Tennis
2026-06-29 - Yibing Wu vs Novak Djokovic
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : Wimbledon First Round
Monday 29th June 2026 - Scheduled 6pm (British Time)
Preview
With the main ambition to secure a 25th Grand Slam title keeping him on the Tour, the other events around the Grand Slams are beginning to see less and less of the legendary Novak Djokovic.
After a relatively early exit at the French Open, Novak Djokovic will begin his bid for an eighth Wimbledon title, which would see him match the total Roger Federer secured at this event.
There is still something left in the tank as Novak Djokovic showed when reaching the Australian Open Final in January, while he has long suggested he still believes he can win a Grand Slam as long as he is not in a position of having to beat both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the space of a few days.
There is no Alcaraz at this tournament, but the World Number 1 is a potential Semi Final opponent, although Novak Djokovic will not be thinking of anything other than making sure he reaches that stage in his own right.
At 39 years old, every tournament becomes that much more challenging, but Novak Djokovic remains one of the top grass court players on the Tour.
He got through the opening three Rounds without breaking too much of a sweat twelve months ago and it feels key for Novak Djokovic to get through the early matches without exerting too much energy and effort.
First up for the former World Number 1 is a match against Yibing Wu who is the World Number 99 and with much less grass court experience compared with the player standing across the net.
This is going to be the tenth grass court match in Wu's career, while Novak Djokovic has won seven in a row seven times to pick up Wimbledon titles, and that edge in experience could show up on Centre Court.
Yibing Wu has a 1-3 record on the grass in 2026, but the concern is that all of those matches have been against players Ranked outside of the top 100.
He has only been able to hold 76% of service games in those matches and Novak Djokovic is still capable of breezing past opponents that have to deal with the legendary status around the Serb, as well as the quality he can still produce on the court.
Injuries have perhaps played a part in the Novak Djokovic performances since the Australian Open Final, and he is just 4-3 on the Tour since that defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. However, two of those wins were at the French Open and Novak Djokovic can make a strong start to his latest bid for another Grand Slam title and that includes covering this potentially awkward handicap line.
Novak Djokovic may start a little slowly, but he should have enough Break Point chances to find the breaks needed to cover the line and he can be backed to do that.
Prediction
The former seven time Wimbledon Champion is not the player he once was, but Novak Djokovic's experience on the grass is going to be really important.
He has not been in great form since the Australian Open as the 39 year old slows down his activity on the Tour, but Novak Djokovic has reserved his best for Grand Slam events and can force his way past this handicap on the way to the Second Round.
The Pick :
Yibing Wu 0-3 Novak Djokovic
