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Novak Djokovic takes on the surprising package of Richard Gasquet in the Wimbledon semifinals.
Djokovic did well to bounce back after that 5 setter against Anderson and dismantled Cilic in a solid 6-4 6-4 6-4 win, taking his chances on the return and staying extremely solid on serve, not allowing a single break point. It was a really mature performance from Novak and, while he may not look unbeatable at the current time, he`s in great form, playing close to his best level of tennis.
Gasquet started the tournament with 3 straight sets wins, playing particularly solid and started off fantastic against Kyrgios, before suddenly collapsing and getting a big time escape to win that match in 4 sets – a match that seemed to become Kyrgios for the taking. Richard recovered very well after that drop in level though, and played a fantastic quarterfinal against Wawrinka, winning 11-9 in the decider.
It was a great match, but actually not THAT great – it was the kind of game where the highlights looked stellar with those one handed backhands, but nobody is talking about the unforced errors – Wawrinka made 48 (!!) of them and the feeling is that he didn`t quite play his best tennis aside from short, isolated spans of time. He gifted Gasquet the final break with 4 errors, 3 of them unforced – as well as the 4th set, with a double fault.
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Djokovic leads the Head 2 Head 12-1, winning the last 9 meetings. An even bigger problem for Gasquet is that the vast majority of meetings were totally one sided (Nole leads 25-5 in sets and 9 of his 12 wins were in straight sets). If we include an exhibition two weeks ago, which was also their only meeting on grass, the score becomes 13-1. The Frenchman is obviously struggling big time to cope with Djokovic’s playing style and it will take something truly special today in order for this trend to be even challenged, let alone broken.
Richard is obviously playing some of his best tennis right now, but I don`t see him challenging a master baseliner like Djokovic. Richard showed plenty of weaknesses against Kyrgios and against Stan – also, the Head 2 Head speaks volumes, with Djokovic knowing exactly how to play Richard. Fitness could also become a factor after Richard played that thriller 2 days ago.
Look for Gasquet to give it his all, he`ll probably start strong, but once Djokovic starts picking his game appart, it will be downhill for the Frenchman, who will lose confidence, will struggle to find solutions and will eventually tire as well – both physically and mentally. Flashes of brilliance, even sustained for more games at once, won`t be nearly enough against Nole.
The game handicap line is huge for a Grand Slam semifinal (7,5 games) and that`s also the case for the under / over line, so I reckon the safest bet is Djokovic to win 3-0 – and that is my tip here. Prediction: Novak Djokovic – Richard Gasquet 7-5 6-4 6-2.
Wimbledon 2015 live streaming for all matches available for players at Bet365.com.
Pick: Djokovic -2,5 sets hc.
Odds: 1.65 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.20
Event date: 10 July
