Wimbledon '25 : Djokovic overcomes tough match , Sinner escapes , Shelton , Iga advances

 

This year's Wimbledon has been full of upsets. Almost every day since the tournament began, a seeded player has crashed out. Monday could have witnessed another shock — but Novak Djokovic wasn’t having it. Despite losing the first set against Alex de Minaur in the pre-quarterfinals, the Serbian made a remarkable comeback, winning the next three sets to clinch the match 1–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4. With this win, Djokovic advances to his 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal, wrapping up the contest in three hours and eighteen minutes.

Last year, De Minaur was slated to face Djokovic in the quarterfinals but had to withdraw due to injury. This year, he faced the former champion a round earlier. When he dominated the opening set, it looked like Centre Court was on the verge of witnessing yet another major upset. But Djokovic showed once again that he still has fire in his belly. De Minaur’s dream run ended as the Serb roared back — particularly in the fourth set, where Djokovic trailed 1–4 before winning five consecutive games, showcasing sheer determination and willpower.

Among the spectators thoroughly enjoying the show were eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer — whose record Djokovic is chasing — as well as celebrities like Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, Brian Lara, James Anderson, and Joe Root.

Heading into this match, De Minaur had lost just one set in the entire tournament. The 26-year-old Australian looked like a serious threat to Djokovic when he took the first set by breaking the Serb three times. Even in the second set, he had a chance at 5–4 but failed to convert a break point. The most dramatic moment came in the fourth set — leading 4–1, De Minaur looked set to force a fifth, but Djokovic broke him twice and held serve to take the final five games and the match.

This win marked Djokovic’s 101st victory at Wimbledon — second only to Federer. Even if Djokovic lifts the trophy this year, he won’t surpass Federer’s win tally just yet. With only three matches remaining, even a perfect run would take him to 104 wins, still shy of Federer’s all-time record.

In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, who earlier defeated Marin Čilić 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6.

After the match, a visibly amazed Djokovic admitted, “I still don’t quite know what happened out there. The start was really bad — Alex broke my serve three times in the first set. The wind was swirling, and he used the conditions much better than I did.”

In the other men’s singles matches , Jannik Sinner advanced to the quarterfinals under unfortunate circumstances, as opponent Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury despite having taken a two-set lead. . Meanwhile, American Ben Shelton booked his spot in the last eight with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 7-5 win over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

In the women’s draw, top seed Iga Swiatek eased past Denmark’s Clara Tauson with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory. Rising star Mirra Andreeva impressed once again, overpowering American Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3 in a composed display. Belinda Bencic also reached a milestone, securing a quarterfinal berth for the first time in her career on her ninth attempt by defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 6-4.