Olympics 2021: Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic (Ser) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Esp)

Date: 28 July 2021

Tournament: Tokyo Olympics 2020

Round: Third round (Round of 16)

Venue: Ariake Tennis Park, Tokyo, Japan

Category: Olympic Games

Surface: Outdoor hard

Live telecast: USA - NBC & Peacock TV | UK - BBC TV | India - SonyLiv

Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina preview

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

World No. 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic has cruised into the third round of the Tokyo Olympics without much trouble. After thrashing Hugo Dellien in the first round, Djokovic got past Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round on Monday.

Struff played some great attacking tennis but Djokovic was able to counter it with ease, switching between defense and offense at will. The Serb made just four unforced errors throughout the match and served 14 aces as well.

He will now take on Spain's Alejandro Davidovic Fokina in the third round. Davidovich Fokina defeated Australia's John Millman in a thrilling three-set encounter earlier on Monday, winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

The 22-year-old had has a breakthrough season in 2021, with some particularly strong runs during the claycourt swing. He reached the quarterfinals at both Roland Garros and the Monte-Carlo Masters, losing to Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas respectively.

The Spaniard was rewarded for those performances with a career-high ranking of No. 34 earlier this month. But in order to stop Djokovic, Davidovich Fokina will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat and play better than he ever has.

Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina head-to-head

Novak Djokovic and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina have faced off against each just once before, at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome earlier this year. Djokovic won that match quite easily, dropping just three games, and thus leads the head-to-head 1-0.

Novak Djokovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

prediction

Novak Djokovic looks like a man on a mission right now; it seems almost impossible to stop him at the moment. He has been clinical in both of his matches in Tokyo so far, with the serve in particular looking very strong.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on his part is a talented shot-maker who is widely expected to achieve great things in the future. But his favorite surface is clay, and his strongest weapon - the drop shot - is not something that is likely to trouble Djokovic too much.

All things considered, we can expect this to be a routine affair for the World No. 1.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.