Novak Djokovic overturned a torrid start to hold off Alex de Minaur and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in his search for an eighth title at the All England Club. 

The 24-time Grand Slam champion responded emphatically to an error-ridden first set to see off the Australian 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 in three hours and 18 minutes on Centre Court.

He advances to face Flavio Cobolli after the Italian’s 6-4 6-4 6-7 7-6 victory over Marin Cilic, Jack Draper’s conqueror, earlier in the day.

Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam title since 2023, when he won three of the four majors, and has been beaten in the last two Wimbledon finals by Carlos Alcaraz, but continued to show why he remains a thorn to the Spaniard and Jannik Sinner’s plans for a new era of supremacy.

The Serbian found himself trailing 4-1 in the fourth set and staring at another break point, only to fight back and ruthlessly deny De Minaur a decider as he booked his place in the final eight.

He would do so while being watched on by Roger Federer in the Royal Box, Djokovic giving a nod to his great foe.

“I wish I had the serve and volley and the touch of the gentleman standing right there,” he said on court. “It’s probably the first time he’s watched me and I’ve won the match.”

Of De Minaur, he added: “There was a lot of cat and mouse play, a lot of slices. He’s one of the quickest, if not the quickest player on the tour, and on the grass where the ball bounces low, it’s extremely difficult to play someone like him if you’re not feeling the ball really well.

“He exposes all your weaknesses. I was very pleased to hang in tough at the right moments and win this game.”

De Minaur had been made to wait for his shot at the 38-year-old after being forced to withdraw from the pair’s scheduled quarter-final clash at Wimbledon last year due to a hip injury.

The prolonged wait showed and prompted an inspired start as De Minaur flew out the traps to seal an early double break for a 4-1 lead after Djokovic surrendered his fourth double fault of the first set.

Djokovic looked unbalanced and was making uncharacteristic mistakes, eventually logging 16 unforced errors on the way to dropping the opener with just a single game on the board, De Minaur converting the second of three set points.

Back came a fired-up Djokovic to break immediately at the start of the second set before the pair were embroiled in one of the games of the match, culminating in De Minaur finally dispatching a sixth break point to level the score with a stunning return and volley.

It was then Djokovic’s turn to outlast his man, coming out on top in a 34-shot rally to break back before holding to love for a two-game lead. An exchange of breaks followed before Djokovic went on to rescue two break points on his way to clinching the set.

The number of unforced errors was beginning to lessen and Djokovic was beginning to purr, a volleyed winner earning him two break points at 4-4 in the third set, the second of which De Minaur would gift him with a wayward forehand.

It paved the way for Djokovic to turn the match on its head, sealing the set with the volley at the conclusion of another see-sawing baseline rally.

De Minaur appeared to be on course for a fifth-set decider as he raced to a 3-0 then 4-1 advantage in the fourth, before squandering a break point to go up 5-1 and, in turn, igniting a Djokovic comeback.

The veteran converted a third break point to close the gap to 4-3, drawing level with his ensuing hold and then breaking once more to leave himself serving out for the match.

“Alex has been an established top 10, or 15, player for the last couple of years,” said Djokovic.

“I’ve never faced him on this surface. I was slightly nervous coming into this match and that reflected on my game in the first set. It was a very difficult encounter.”

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