We'll finish up the third round of Wimbledon from the All England Club on Saturday, and it'll feature two of the very best in the world taking the court in the late stages of the slate.
With some questions about those two, I'll be looking to fade each of those names with trendy underdogs who just need to win one set to deliver us a win.
Here are my Wimbledon predictions for Norrie – Zverevand Popyrin – Djokovic.
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Wimbledon Odds & Wimbledon Predictions
Cameron Norrie (+500) vs. Alexander Zverev (-700)
8:30 a.m. ET
The 2024 season hasn't been too kind to Cameron Norrie, who's fallen outside of the world's top 40, but it did start off in promising fashion with a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
It was there that Norrie fumbled away a golden chance to knock off Alexander Zverev at the ATP level for the first time in his career, falling in a deciding tiebreak to the eventual semifinalist. After a trying six months, it would appear that Norrie's in position to once again push the World No. 4.
At 6-foot-6, you'd assume Zverev — with his massive serve — would be a constant favorite on the grass courts. Yet he's never advanced past the fourth round of Wimbledon in seven appearances and around some wins in his home tournament in Halle he's struggled for form on the surface.
Zverev's height makes it difficult to handle the low balls you tend to face on grass, and Norrie's flat backhand should mean he's dealing with plenty throughout Saturday's encounter. He's used the shot to great success through two rounds here as well, taking out a very feisty opponent in Facundo Diaz Acosta before stunning British No. 1 Jack Draper in the second round.
Norrie may have entered this tournament in poor form, but the former Wimbledon semifinalist seems to be finding it here this week. We know he's a very capable player, making the top 10 just a few of years ago, and I think he'll take one set in this match at the very least.
Pick: Norrie +2.5 Sets (-140 via DraftKings)
Alexei Popyrin (+500) vs. Novak Djokovic (-750)
12:30 p.m. ET
We move from one Australian Open rematch to another, with Aussie Alexei Popyrin looking to exact some revenge for his second-round loss to Novak Djokovic at this year's tournament.
It was there that Popyrin encountered an potentially-compromised Djokovic to not only take the second set, but move ahead in the third before falling in a tiebreak. The story remains the same this go around, with Djokovic just a few weeks removed from surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus.
We constantly talk about Djokovic looking vulnerable leading into Grand Slams due to minor injuries or lapses in form, but this year is surely different. Djokovic is 37 years old and just went under the knife to repair his knee, so to expect Djokovic's best this week would be irresponsible.
It wouldn't seem we've seen it through two rounds, either, considering Djokovic faced a poor test against Vit Kopriva and then dropped a set to British wild-card Jacob Fearnley. This will be his first real test of the tournament against an accomplished player who pushed him to the brink just six months ago, and as a result I'm expecting at least a set out of Popyrin.
The big hitter has played plenty on grass considering he was brought up in Australia, and after a few lackluster seasons on grass which were likely due to lackluster form in general, he looks to be playing much better this season with a 5-2 record on turf heading into Saturday's match.
Popyrin's big game should put Djokovic's knee to the ultimate test, and his relentless hitting from the baseline will mean Djokovic is scrambling around the court throughout in an attempt to even the playing field. I'm just not entirely confident that his movement is in a great place, and with that I think we'll see yet another adventure at a Grand Slam from the World No. 2.
Pick: Popyrin +2.5 Sets (-140 via DraftKings)
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