Novak Djokovic headlines the top half of the draw on a busy Monday that features established veterans and rising stars. The top seed and defending champion takes on #NextGenATP Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
Djokovic faced his first test of the tournament on Friday against Hubert Hurkacz, but avoided the upset bug that has caused havoc in the draw by outlasting the talented Pole in four sets. The four-time champion has reached at least the quarter-finals in nine of his past 10 appearances at The All England Club. Despite his past success, the Serbian will be treating Humbert as a major threat when they meet.
“He has the really good slide serve wide. He uses his height very well. He's got a good technique. He's one of the leaders of the Next Generation,” said Djokovic. "I think it's great for tennis to have the young guys doing so well, showing the quality of the tennis they possess, but also showing the dedication, commitment, confidence they're able to play on the big stage, challenge the best players in the world.”
The 21-year-old Humbert sat at No. 290 in the ATP Rankings just 12 months ago, but now finds himself enjoying the best Grand Slam result of his career after wins over No. 17 seed Gael Monfils and No. 21 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. He’s competing in his first full season on the ATP Tour, but scored impressive results before this fortnight that include a win over Borna Coric en route to his maiden ATP Tour semi-final on home soil in Marseille. With plenty of solid wins under his belt, Humbert vowed to back himself as he gets ready to face the World No. 1.
"I would like to play my game, and yes, I have the chance,”said Humbert. "If not, I'm not coming on the court.”
More From The Championships
* View Draw
* The Big 3 Domination At SW19
* Murray & Serena Win Mixed Doubles Opener
* Nadal On Big 3 Slam Success: 'It's Something Special'
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco takes on No. 21 seed David Goffin. They’re even at 3-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, but have never faced each other on grass. The 35-year-old Verdasco has excelled here before, reaching the quarter-finals in 2013 and the fourth round on three other occasions. Goffin started his grass-court season with a 12-13 record in 2019, but has come alive in the past few weeks. The Belgian finished runner-up at the NOVENTI OPEN (l. to Federer) and scored a five-set victory over No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev on Friday.
Milos Raonic, the No. 15 seed and 2016 runner-up (l. to Murray), looks for another deep run at The Championships as he faces No. 26 seed Guido Pella. The Canadian has had the least complicated path of anyone in the top half, powering through the first week without dropping a set.
“It’s sort of like a new tournament starts on Monday,” said Raonic. “You play in one event throughout this first week, take some time to rest, maybe take a day off and just start up on Sunday as if I would for another one-week event.”
Raonic’s five trips to the second week at this event is in stark contrast to Pella, who has never made it this far before at a Grand Slam. The Argentine is perhaps best known for his clay-court prowess, but shocked fourth seed and 2018 runner-up Kevin Anderson on Friday for one of the biggest wins of his career. Pella’s outstanding season also includes his first ATP Tour title this March in Sao Paulo (d. Garin) and a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 21 in May.
The final match in the top half sees No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain take on No. 28 seed Benoit Paire of France in a battle of veterans. Bautista Agut leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 6-0, including a win at Wimbledon four years ago. Both men have produced outstanding results this year that could shape up to be the best seasons of their careers. Bautista Agut opened the year with a title in Doha (d. Berdych) and his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open, while Paire was the last man standing in Marrakech (d. Andujar) and Lyon (d. Auger-Aliassime).
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, 8 JULY 2019
Centre Court start 13:00
[3] Rafael Nadal vs Joao Sousa
WTA match
[2] Roger Federer vs [17] Matteo Berrettini
No. 1 Court start 13:00
Two WTA matches
[1] Novak Djokovic vs Ugo Humbert
No. 2 Court start 11:00
Two WTA matches
[8] Kei Nishikori vs Mikhail Kukushkin
No. 3 Court start 11:00
WTA match
[21] David Goffin vs Fernando Verdasco
[15] Milos Raonic vs [26] Guido Pella
Court 12 start 11:00
WTA match
Sam Querrey vs Tennys Sandgren
[8] Henri Kontinen / John Peers vs [12] Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
Mixed doubles match
Court 18 start 11:00
WTA match
[23] Roberto Bautista Agut vs [28] Benoit Paire
[7] Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan vs [11] Nicolas Mahut / Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Mixed doubles match
Click here to view the schedule for all other courts.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2YBqV8B
No comments:
Post a Comment