Novak Djokovic vs. Michael Llodra – Fourth Round Preview: Wimbledon Championships 2011
Race to glory enters its last stages at the Wimbledon Championships, with the world number two, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, taking on the 35th ranked Frenchman, Michael Llodra, in the fourth round of the mega event.
The contest will be held on the Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, on Monday, with the winner getting a berth in the quarter-finals of the third Grand Slam tournament of
the year.
The second seed Serb has been in the prime form of his career this year, as he had a 41-match unbeaten streak, which came to an end at the hands of Roger Federer in the semi-final of the French Open. The 24-year-old took down Marcos
Baghdatis of Cyprus, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round encounter to reach the final 16 of the tournament.
Seeded 19th in the tournament, Llodra has been in his finest form throughout the Wimbledon Championships and has registered comprehensive victories in the opening rounds to meet Djokovic in the fourth round. He blew
away Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, in the third round to qualify for the round of 16.
Llodra’s win-loss record in the running ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season is levelled at 11-11, showing the ordinary form of the Frenchman. All of his initial round matches have been against the unseeded players,
whom he ousted without any real trouble to reach this far in the tournament. His Monday afternoon’s encounter against Djokovic will be the ultimate test for him and the French needs to come up with something extraordinary to take down the in-form world number
two player.
Both of these men have faced each other on three prior occasions, with the Serb winning on two and Llodra victorious on one occurrence. The last meeting between these two was held earlier this year in Dubai, where Djokovic annihilated
the French in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, in the round of 32 of the tournament and then went on to win the championship title.
The second seed Djokovic has already won seven ATP singles championships this year, which also include the First Grand Slam tournament of the season, the Australian Open. His blistering form earned him victories in 44 out of 45
matches he played in the running season and it makes him the hot favourite for winning the Wimbledon title this time as well.
The Serb has reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon on two prior occasions, including the last year, when he was defeated by the world number seven, Tomas Berdych in straight sets. Djokovic is a more accomplished and in-form player
than he was last year and it is anticipated by most of the tennis followers that it is the perfect time for the Serbian to bag the Wimbledon Championships title.
Djokovic is certainly the hot favourite for the contest against Llodra, who merely stands a chance against the belligerent Serb. However, the game of tennis is very unpredictable and the French underdog might come up with a huge
surprise for the tennis fans on Monday.
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