Novak Djokovic vs Alex de Minaur Prediction, Pick, Odds for Wimbledon Round of 16

Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur square off in the Wimbledon Round of 16 on Monday, July 7. The match will tentatively start at 8:30 a.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Find my Wimbledon preview and Djokovic vs de Minaur prediction for Monday below.

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Novak Djokovic vs Alex de Minaur Prediction

• Djokovic vs de Minaur Pick: de Minaur +6.5 Games (-125)

My Djokovic vs de Minaur best bet is on de Minaur to cover the spread (+6.5). Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live Wimbledon odds page.

Djokovic vs de Minaur Odds

Kenny Ducey's Djokovic vs de Minaur Preview, Prediction

Novak Djokovic Betting Preview

It's not exactly unusual for a player to enter Wimbledon without any matches on grass given the nature of the tennis schedule, and it's certainly not unusual for an experienced, top player like Novak Djokovic to do so.

Well, it didn't stop the masses from casting doubt upon the seven-time Wimbledon champion — and right now they're all eating crow.

The Serb has been masterful at the championships, dropping just one set in his first-round encounter with Alexandre Muller, and while he's come through two unseeded opponents in a row there's nothing easy about navigating a match against Dan Evans on grass, in his home country, and dismantling the powerful Miomir Kecmanovic.

This is a friendlier environment for Djokovic than Roland Garros, where the 38-year-old was made to play a bundle of physical matches on the clay.

Here, he's able to tap into his all-world anticipation and defense on a surface that rewards those qualities, and his forehand — which has helped him stick around atop the rankings into his twilight years — is popping.

Djokovic has also been serving exceptionally well, putting on a clinic against Kecmanovic, where he served 71% and won 82% of points behind his first serve. He also brought about 10 break chances, converting six, and won nearly 50% of his return points.

Put simply, the greatest of all time still looks damn good.

Alex de Minaur Betting Preview

Alex de Minaur rose into the top 10 for the first time early last year, a milestone he achieved by defeating Djokovic in his home country of Australia at the United Cup. After losing an incredibly tight 7-5, 6-4 match to Djokovic in Monte Carlo later that year, many were waiting in great anticipation to see the Aussie take on Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon quarters.

Well, de Minaur wound up tweaking his hip on the very last point of his fourth-round win, and was forced to withdraw. Now, a year later, we'll finally get to see these two match up on Center Court.

De Minaur does a lot of what Djokovic is able to do on a grass court, only better. He's arguably the fastest man on tour, and he's able to both create and withstand very long rallies, which often times draws errors out of his opponent.

Djokovic did overcome a very similar type of player in Evans, but the Brit is only a year younger than the Serb and won't be able to compete with the level the 26-year-old is able to put forth on Monday.

The World No. 11 has been able to make it to this point with just one set lost — against the big-serving Arthur Cazaux, but has been able to gain some valuable experience against some pesky baseliners in his other matches.

He's been very underrated behind his first serve as well, winning 85% of points in the third round, and while he served just 56%, that's actually a feather in his cap — because it indicates he's got a far greater gear he can kick into.

Djokovic vs de Minaur Predictions, Betting Analysis

This is going to be a very uncomfortable match for Djokovic, who, up until this point, has been able to win clean against familiar competition.

While de Minaur is a familiar foe, he's one who has played the World No. 6 quite closely in the past, and this will be present on both players' minds.

Since there's very little reliance on the serve of de Minaur, I don't put much weight into the excellent return of Djokovic at this tournament. In fact, I'm much more fixated on the return of de Minaur, which should do well to counteract some of Djokovic's strengths here — and I also think he should neutralize the flattened-out Djokovic forehand with his court coverage.

De Minaur has been a consistently-great player in the last year and a half when he hasn't been playing on clay, and playing injured. Now that he's fit and on arguably his strongest surface — where he's now 11-2 across all competitions in the last two years — I'll back him to give Djokovic another run for his money.

Pick: de Minaur +6.5 Games (-125)