Nole recovered from a slow start on Monday at Wimbledon. He was at his best when it mattered most, to win the next three sets and reach the last eight at The Championships.
Seven-time titlist Novak Djokovic faced his toughest test yet at this year’s Wimbledon, but came back from a set down to beat tricky Australian Alex de Minaur, the 11th seed, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
With the victory, Novak reached his 16th Wimbledon quarter-final and an amazing 63rd Grand Slam quarter-final overall.
From the start, tough windy conditions threw Novak off his game. He struggled with his rhythm, made a lot of unforced errors, and had problems with his serve. De Minaur took advantage of this and completely dominated the first set, winning it 6-1 in just 30 minutes.
The second set was a rollercoaster. Novak started strong and broke serve for a 1-0 lead. But De Minaur fought back in the next game, which lasted 20 minutes, converting his sixth break point. Novak broke again to go up 3-1, but the Aussie leveled the score at 3-3. The key moment came in the seventh game, when Novak won a game without losing a point, and later saved two break points to win the set 6-4 after 64 minutes.
Patience paid off in the third set. Novak waited for the right moment and finally broke De Minaur in the ninth game. He then held serve to take the set 6-4 in 53 minutes and go up 2-1 in sets.
In the fourth set, De Minaur looked like he might force a fifth. He led 4-1 and had a break point for 5-1. But that’s when Novak showed why he’s a Wimbledon legend – he saved the break point and then won five games in a row to seal the win.
The match lasted three hours and 19 minutes.
Match statistics: aces (6-1), double faults (5-4), winners (38-29), unforced errors (44-38), total points won (126-116).
“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. 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 tough in the right moments.”
In the quarter-finals on Wednesday, Novak will face Flavio Cobolli (ATP no.24). The Italian reached his first Major quarter-final by beating Marin Cilic in four sets.
This will be the second meeting between the two. The first was in Shanghai last year, where Novak won 6-1, 6-2.
Photo: AP
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