Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the 16th time in his career, following his victory over Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.
With Roger Federer watching on in the royal box, Djokovic came back from a set down against de Minaur to advance to the last eight once again at the All England Club.
It marks the Serb’s 63rd appearance in a men’s singles quarter-final at Grand Slam events, which is an extension of his own record.
De Minaur’s defeat to Djokovic will hurt, having started the match so well, but ultimately, the 24-time Grand Slam champion was too good for the world number 11.
Following the clash, the Australian spoke of his Wimbledon conqueror and explained why he is so difficult to beat.
Alex de Minaur explains what makes Novak Djokovic difficult to beat
In his post-match press conference, when asked what makes Djokovic so difficult to beat, de Minaur said: “I think it’s probably a combination of his returning and serving.
“I think today, when he needed it he really raised his serving and it felt like he was breezing through games and I wasn’t even getting looks at second serves any more.
“Then you have all the other aspects of his game. But his serving and returning are probably the biggest ones.”
- Break points won:
- Djokovic: 6/13
- De Minaur: 6/19
On the second set, he said: “That first game in the second set, I thought I got extremely unlucky to get broken. There were a couple of shots which went his way, and then all of a sudden, I am looking at being a break down without really doing anything wrong.
“That is the start of the momentum shift, even though the second set was still tight. It was in the bigger moments today, my level dipped, and I didn’t rise up to the occasion as I needed to if I wanted to beat someone as good as him.”
Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent at Wimbledon
In his continuing pursuit of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic will play Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-final.
He has played Cobolli just once before, at the Shanghai Masters 1000 event in 2024, where he came out on top in straight sets.
The Italian made his first Grand Slam quarter-final after knocking out former US Open champion Marin Cilic.
He’ll now play the biggest match of his life against Djokovic at Wimbledon, for the chance to reach the semi-finals in South West London.
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