Tennis royalty was watching on as Novak Djokovic booked his place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer returned to Centre Court on Monday, getting in on the action.
He watched on as Djokovic defeated Alex de Minaur in four sets 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in a competitive last-16 clash.
Afterwards, Djokovic and Federer exchanged words, as the Serb revealed his former rival had congratulated him on a ‘great match’.
One ATP star believes things may not be as friendly as they seem, as he claims Djokovic tried to make Federer ‘jealous’ during his fourth-round win.
Nick Kyrgios thinks Novak Djokovic tried to make Roger Federer ‘jealous’ that he can still compete at Slams
Appearing as a guest on ‘White and Jordan live on TalkSport’, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios gave his verdict on Djokovic’s latest win.
“I just think that [Novak] Djokovic is that type of personality, and this is why I love him so much,” he said.
“He would probably see Roger [Federer] there and think I am going to try and play some of my best tennis in front of Roger to make him feel jealous that I’m still here competing for Grand Slams.
“I genuinely think he has that mindset that he wanted to show Roger that he is the greatest of all time. That’s genuinely what I think he was trying to do yesterday.
“To beat Alex de Minaur pretty simply in the last couple of sets is not easy. I think Djokovic is the GOAT. There is no other way to put it.”
Kyrgios continued to praise Djokovic for his ‘ridiculous’ performance against his fellow Aussie.
“Djokovic is just ridiculous. Can we just talk about how this guy just keeps defeating Father Time?” he asked.
“He is playing guys that are in their absolute prime. 26 or 27-year-olds who physically are amazing, and yesterday he was 4-1 down with break points in the fourth set.
“In 15 minutes, he had turned that around, and the match is finished, and he’s in the locker room.”
With an impressive fourth-round win in the bag, Kyrgios rated Djokovic’s Wimbledon chances.
“Djokovic is surprising me and surprising everyone. I think he is motivated by the fact that he has kind of been forgotten about at this tournament,” he said.
“Everyone is like, is anybody able to beat [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner? It’s like, hey, what about the greatest of all time? I am still here and easing through the draw, really.
“I think he believes. I have not seen him this comfortable on court for the last couple of years at Wimbledon.
“Yes, he made the final last year, but he didn’t really look comfortable, and now he looks really good.”
Looking to qualify for his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final, Djokovic will resume his campaign against Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 9.
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Kyrgios believes Djokovic was trying to make Federer jealous during his latest win, and the pair could return to the headlines on Sunday.
If Djokovic were to win the Wimbledon title, he’d go level with Federer on eight wins, the most of any player in tournament history.
| Rank | Name | Wimbledon titles | Years won |
| 1 | Roger Federer | 8 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017 |
| T-2 | Novak Djokovic | 7 | 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 |
| T-2 | Pete Sampras | 7 | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| T-2 | William Renshaw | 7 | 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889 |
| T-5 | Bjorn Borg | 5 | 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 |
| T-5 | Laurence Doherty | 5 | 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906 |
| T-7 | Rod Laver | 4 | 1961, 1962, 1968, 1969 |
| T-7 | Anthony Wilding | 4 | 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 |
| T-7 | Reginald Doherty | 4 | 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900 |
Currently tied with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras on seven wins, Djokovic would love nothing more than to equal his Swiss rival with an eighth title, taking his Grand Slam tally to 25 in the process.
He won’t want to get too far ahead of himself, however, and will first focus on his quarterfinal tie with Cobolli.
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