Tel Aviv Open 2022: Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar.
Date: September 29, 2022.
Tournament: Tel Aviv Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
Venue: Tel Aviv, Israel.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: €949,475.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar preview
21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will square off against World No. 115 Pablo Andujar in the second round of the 2022 Tel Aviv Open on Thursday.
It has been a testing year for Djokovic, though he has enjoyed some memorable triumphs as well. A visa scandal at the start of the year ended with his deportation from Australia, causing him to miss the season's first Grand Slam. He returned to action in Dubai where he made it to the quarterfinals.
Djokovic was unable to compete in the Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami due to the vaccine requirements in place. He crashed out in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, but finished as the runner-up at the Serbia Open the following week. The Serb lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Madrid Open.
He finally won his first title of the year at the Italian Open, but his title defense at Roland Garros ended in the quarterfinals. After winning his 21st Major title at Wimbledon, he was once again unable to participate in the North American hardcourt swing due to the vaccine mandate in place.
The former World No. 1 returned to action at the Laver Cup. Djokovic won a singles and doubles tie on Day 2 of the event, but lost his singles match against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Day 3. As the top seed in Tel Aviv, he received a bye into the second round.
Shalom Israel! 😃 https://t.co/l2YqW7SPQu
Pablo Andujar was up against Thiago Monteiro in the first round. Both players remained quite steady on serve for the better part of the opening set. The Brazilian bagged a break in the ninth game to go 5-4 up. However, he got broken in the next game as he failed to serve out the set.
The set soon went into a tie-break, with Andujar gaining the upper hand to take the set. The second set was one-way traffic, with the Spaniard reeling off six consecutive games to win the match 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar head-to-head
Djokovic leads Andujar 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2012 Indian Wells Masters in three sets.
Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Novak Djokovic vs Pablo Andujar prediction
Andujar competed quite well in the previous round and completely outplayed his opponent in the second half of the match. If he's able to bring the same intensity, he might be able to put some pressure on the Serb.
Djokovic recently revealed that he has been struggling with some wrist pain for a while. He managed to win his Laver Cup match against Tiafoe quite convincingly, but seemed to be hindered during his loss to Auger-Aliassime. The wrist issue affected his serve to a certain extent in the match against the Canadian.
If it's something too serious, it might affect his game against Andujar as well. Although Djokovic hasn't played too many matches on hardcourts as of late, he looked quite sharp at the Laver Cup until his injury became troublesome. If he's fully fit, he should make it past the Spaniard with ease, otherwise, we might be in for a surprise.
Pick: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.