86% win ratio. Despite all this, the fact that clay remains the weaker surface for the Serb statistically is surprising.
On the other hand, Koepfer has already played for over four hours in the first two matches at the Olympics. Additionally, he is also there in the men's doubles draw, representing Germany with Jan-Lennard Struff. Therefore recovering adequately will be a key factor for Koepfer before the Djokovic clash.
Djokovic is the overwhelming favorite. He is determined to secure the Olympic gold, which is the one notable achievement missing from his illustrious resume, and therefore should be able to win the match easily.
Pick- Djokovic to win straight sets