The match was a dramatic affair on centre court, with Djokovic facing a determined De Minaur. The Australian, who had to withdraw from last year's Wimbledon quarter-finals due to a hip injury, got off to a dream start, winning the first set 6-1. However, Djokovic showed his class by gradually regaining control.
The turning point of the match came in the second set, when De Minaur failed to take advantage of a break at 4-5. Djokovic held on to this crucial service game, levelling the set and building momentum for the following sets. The Serb then kept his unforced errors to a minimum, constantly driving the ball to keep De Minaur moving all over the court, winning the third and fourth sets, despite being down 1-4 at one point in the final set.
Djokovic had a spectacular comeback against De Minaur (Photo: Getty).
"I'm still trying to process the whole match and what happened on the court," Djokovic said after the three-hour, 18-minute match. "It wasn't a good start for me, but it was a good start for him. De Minaur broke my serve three times in the first set. In the windy conditions on the court, he managed better with his backcourt play."
"I didn't have many solutions but I managed to reset myself. It was a tough match to finish the second set. Maybe it was a change of momentum that I just felt I could get back into the match. There were a lot of side-swings, a lot of slices and he was very good at that. De Minaur is one of the fastest tennis players, especially on grass where the ball bounces very low, it's difficult to play against someone like him if you don't feel the ball really well. He exposes all your weaknesses and I was happy to hold on in the important moments."
The win marked Djokovic's 101st win at Wimbledon, moving him closer to Roger Federer's record of 105. Eight-time champion Federer was at the Royal Box to watch his old rival in action.
Djokovic did not forget to send greetings to Federer: "This was a very difficult encounter, some very challenging moments for me. Sometimes, I wish I had a nice serve, volley and touch from the gentleman sitting right there, that would help," Djokovic said with a smile.
Djokovic is in great form at Wimbledon (Photo: Getty).
With a 25-8 record on the season, Djokovic is aiming for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. If he wins Wimbledon this year, he will equal Federer's record of eight titles at the prestigious tournament. Djokovic's next quarterfinal opponent will be Flavio Cobolli, the Italian who defeated Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
As for De Minaur, the world No. 11 showed incredible resilience and speed, but could not put enough pressure on the former world No. 1. Djokovic now leads De Minaur 3-1 in the head-to-head series.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/djokovic-lan-thu-16-vao-tu-ket-wimbledon-20250708074802457.htm
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