Wimbledon, Round of 16, Monday, 07.07.2025, 6:00 p.m.
Are we in for an eternal duel in the coming years? If all matches end like the most recent one at the French Open, all tennis fans would probably be happy with that! Jannik Sinner, the world number 1, wants to turn the tables at Wimbledon.
He is considered the absolute favorite (along with Carlos Alcaraz, of course) and has not shown any weaknesses so far. Will that change in the round of 16? I don’t think so! In my Sinner Dimitrov tip, I’ll tell you why I’m betting on a relatively clear outcome.
Have the tears dried? Jannik Sinner had his work cut out for him digesting the French Open final. Despite a 2-0 lead, he ultimately lost to Carlos Alcaraz, with both players treating the spectators to a gigantic match.
The South Tyrolean showed up in Halle to prepare for Wimbledon, but his performances here were not particularly successful. He was already eliminated in the round of 16 by Alexander Bublik.
The 23-year-old has shown in the days leading up to Wimbledon that this defeat has not thrown him off track. He has already completed three rounds here, and when I look for mistakes, I am almost at a loss.
Sinner started with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win over his compatriot Luca Nardi, not giving his opponent a single chance to break. A little later, against Aleksandar Vukic, the world number one won 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 – again, his opponent didn’t manage a single break.
Pedro Martinez was not expected to be a stumbling block in the third round. 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 – I probably don’t even need to mention that his opponent didn’t manage a single break.
Sinner doesn’t even have to push himself to his limits; winning around 75% of points on his first serve is enough for him to get through his service games flawlessly. This makes it all the more difficult to judge how he will perform against stronger opponents.
Grigor Dimitrov, currently ranked 21, definitely falls into this category. The two have met five times so far. The Bulgarian won their first duel in 2020, but Sinner has won every match since.
Interesting: On Monday, we will see the first match on grass. Having lost only one set in his last four matches, the Italian has shown that he will be very difficult to beat.
Unsurprisingly, the odds offered by our betting providers are also low. The average odds are 1.02, with even a set win for the underdog paying 2.40 at Betano.
Dimitrov knows, of course, that a victory against the world number one would be a huge surprise. The 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist enjoys playing on grass, but last year he was forced to retire injured in the round of 16 here in London against Daniil Medvedev.
The 34-year-old started the current tournament with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Yoshihito Nishioka, but the following 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 defeat to Corentin Moutet was a completely different story.
Finally, he faced the surprisingly strong Sebastian Ofner. Admittedly, I had bet on at least four sets here, but I was wrong and took my hat off to Dimitrov after the match.
6-3, 6-4, 7-6, keeping a cool head in tight situations, allowing only one break to his opponent – that was strong. Dimitrov didn’t even manage to do everything right, as he had already made seven double faults against Moutet.
In addition, only just over half of his first serves made it over the net. Before Wimbledon started, no one really knew what kind of shape he was in.
At the French Open, he ended his first round against Ethan Quinn prematurely and withdrew from Halle shortly afterwards. He traveled to London without any preparation on grass, but that doesn’t seem to have hurt him.
My Sinner Dimitrov tip
Will Jannik Sinner drop a set or march through to the final like he did in Paris? The world number 1 still looks incredibly confident, but his first three opponents weren’t too challenging.
Grigor Dimitrov had no answer to Sinner last time out, but he is showing his strength in London. Ultimately, I can’t bring myself to predict an upset here and am once again putting my faith in the favorite. That means my prediction is:
We’ll see only three sets!
