Novak Djokovic vs. Feliciano Lopez

Feliciano Lopez has been playing some of the best tennis of his career over the past 18 months.  He posted a great grass court campaign in 2014.  He has posted wins over the greatest Spaniard ever Rafael Nadal.  Does he have a chance to beat the world #1?

For Lopez to win, he’d need to first serve at a sunlime level and handle tough returns and passing shots well.  Novak Djokovic’s return game is Lopez’ biggest obstacle. Lopez cannot win by out rallying Nole.  Novak will have to take care of his own serve, but I think the long and short of this match is that Novak will break Lopez’ serve often enough to win in straight sets.

My prediction: Novak Djokovic d. Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-3, 6-2