Wimbledon 2024: Novak Djokovic vs Vit Kopriva preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Novak Djokovic vs (Q) Vit Kopriva
Date: July 2, 2024
Tournament: Wimbledon 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: £50,000,000
Live Telecast: USA - ESPN, Tennis Channel | UK - BBC | Canada - TSN/RDS, ESPN International
Novak Djokovic vs Vit Kopriva preview
Novak Djokovic will commence his quest for a 25th Major title against Vit Kopriva in the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon on Tuesday, July 2.
This is one of those rare seasons where Djokovic is yet to even reach a final, let alone win a title. He was the defending champion at the Australian Open but fell to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. Upon his return to action at the Indian Wells Masters, he was stunned by Luca Nardi in the third round.
Djokovic started his time on clay with a semifinal finish at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He suffered a shock defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open after that. He next made it to the semifinals of the Geneva Open, in a rare appearance at a tournament a week before the French Open.
The Serb's title defense at Roland Garros concluded in the quarterfinals due to an injury. He withdrew from the tournament before his scheduled match due to a right knee injury, for which he underwent surgery and has since recovered.
Kopriva commenced his Wimbledon journey in the qualifying rounds. He rallied from a set down to beat Henri Squire in the first round. He was pushed to three sets in the second qualifier as well but dug deep to get past Hugo Dellien.
Kopriva took on former top-10 player Richard Gasquet for a spot in the main draw. He dropped the first set but staged another comeback to beat the Frenchman 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and successfully qualify for Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic vs Vit Kopriva head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Novak Djokovic vs Vit Kopriva odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Novak Djokovic vs Vit Kopriva prediction
Djokovic's recovery seems to have gone without a hitch as he easily beat Daniil Medvedev in an exhibition match in the lead-up to Wimbledon a few days ago. He's still on the hunt for a 25th Major crown and given his supremacy on grass compared to the rest of the tour, this is his best shot to script history.
Kopriva has done well enough to make the main draw of a Grand Slam for the second time in his career. He mainly plies his trade on the ITF and Challenger tours, and there are no players of the Serb's caliber at that level.
The Czech does have a lone top-10 win under his belt, which he achieved with a win over Denis Shapovalov at the 2021 Swiss Open. He'll need to play even better to get the better of Djokovic, though that seems like an impossible scenario. The Serb has made the final of the last five editions of Wimbledon, and the odds of him bowing out this early are minuscule.
Pick: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.