Wimbledon, London – Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic staged a gritty comeback after a shaky start to beat Alex de Minaur of Australia and secure his place in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the 16th time on Monday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion bounced back after dropping the first set, ultimately winning the match 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a battle that lasted three hours and nineteen minutes.
De Minaur, who had been in strong form throughout the tournament and had only lost one set before this clash, had to pull out of their previous meeting at Wimbledon last year due to a hip injury. He dominated the opening set this time, breaking Djokovic three times. However, he failed to capitalize on key break-point chances in the later sets, allowing Djokovic to wrest control.
Djokovic limited his unforced errors and dictated the tempo in the second and third sets. In the fourth set, he mounted a stunning comeback from 1-4 down, sealing his 101st career Wimbledon win.
“I am still trying to process the whole match and what happened on court. It wasn’t a great start for me, it was a great start for him. He broke my serve three times in the first set. Very windy, swirly conditions on the court. He was just managing better with the play from the back of the court. I didn’t have many solutions, but I managed to reset myself. It was kind of a tough game to close out the second set,” Djokovic said as quoted from ATP.
“Perhaps that was a momentum shift where I just felt like ‘OK, I am back in the game’. It was a lot of cat-and-mouse play, a lot of slices, and he is so good at it. He is one of the quickest players we have on the Tour, and on grass where the ball bounces so low, it is extremely difficult to play someone like him if you are not feeling the ball really well. He exposes all your weaknesses, and I was pleased to hang in there in the right moments,” the Serbian added.
Now just three wins away from a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic is also eyeing his eighth Wimbledon crown, which would tie him with Roger Federer for most titles at the All England Club.
“It was a very difficult encounter, some very challenging moments for me. Sometimes, I wish I had a serve and volley and a nice touch from the gentleman who is standing right there, that would help,” Djokovic said, gesturing toward a watching Roger Federer.
Djokovic will face Italian rising star Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals as he continues his pursuit of history.