Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics
Date: 7 July 2021
Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: London, Great Britain
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £17,066,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics preview
Novak Djokovic has breezed into the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The Serb, coming into the tournament on the back of title runs at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, has been able to get past his opponents this week without needing to bring out his best.
Djokovic, a two-time defending champion at Wimbledon, started his tournament by dropping a set aginst local favorite Jack Draper. But he is yet to drop one since, comfortably dispatching Kevin Anderson, Denis Kudla and Cristian Garin in straight sets.
He will now take on 2009 junior Wimbledon champion Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Many would be surprised that this is Fucsovics' first quarterfinal at Wimbledon, given his clear strengths on grass. But the World No. 48 has underachieved for most of his career, and is only now starting to play to his potential.
Fucsovics came into the tournament with a win-loss record of 17-12 in 2021, and was presented with a tricky draw. He took on Jannik Sinner in the first round, before storming past ninth seed Diego Schwartzman in the third.
The Hungarian then faced fifth seed and Halle runner-up Andrey Rublev, and ended up defeating the hard-hitting Russian in five sets.
Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics head-to-head
The quraterfinal encounter at Wimbledon is the third match between the two players, and Novak Djokovic currently leads the head-to-head 2-0 over Marton Fucsovics.
The Serb defeated Fucsovics in the second round at Doha in 2019, and also the first round at the 2018 US Open. The Hungarian managed to win a set on both occasions.
Novak Djokovic vs Marton Fucsovics prediction
As the top contender for the title in SW19 this week, Novak Djokovic arrives in the quarterfinal as the overwhelming favorite.
The fact that the Serb is yet to unlock his best is a testament to his superiority over the rest of the draw. Djokovic's groundstrokes are getting better as the tournament is progressing, and his serve has been phenomenal at times.
That said, Marton Fucsovics has the game to hurt the World No. 1. The Hungarian has powerful groundstrokes that work particularly well on grass, and his speedy movement has aided him during the longer baseline exchanges this week.
Djokovic's returning abilities should be able to deal with Fucsovics' serve, but any lapses off the ground could be costly. Fucsovics on his part will try to take a set or two to a tiebreaker, where Djokovic has struggled in recent times.
That said, Fucsovics may not have the big-match experience and temperament to upset a player of Djokovic's caliber.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in four sets.