Ricky’s picks for Day 8 at Wimbledon, including Fritz and Djokovic

We have just about reached the business end of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, with the final quarterfinal spots to be handed out on Monday. Fourth-round competition concludes with Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz taking the court.

Here are my previews and picks for two of Monday’s best matchups.

(13) Taylor Fritz vs. (4) Alexander Zverev

Fritz is cooking on grass this summer and showing no signs of slowing down. The world No. 12 boasts a 34-12 match record in 2024, including a stellar 9-1 on the green stuff. He won Eastbourne title for the third time a week ago and has followed it up with Wimbledon wins a over Christopher O’Connell, Arthur Rinderknech, and Mallorca champion Alejandro Tabilo–all with relative ease.

Up next is Zverev, who leads the head-to-head series 5-3. Zverev took both of their previous Wimbledon encounters, but neither one was easy; he prevailed in five sets at the 2018 Championships and in a fourth-set tiebreaker three years later. Although the fourth-ranked German has not dropped a set so far this fortnight, his draw has been a favorable one and his third-set tiebreaker against Cameron Norrie went to 17-15. It’s worth noting that Zverev suffered an apparent knee tweak against Norrie, the status of which is unclear. Regardless, this is a very good opportunity for Fritz.

Pick: Fritz in 5

(15) Holger Rune vs. (2) Novak Djokovic

Djokovic and Rune will face each other for the sixth time on Monday. It’s 3-2 in Djokovic’s favor and the matchup has been every bit as competitive as that 3-2 suggests. Not once have they played a straight-set match and four of five times they have required a deciding set. On the heels of a torn medial meniscus in Paris, it has not been entirely smooth sailing for Djokovic in London. Jake Fearnley and Alexei Popyrin both pushed him to four competitive sets.

Now the 37-year-old Serb runs into an opponent who really has belief that he can pull off an upset. Rune has not been at his best in 2024, but he has played Djokovic tough in the past and he always seems to enjoy Wimbledon. The 21-year-old Dane reached the quarterfinals last summer and is back in week two following a comeback from two sets down at the expense of Quentin Halys on Saturday evening. This could be be Djokovic’s toughest test so far, but it’s hard to bet against him in in the second week of a major.

Pick: Djokovic in 5

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.