Things seemed to be shaking early, but Novak Djokovic found his form in his fourth victory over Alex de Minaurus at Wimbledon on Monday. After dropping the first set of 6-1, Djokovic reached the quarterfinals with the next three sets of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic seemed to be able to leave early after the first set. Djokovic was able to only take one game during the set and fell into the early hole after a 6-1 loss. After the match, he said he “doesn’t feel the ball” and failed to adapt to De Minaur’s pace in the first set.
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From there, Djokovic realized this. He and De Minauer played strong front and back tennis in the next two sets. Djokovic still had some distinctive mistakes, but he made up for it with a fiery serve that registered six aces during the match. His serve, combined with his return to form after the first set, led Djokovic to both the second and third sets 6-4, 6-4.
This sets up a scenario where Jjokovic could clean up De Minaur in four sets. But with his back against the wall, De Minaur spinned, taking a 4-1 lead on the set, mainly due to Jjokovic’s sloping play. Midway through the fifth game, Djokovic had already committed eight unforced errors on the set. De Minaur’s lead wasn’t just Jjokovic’s struggle. De Minaur played an excellent defensive game and made Djokovic work with every return.
Jjokovic suddenly came to life when De Minaur appeared to force five sets. He played perfect tennis the rest of the way, winning with long rally and properly placed shots in the next three sets, bringing things together 4-4. He then skillfully returned the service of De Minaur’s, joining the next game and setting up a game where he could win the match in the fourth set.
De Minaur was unable to return the first two serves from Jjokovic, and was unable to reach the third. The same thing happened at match points. Djokovic hit a fantastic serve, which was returned by De Minaur, but left him out of position. Djokovic easily placed his shot on the other side of the court and began the game, winning sets and matches to advance to the quarterfinals.
After the match, Djokovic warned of special guests. Wimbledon eight-time winner Roger Federer saw Djokovic face De Minaurus.
Djokovic joked that it might be the first match he won against Federer in attendance. Federer laughed and nodded at the comment. “It’s good to break the curse,” Djokovic said.
The victory was the 16th mark when Djokovic moved to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The event was the second best grand slam of his career. Djokovic has won seven wins at Wimbledon and played in the event finals in each of his final six Wimbledons.
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He tries to continue that streak on Wednesday. The two faced off once, but Djokovic played the match.
