Wimbledon Monday Tips: Djokovic to stay on course on Day 8

• Djokovic looking dangerous and can progress in simple fashion

• Back this 11/102.11 Samsonova Bet Builder

• Shelton faces Sonego for third straight slam!

Round four is typically when the cream rises to the top in tennis Grand Slams. Players enjoying dream runs are usually put in their place, and the class acts will hammer it out in the final eight.

Novak Djokovic has made it to that stage of Wimbledon in all but one of his past 15 attempts, and looks in fine form ahead of his clash with the hard working but comparatively limited Alex De Minaur.

He looks likely to be joined by Ben Shelton, who has somehow drawn Lorenzo Sonego for the third consecutive major. I also think the quickly improving Flavio Cobolli looks a good bet to make a first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Meanwhile, I expect strong grass court specialist Liudmila Samsonova to make her major debut in the business end of a Grand Slam, and suggest a Bet Builder to capitalise on her good form.

Djokovic too classy for Demon

"I felt as if we were in 2011 or 2015," was the verdict of Miomir Kecmanovic after he was blown away by an impressive Novak Djokovic for the loss of only seven games on Saturday.

The seven time champion is looking in fine form, and is on a collision course with Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals. If Djokovic keeps producing this level, it is not unrealistic that he can cause the Italian some trouble on what is clearly the surface where he is playing his best stuff at the ripe old age of 38.

However, that's for another day. First, Djokovic will need to navigate his way past Alex De Minaur who returns to the Wimbledon fourth round for the third time in his career. Unfortunately, the hyper reliable Australian is usually found out when he runs into an elite player around this stage.

De Minaur is a consistent player that can run all day around the baseline and try and counter-punch his way past opponents. With that strategy he has become a staple of the top 10, but he lacks the X-factor that can elevate him beyond the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam.

Djokovic looks a bad match-up for De Minaur. His game is precise, controlled and varied. It is difficult to imagine how De Minaur disrupts Djokovic's rhythm unless the Serbian has a significant dip from his recent performance levels.

There is some meat on the bones of the Djokovic match odds price, with the market trusting him less than in his heyday, but using the Betfair Bet Builder it can be boosted further by pairing the win with Djokovic winning under 19.5 games to secure victory at 13/102.30.

Of course De Minaur is capable of dragging a set out of Djokovic if he can rock the Serbian off course, but 13/102.30 is a good proposition on Djokovic getting the win comfortably.

Samsonova steamroller

A player flying completely under the radar is Liudmila Samsonova, who has yet to concede more than three games in any set of her matches at Wimbledon so far.

Tougher challenges may lie ahead, but for now the Russian is cutting through her opponents like a knife through butter. A repeat performance in her next match should see her throw Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to the wayside too.

The Spanish player is improving with experience, and makes the most of the game that she has. She deserves respect for maximising results while lacking a big weapon or potent serve. 

However, that lack of firepower will come under investigation against the in-form Samsonova who certainly is not lacking in point deciding shots.

I expect Samsonova's flawless run to continue here as it is difficult to identify what her opponent has in her game to disrupt the Russian's game. 

Samsonova to win the match and under 12.5 games is a touch over 11/102.11 and is clear value in current form.

Cobolli can cull Cilic

There has been an overreaction to the form shown by veteran major champion Marin Cilic.

The Croatian impressively downed Britian's Jack Draper, but it is hard to imagine a top player producing a less tactically astute effort than the fourth seed did that day.

Draper is at his best when energetically rallying and grinding from the baseline, and it is clear that grass courts are not the best fit for his game. However, he compounded that handicap by continually looping his lefty forehand to Cilic's best shot - the powerful double handed backhand.

It was evident from quite early on in that match that it was Cilic's match to decide if Draper continued employing this self-defeating tactic. Credit however to Cilic for doing the business.

Cilic backed up the Draper win with a comfortable four set victory over Jaume Munar, who enjoyed a better than expected run but was never a realistic opponent to get the better of the buoyant Croatian.

Monday's opponent Flavio Cobolli should have more about him, and looks value at his current odds against price.

Cobolli has been very impressive in his recent matches, including a straight sets humbling of wonderkid Jakub Mensik. The Italian has a good head on his shoulders, and is benefiting from the tactical wisdom of his father, who is also his coach, and has talked about their strategic approach to each opponent he has faced so far.

For his results at this event, Cobolli will enter the world's top 20 for the first time in his career. He is playing at a consistently higher level than Cilic and appears underrated by odds compilers.

At 2.0811/10 on the Betfair Exchange the value is clearly on Cobolli.

So, we meet again

It is groundhog day for regular readers of this column as for the third consecutive Grand Slam, Ben Shelton has been drawn against Lorenzo Sonego.

The American has won both previous encounters - doing so in a close four sets in Melbourne, before downing the Italian in five at Roland Garros.

Shelton is rightly favourite to win this one too, and at 1.341/3 is priced similarly to when they met in Melbourne. That feels a fair and reasonable valuation given what we have learned about their previous matches.

However, although we know that Shelton's extra power and elite mentality in pressure moments is likely to carry him to the victory, we also know that Sonego is not going to be too far behind.

There is no good reason why this match should play out any different. Shelton previewed the match by saying, "It's only fitting that we play here in Wimbledon. It'll be a tough one. He's playing great and the grass is a good surface for him. Big serve, big forehand, high energy. It'll be difficult but I like my chances right now and the way that I'm playing."

Shelton to win and both players to win a set 11/102.11 was a pick that landed for us when they met in Australia, and there's a good chance it happens again in England.

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