Wimbledon 2023: Holger Rune vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (6) Holger Rune vs (31) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Date: July 8, 2023

Tournament: Wimbledon 2023

Round: Third Round (Round of 32)

Venue: London, United Kingdom

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Grass

Prize money: £44,700,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports

Holger Rune vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina preview

Sixth seed Holger Rune faces his sternest test at this year's Wimbledon Championships when he takes on 31st seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the second week.

The sixth-ranked Rune had a straight-set win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round on Friday. He made a bright start to the contest, taking the opener for the loss of three games.

Carballes Baena provided a sterner challenge in the second set but rued squandering a break of serve as Rune clinched the set in a tiebreak. The third set was another tight affair, where the Dane once again trailed by a break, but closed out victory in straight sets.

In a dominating performance, Rune blasted 45 winners and won 33/48 net points but did commit 47 unforced errors as well. He improved to 35-12 on the season and 2-1 at Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, World No. 34 Davidovich Fokina faced a tough second-round clash against Botic van de Zandschulp. After dropping just one game in the opener, the Spaniard won two games in the second as his opponent drew parity.

The Spaniard, though, quickly regained control of proceedings, dropping seven games in the next two sets He improved to 21-16 in 2023 and 3-2 at Wimbledon, where he made the second round last year.

Holger Rune vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina head-to-head

Rune lost his lone clash with Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the Madrid Open this year. The pair will meet for the first time on grass.

Holger Rune vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (over/under)
Holger Rune	-275	-1.5 (-145)	Over 37.5 (-135)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina	+210	+1.5 (+105)	Under 37.5 (-105)

All odds are sourced from BETMGM.

Holger Rune vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina prediction

Davidovich Fokina is into the third round.

Both Rune and Davidovich Fokina are quintessentially baseliners and have pretty similar game styles: big serve, powerful hitting off either flank, and good movement.

Rune takes the edge because of his superior experience and consistency, but they have similar grasscourt pedigrees. The Dane has gone 5-4 on the surface, while Davidovich Fokina is 6-8.

However, Rune is yet to drop a set in two matches this week, while the Spaniard has dropped one. Considering the Dane's superlative consistency across surfaces in 2023, he should take a hard-fought win.

Pick: Rune in four sets

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

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Edited by Aditya Singh