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Wimbledon: Djokovic hits back to dismantle De Minaur

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Clock Icon4 hoursTennis

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic clicked through the gears as he turned the tide against Alex De Minaur.

Djokovic lost the opening set swiftly on Monday, yet hit back to prevail 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.

It looked as though 11th seed De Minaur would be able to force a fifth set when he went 4-1 and a break up in the fourth.

Watched on by his old foe Roger Federer, though, Djokovic had other ideas, shaking off some fatigue to reel off five straight games.

He served out the win in style, bringing up match point with a deft open-court forehand before clinching victory at the first time of asking with a sensational backhand down the line.

"I'm still trying to process the whole match. It wasn't a great start for me, it was a great start for him obviously," said Djokovic.

"Very windy conditions on the court, he was just managing it better. I didn't have many solutions, I reset myself in the second.

"It was a tough game to close out the second set, but that was maybe a momentum shift where I felt I was back in the game. I was just very pleased to hang in tough in the right moments."

Next up for the Serbian is Flavio Cobolli, who downed veteran campaigner Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3).

Data Debrief: Evergreen Djokovic gets into his stride

Djokovic, who is now on 101 match wins at Wimbledon, has claimed his 29th ATP top 20 victory at the event. Since 1973, only Federer (32) has claimed more such wins at the All England Club.

The 38-year-old has conceded only 42 games so far at this edition – his fewest en route to a grand slam quarter-final since claiming tournament victory at Roland Garros in 2023 (41).

He will play in a major quarter-final for the 63rd time, extending his own record for the most last-eight appearances at the grand slams of any player in the Open Era.

Cobolli, meanwhile, will feature in his maiden grand slam quarter-final.