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Bernard Tomic vs Novak Djokovic: 2015 Wimbledon live scores, blog

3rd July, 2015
Start: 12:00 AM AEST
Venue: Centre Court
Last meeting: Indian Wells 2015. Djokovic in WO
Head to Head: 3 Played. Djokovic 3, Tomic 0.
Betting: Djokovic $1.02, Tomic $24.75
The true champions of men's tennis prove it over five sets. (AFP PHOTO / CARL COURT)
Roar Guru
3rd July, 2015
29
1575 Reads

Bernard Tomic continues his Wimbledon campaign tonight to play the top seed, the world number one and the toughest challenger in tennis; Novak Djokovic. Centre Court will host a cracking round three encounter between the Serb and the Aussie at midnight and be sure to join The Roar for all the action with live scores and commentary.

The last time these two players met at Wimbledon was in the quarter finals in 2011, where Tomic pushed Djokovic to four sets before the world number one progressed to win the title. Since then Djokovic has remained a constant and relentless force in men’s tennis while Bernard has struggled for both fitness and consistency.

However, tonight is a new match and a new challenge for the world number one. Tomic struggled through his opening match of the tournament in a grinding five set victory that was hardly convincing or impressive. Yet despite this, his second round performance against Herbert showed both class and composure in a straight sets performance demonstrating his charisma and diversity as a player.

Through the first two rounds Novak Djokovic has barely raised a sweat. His opening round victory was a cruise and likewise was his performance against the outgoing Jarkko Nieminen who defeated Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt.

This is the biggest challenge in tennis for any player yet if Bernard can do the following factors; he may be a chance to push the world number one.

Tactics for Tomic
Djokovic plays a very solid baseline game. His depth of shot is exquisite and likewise is his placement. Consequently baseline rallies will be difficult for the Aussie to win and hence he must try and shorten the points as much as he can. Tomic’s game is to use variety and to play slightly unorthodoxly, however Djokovic will dominate him if he engages in long and physically demanding rallies.

The first serve percentage for Tomic is critical for his success in this match. Bernard uses great variety on the first serve, with an ability to hit flat down the ‘T’ and slide the ball away from his opponent on the deuce court. Variety in his serve will therefore be crucial to holding his service games.

In terms of groundstrokes, the Australian possesses a very good backhand return when he steps into the ball from the return. He can generate rapid power from a short backswing and from using the pace of the serve. Therefore Tomic needs to be aggressive on the second serve, particularly using his backhand to generate pace and landing the first solid strike in points.

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Finally, Tomic’s backhand slice is another shot that will be essential for him in this match. Bernard can play a very good slice with depth and precision, which can change the pace of the rally and gather him time to regroup during the point. This shot against Novak could be particularly important to Djokovic’s forehand which can be erratic and insecure when exposed to large changes of pace.

Prediction:
This will be an extremely tough match for the Aussie, yet there’s a strong chance he can at least put up a great fight against the world number one.

Let’s hope he can take some comfort from Kyrgios last year, who beat Rafa when he was the top seed.

I think Novak will win in three, but they should be tight sets if Tomic brings his game. Join us onThe Roar for live scores from midnight (AEST).

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