Novak Djokovic prepares to play his 117th match at Wimbledon, with the Serbian star set to face Arthur Rinderknech for the first time on Friday.
The seventh-seed is targeting his eighth singles title at SW19 and to take his Grand Slam tally to an incredible 25 titles.
Frenchman Rinderknech has already shown he is an improving grass court player and is looking to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.
The pair have never met before in a competitive match and this promises to be an interesting clash of styles on grass.
Arthur Rinderknech v Novak Djokovic Tips Summary
Best Bet - Novak Djokovic to win 3-1 @ 13/5
Alternative Bet - Ace Totals - Arthur Rinderknech 20+ @ 11/10
Bet Builder - Novak Djokovic to win the match, Arthur Rinderknech to win a set & either player to win the first set 6-4 @ 17/2
Arthur Rinderknech v Novak Djokovic Prediction
Best Bet: Novak Djokovic to win 3-1 @ 13/5
At the age of 39, there are many who doubt whether Djokovic can add another Grand Slam to his CV at this latter stage of his career.
There has also been some talk that this might be the Serbian’s last appearance at Wimbledon, but he seems determined to prove the doubters wrong.
With Carlos Alcaraz missing through injury, Djokovic has moved up to seventh seed but is in the same half of the draw as defending champion Jannik Sinner.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion started this year’s tournament with a four-set win over China’s Yibing Wu and Rinderknech will feel he can learn from that match.
Wu had 11 break points against Djokovic but took just one, while also hitting more winners (54 to 35) against his illustrious opponent.
Rinderknech, seeded 28th, also needed four sets to get past Britain’s Oliver Tarvet in his opener, before going on to see off American Martin Damm in round two.
Alternative Bet: Ace Totals - Arthur Rinderknech 20+ @ 11/10
Rinderknech’s key attribute is definitely his serve and that will have to be on-point to have a chance of seeing off Djokovic.
The Frenchman ranks 14th in the ATP Tour service stats, averaging 10.9 aces per match and winning 76.1% of his first-serve points this year.
In his opening clash with Tarvet, the 30-year-old served an incredible 32 aces before going on to register 20 aces in his straight-sets win over Damm.
The longer the points, the more chance Djokovic will have of grinding down his opponent, so Rinderknech’s booming serve will be significant.
Arthur Rinderknech v Novak Djokovic Bet Builder Tip
Novak Djokovic to win the match
Arthur Rinderknech to win a set
Either Player to win First Set 6-4
Pays 17/2
Djokovic’s Wimbledon stats are sensational, with the man from Belgrade having a 104-13 record on the grass-courts of SW19.
He has only served two double faults across seven sets this week and has won 70% of his first serve points so far.
Rinderknech will have taken a lot from last year’s run to the third round and in particular, his win over Alexander Zverev on Centre Court.
The Frenchman won a five-set thriller over the current French Open champion and he has shown enough in the first two rounds to show he can pose a challenge to Djokovic.
Djokovic has won the first set of his opening two matches 6-4 and 6-3, while Rinderknech won the first set of his second-round match 6-4.
Key Match Stats
Novak Djokovic has won 101 ATP Tour career titles and Arthur Rinderknech is still looking for his first.
Rinderknech has served 52 aces in his first two matches, compared to 27 from Djokovic.
The Frenchman has served eight double faults across his first and second-round matches.
Rinderknech took a set off Carlos Alcaraz at the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells back in March.
In 20 appearances at Wimbledon, Djokovic has only failed to progress past the third round on three occasions - the last time was in 2016.
A win for Rinderknech will see him reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for just the second time.
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
