Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon grit: Battles back from set down to beat Alex De Minaur

Novak Djokovic survived a great Alex de Minaur in a true heart-stopping performance from the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who advances to the Wimbledon quarterfinals once again. The 7-time champion overcame a poor first set and ultimately clinched the victory 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 after 3 hours and 20 minutes.

It was a "pending" match from Wimbledon 2024 – where the Australian and the Serb were supposed to face each other in the quarterfinals, but an injury forced De Minaur to withdraw before the match. This time, Djokovic showed his class and secured his most hard-fought victory of the tournament so far, setting up a clash with the Italian surprise Flavio Cobolli in search of the semifinals.

First Set

It was a particularly low-level set for Nole, who struggled with his serve from the start. De Minaur secured an early break and, with his serve, comfortably went ahead 2-0. The World No. 11 had only 40% first serves throughout the set, but won 68% of points on serve and only committed 5 unforced errors.

Precisely, the Australian was more accurate than his opponent, an erratic Djokovic who committed 16 unforced errors and 4 double faults. De Minaur capitalized on the Serb's vulnerability in the 5th game to secure a second break, and then easily took the set 6-1, after just 31 minutes.

Second Set

The beginning of the second set brought a break for Djokovic, setting him on course, but De Minaur quickly broke back – after six break opportunities – and leveled the score. Again, neither of them looked imposing on serve, and in the first 7 games there were already 5 breaks, with Djokovic taking a 4-5 lead.

Nole had the opportunity to serve for the set at 5-4. However, a frustrated Djokovic was seen shouting at his box while struggling to close out the set on his serve. On his second break point, De Minaur committed an incredible unforced forehand error – which could have meant the break in his favor – and finally Djokovic overcame the tough moment, closing the set 6-4.

Third Set

Djokovic continued to consistently target his opponent's forehand, which led De Minaur to commit more errors than from his backhand. Nonetheless, both had to save break points throughout the set, and everything remained uneventful until 4-4. At that moment – as so many times – Nole showed his class in important moments and took the set 6-4.

Fourth Set

De Minaur started in the best way, taking three consecutive games and establishing a good lead up to 3-0, without showing any signs of slowing down. The Australian managed to take a 4-1 lead before the Serb's best tennis moments arrived.

Djokovic capitalized on the pressure on his opponent and, after saving a break point against him, began a good run of points in his favor. Djokovic secured two consecutive breaks and, with his serve, managed to win 5 games in a row, going from 1-4 to 6-4 without hesitation on his serve in the final part. Nole advances to the Wimbledon quarterfinals again and will face young Flavio Cobolli in search of a semifinal berth.

Match Statistics de Minaur vs. Djokovic