The business end of the Wimbledon 2022 tournament is upon us. We have seen some fine matches and performances till now and the Grand Slam has also seen a fair share of upsets too.
Let’s take a look at the Men’s Round of 16 matches that have been confirmed till now:
Novak Djokovic versus Tim van Rijthoven
The former world No. 1 has stormed into the Round of 16 with three relatively comfortable wins. In round one, he was challenged a bit by Kwon Soon-woo, especially in the first couple of sets, but the seasoned campaigner weathered the storm to eventually win 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The defending champion made light work of Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round as he won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. In round three, Djokovic schooled his countryman Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3, 6-4.
Tim van Rijthoven defeated the 2022 Argentina Open semifinalist Federico Delbonis in straight sets 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, 6-2.
He followed it up with another dazzling performance against Reilly Opelka, who won the Dallas Open and the Houston Open earlier this year.
In the third round, Rijthoven continued his stellar run ousting the 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili with relative ease 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Rijthoven will have to carry on and even up the level of exemplary tennis, he has displayed over the last few matches by a few notches to give the 20-time Grand Slam winner a tough time. However, Djokovic fans will hope that the fairytale run for Rijthoven comes to a halt against the former World No. 1.
Head to Head: 0-0.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in four sets.
Cameron Norrie versus Tommy Paul
Cameron Norrie has been in good form this year. He won the Delray Open in February and the Lyon Open in May. Norrie won his first-round match against Pablo Andujar in three sets. The British No. 1 had a tough first-round encounter against Jaume Munar. World No. 12 lost two out of the first three sets but finally managed to defeat the Spaniard 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2. In the third match of Norrie’s campaign, he tamed Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to progress to the round of 16.
Tommy Paul’s best result at a Grand Slam this year has been reaching round two of the Australian Open. However, he has been in perfect form at Wimbledon. This is his best performance at a Grand Slam in singles competition. Paul is yet to lose a set in Wimbledon this year. He defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in the first round. In his second match of the tournament, he did not give his opponent Adrian Mannarino a sniff as the American won6-2, 6-4, 6-1. His dream run continued in the third round as he ousted Jiri Vesely.
Head to Head: 2-1 to Cameron Norrie.
Prediction: Cameron Norrie to win in four sets.
David Goffin versus Frances Tiafoe
2022 Grand Prix Hassan II champion David Goffin has progressed to the quarterfinal stage of Wimbledon on only one occasion previously She made it to the top 8 of Wimbledon back in 2019. Goffin defeated Radu Albot in the first round. After the round one victory, Goffin faced Sebastian Baez in round two. The Belgian won 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Goffin had to go past Ugo Humbert in the third round to punch his ticket to the Round of 16.
Frances Tiafoe has been impressive in this year’s tournament. He defeated Andrea Vavassori in the first round in three sets – 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. In round two, Tiafoe got the better of Maximilian Marterer 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). The Americans faced a tough challenge in round three. He had to beat Alexander Bublik to progress to round four. Tiafoe managed to do so after losing the first set in a lopsided manner. Tiafoe eventually, won the match 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Head to head: 4-1 to David Goffin.
Prediction: David Goffin to win in four sets.
Jannik Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz
n round one, Jannik Sinner got the better of three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In the second round, the 20-year-old Sinner defeated the Swedish star Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 with an impressive first-serve percentage of 80. Sinner overcame as many as 24 aces to knock out the 20th seed, John Isner to win in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
The Spaniard had to fight hard to win his first-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff in a five-set affair. The match ended 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in favor of the youngster. In round two, Alcaraz won with ease against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-6 (7-0), 6-3. The man who has won four titles already in 2022 progressed to the fourth round after blowing away the experienced Oscar Otte 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
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