Does the Dutchman’s fairytale continue?

The wheat is slowly separating from the chaff at the most prestigious tennis tournament of the year. On Sunday, the first round of 16 will be played at Wimbledon. Of course, world number one and tournament favourite Novak Djokovic is still in the mix, but he now has a tough task ahead of him in the round of the last 16. After all, his opponent has never lost a Grand Slam match in his career…

Dutch shooting star Tim van Rijthoven has risen from the ashes like a phoenix and is currently enchanting the entire tennis world. The 25-year-old sensationally won the well-stocked preparatory tournament in s’Hertogenbosch and thus picked up a wild card for Wimbledon. In his very first Grand Slam, the blond has not shown any weakness so far and has now won eight matches in a row on grass. The fact that the odds on the world No. 104 in the Djokovic vs. van Rijthoven duel are still close to 10.00 is therefore somewhat incomprehensible.

Nevertheless, it has to be mentioned that the defending champion at Church Road is a completely different calibre. However, if the outsiders get into a temporary frenzy, which cannot be ruled out after recent impressions, they could possibly win a set. In general, it is our first approach to make a prediction between Djokovic and van Rijthoven that the final result will not be as clear-cut as the betting companies might expect in the run-up to this round of 16 match.

Novak Djokovic – Statistics & current form

A few days ago, Novak Djokovic might have been startled for a moment. The background to this were the positive tests on Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini, who previously acted as training partners for the world number one. In the meantime, there was even talk that the Serb, whose vaccination status is still the subject of discussion, would also be withdrawn from the tournament. In the meantime, however, the excitement has died down and Nole can concentrate exclusively on his sport.

On the way to his seventh Wimbledon title, the 20-time Grand Slam winner has hardly had any real stumbling blocks to clear out of the way. Only the South Korean Soon-Woo Kwon was able to take a set from the industry leader in the first main round. After that, the Djoker celebrated straight three-set victories against Kokkinakis and Kecmanovic. Especially against his compatriot, the veteran had no problems at all and only lost seven games in three rounds.

How strong is Djokovic’s form really?

The Serb has not really been challenged so far. That could change now, because compared to his opponent, Djokovic has played far fewer grass-court matches this year. The 35-year-old did not prepare on grass at all and only celebrated his season premiere in London. Nevertheless, the class of the world number one on this surface is undisputed. Six triumphs, most recently last year, underline this impressively.

Nevertheless, the right-hander’s dominance has suffered somewhat in recent weeks and months. As is well known, the French Open ended in the quarter-finals and Nole has only won one other tournament in 2022. Because the protégé of Marian Vajda and Goran Ivanisevic does not necessarily have the serve that brings him many free points, there could be some longer rallies and thus increase the probability that a bet on a set win for the Dutchman pays off in the round of 16 between Djokovic and van Rijthoven.

Tim van Rijthoven – Statistics & current form

Tim van Rijtjoven’s story is fit for a movie. Just two months ago, however, nobody had the 25-year-old Dutchman on their radar. Although the 1.88 metre tall right-hander, who plays a very clean one-handed backhand, was once considered a promising talent, numerous injuries repeatedly set the man from Roosendaal back.

Three weeks ago, van Rijthoven finally came like Phoenix from the ashes and won the preparation tournament in s’Hertogenbosch. On the way to his first tournament win on the tour he defeated among others Taylor Fritz, Hugo Gasto, Felix Auger-Aliassime and in the final Daniil Medvedev. In the course of the tournament, the Dutchman only dropped two sets and thus impressively proved that grass is by far his strongest surface.

Van Rijthoven’s phenomenal rise

As a reward for this outstanding week, the 25-year-old deservedly received a wild card for Wimbledon. And he refined this on the first days with three wins against Federico Delbonis, Reilly Opelka and Nikolz Basilashvilli. Like his opponent, the right-hander only dropped a single set and was in very strong form, especially in the third round against his Georgian opponent. In the first two rounds, van Rijtjoven hardly gave up any points on his own serve.

The Dutchman’s game is perfectly suited to the conditions on grass. His service is good, his baseline strokes have length and pace, but his slice and volleys at the net cannot be described as a weakness either. In view of this line-up, it is almost a miracle that the Dutchman is only now scratching the top 100 for the first time in his career. It is quite possible that the bookmakers still underestimate him. We don’t and recommend the odds for a games handicap in favour of the underdog in the duel Djokovic vs. van Rijthoven, who now gets to play a tennis match on the centre court of Wimbledon for the first time.

Novak Djokovic – Tim van Rijthoven Direct comparison / H2H record

Because the Dutchman, as mentioned, has never really come into his own on the tour and Novak Djokovic is known to play primarily in the major tournaments, their paths have never crossed. But the starting position is quickly explained in a clash between the world number one and the number 104.

Novak Djokovic – Tim van Rijthoven Tip

With excitement we look to the English capital on Sunday. The first round of 16 finals are on the programme. Among others, the defending champion and six-time Wimbledon champion is also challenged. Novak Djokovic will meet Tim van Rijthoven. According to the betting odds, everything points to the Serb celebrating a commanding three-set victory. But we are convinced that the shooting star from Roosendaal will sell himself dearly.

Van Rijthoven won the grass court tournament in s’Hertogenbosch, has now won eight matches in a row and is considered an absolute grass court specialist. In the tournament so far, the 25-year-old has only dropped one set. On the most unusual of all tennis surfaces, the world number 104 has no real weaknesses, but many strengths. It is quite possible that the underdog can upset the favourite.

We still think the Djoker will make it to the quarter-finals, but we’ll take a chance between Djokovic and van Rijthoven with a Games Handicap of +7.5 in favour of the Dutchman.