Novak Djokovic has made his 16th Wimbledon quarter-final, following his victory over Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.
Djokovic suffered an early scare in the match with de Minaur, but fought his way back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The Serb, in pursuit of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, will face Flavio Cobolli in his next match at the championships.
Following his triumph over the Australian at Wimbledon, Djokovic, who looked to have been struggling in between breaks, gave Centre Court an update on his fitness.
Novak Djokovic gives an injury update after his fourth-round win
In his on-court interview, Djokovic said of the contest: “I don’t know, to be honest. I am still trying to process the whole match and what happened on the court.
“It was not a great start for me and it was a great start for him. He broke my serve three times in the first set. Very windy conditions on the court, he was just managing better the play from the back of the court. I did not have many solutions to be honest.
“I kind of reset myself in the second, which was a tough game to close out the second set. That was maybe a momentum shift where I felt like I was back in the game.
“There was a lot of cat and mouse play, a lot of slices, and he’s so good at it. He is one of the quickest if not the quickest player we have on tour, and on the 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, so I was just very pleased to hang tough in the right moments and win this one.”
On his stomach issues, he confirmed: “It was all good. I was just trying to manage the breathing. After 30-plus shots rallies from the back of the court, you need a breather, and you don’t have much time.”
Novak Djokovic extends his own Grand Slam record at Wimbledon
With his win over de Minaur, Djokovic has reached a 63rd men’s singles quarter-final at major events, extending his own record for the most of any player in the open era.
He has also now claimed his 29th top 20 win at the All England Club, which, since 1973, ranks second, trailing only Roger Federer.
He will now face a man he has only played once before in the form of Cobolli, who knocked out Marin Cilic in round four to advance to the last eight.
Djokovic beat Cobolli at the Shanghai Masters 1000 event in 2024, emerging victorious in straight sets.
They’ll now meet for the first time on grass, for a place in the semi-final of Wimbledon.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
