Wimbledon, July 8 (IANS): Novak Djokovic ahead taking on Holger Rune in the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon on Monday at centre court suggested that there may be a "lot of fireworks on the court" in the match against a tricky Dane.
Rune has won two of the pair’s five ATP head-to-head meetings, and those two have been among the biggest victories of his young career. Djokovic is set to compete in the second week at Wimbledon for the 16th time, meanwhile this is just Rune’s 12th major.
"When it comes to playing on the court and competing, obviously we both have that fire,” Djokovic said. “I'm sure that on Monday we'll see a lot of fireworks on the court. He's a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he's a very, very tricky opponent. It's going to take my best tennis to win," said Djokovic in the pre-match conference.
The Serbian’s hunt for the record tying eighth Wimbledon trophy lives on as aims to tie Roger Federer for most Wimbledon titles in men’s singles. The 37-year old won the coveted Grand Slam consecutively in 2021 and 2022 but lost the final of the 2023 to young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
"Rune's a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he's a very, very tricky opponent. It's going to take my best tennis to win. I actually get along very well with [Rune]. He's a very nice guy, always has been to me and to my team, and vice versa.I always try to be available to him for any practice or advice or guidance or anything like that," added Djokovic.
The 21-year old rising sensation Rune defeated South Korea’s Kwon Soon-Woo 3-0 in the first round and defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 3-1 before facing a tough matchup against French Quentin Halys, a battle in which he fought back from 2-0 down and went on to win 3-2 to set up the duel against the ‘Joker.’
Rune owns the seventh-best winning percentage against the Top 10 (45.5%) among active players, trailing only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, according to ATP stats.
"I'm expecting a tough battle. I think that's always how it's going to be when you play Novak. He's one of the toughest competitors of all time and one of the most successful players, so I'm expecting nothing but a great level from him," said Rune.