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Alex de Minaur completes never-before-seen feat against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 12:52 PM ET

Alex de Minaur’s fourth round match at Wimbledon against Novak Djokovic got off to a historic start.

Rather than a quarter-final this time, these two were meeting in the fourth round, and Djokovic was wary of De Minaur’s threat going into the match. That danger became clear almost immediately.

The 26-year-old Australian absolutely dominated the opening set on Centre Court, taking it 6-1 in just 30 minutes – a scoreline Djokovic had never conceded in the first set of a Wimbledon match before.

Alex de Minaur hands Novak Djokovic his first-ever 6-1 opening set loss at Wimbledon

Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

Djokovic is one of the main title favourites again this year, but De Minaur started brighter – and took the first set in just half an hour.

The 6-1 scoreline was surprising enough, but it was also the first time Djokovic had ever lost an opening set at Wimbledon by that margin.

Djokovic had previously lost 6-1 five times at Wimbledon, but none had come in a first set.

Alex de Minaur becomes the first player ever to win a 6-1 or 6-0 first set against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) July 7, 2025

John McEnroe doesn’t hold back on Djokovic’s first set performance

Speaking to BBC, former tennis legend John McEnroe labelled Djokovic’s first set as one of the worst performances he has seen from the 38-year-old player.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw him play a worse set than this, it has literally been years,” said the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Before this fourth-round Wimbledon clash, De Minaur and Djokovic have played three times in their careers, with the Serb leading 2-1. Notably, every match was decided in straight sets.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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