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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Novak Djokovic recovers from his worst first set at Wimbledon to reach quarters
Novak Djokovic was relieved to overcome a historically bad start – and the curse of Roger Federer – to reach a 16th Wimbledon quarter-final. The Serbian has not fallen before the final at the All England Club since 2017 but he will need to raise his level if he is to maintain that record after scrapping to a 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over Alex De Minaur in three hours and 19 minutes. Djokovic cannot have played many worse sets at Wimbledon than the opening one here, with the Serbian making 16 unforced errors, including four double faults and dropping serve three times. It is the sixth time Djokovic has lost a set 6-1 at the All England Club but the first time he has done so in the first set. Watching from the Royal Box was the 38-year-old's long-time rival Federer, and Djokovic said at the end with a smile: 'Sometimes I wish I had the serve and volley and nice touch from the gentleman that is standing right there. That would help. 'This is probably the first time he is watching me and I have won the match. The last couple of times I lost, so it's good to break the curse. 'Obviously he's one of the greatest legends of our game in the history of tennis. So it always is extra special when he's in the stands.' Djokovic set about flipping the script at the start of the second set, breaking the De Minaur serve only for the Australian to hit back after an exhausting game lasting nearly 19 minutes. Ahead went Djokovic again, the Serbian putting his finger to his ear and whipping up the crowd after a 34-shot rally, and back came De Minaur, but the seven-time champion managed to hold on to his final break, resisting more pressure from the Australian. De Minaur was devastated to have to pull out of a quarter-final against Djokovic 12 months ago after hurting his hip, and he continued to cause problems for his opponent, opening up a 4-1 lead in the fourth set. But a chance to lead 5-1, and very likely force a decider, went begging and Djokovic reacted in ruthless fashion with five games in a row. Roger Federer was in the Royal Box (Mike Egerton/PA) Djokovic blamed nerves and a swirling wind for his poor start, saying: 'It was very challenging for me. I was not feeling good, not finding the right timing. He was obviously feeling that. 'Honestly big, big relief to finish the match in four sets. Credit to him for making me feel very uncomfortable on the court. Just fortunate to get through this one.' Next up, Djokovic finds an unexpected quarter-finalist facing him in the shape of 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli – although he is not even the first person in his family to take on the Italian this fortnight. Novak Djokovic and son Stefan (Mike Egerton/PA) Djokovic revealed his 10-year-old son Stefan has hit with Cobolli on the practice courts, and the sixth seed joked: 'Of course, I'll have a conversation with my son and see what he has noticed in the game of Cobolli the other day. 'He (Cobolli) is a big fighter. We get along well. We practise whenever we can. We just had a hug. I definitely need to work on my game and start the match better than I did today.' De Minaur, who was cheered on by fiancee Katie Boulter, is still looking for his big grand slam breakthrough, and he said: 'In the bigger moments today I think my level dipped, and I didn't rise up to the occasion as I needed to if I wanted to beat someone as good as him.' Flavio Cobolli hugs his team after reaching the quarter-finals (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Cobolli dropped his first set of the tournament but saw off former finalist Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3) to reach his first slam quarter-final. Cilic complained afterwards about being scheduled first on court, saying: 'I feel bitter because why is there a need to play at 11am?' American Ben Shelton, meanwhile, had the familiar feeling of beating Italian Lorenzo Sonego having now done so at three grand slams in a row. They are the first pair to meet in singles at the opening three majors in a year since Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe back in 1984, with Shelton triumphing 3-6 6-1 7-6 (1) 7-5.
The 42
4 hours ago
- The 42
Novak Djokovic overcomes historic bad start to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals
NOVAK DJOKOVIC RECOVERED from his worst first set at Wimbledon to battle past Alex De Minaur and into a 16th quarter-final. The Serbian has not fallen before the final at the All England Club since 2017 but he will need to raise his level if he is to maintain that record after scrapping to a 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over Australian De Minaur in three hours and 19 minutes. Djokovic cannot have played many worse sets at Wimbledon than the opening one here, with the Serbian making 16 unforced errors, including four double faults and dropping serve three times. It is the sixth time Djokovic has lost a set 6-1 at the All England Club but the first time he has done so in the first set. The 38-year-old, playing in front of his old rival Roger Federer in the front row of the Royal Box, can be a slow starter and he did not panic, immediately breaking the De Minaur serve at the start of the second set. Advertisement At the end of the contest, Djokovic said with a smile: 'Sometimes I wish I had the serve and volley and nice touch from the gentleman that is standing right there. That would help.' The next game took nearly 19 minutes, with De Minaur finally getting the break back on his sixth chance, only for Djokovic to move ahead again immediately – winning a 34-shot rally, putting his finger to his ear and trying to whip up the crowd. Djokovic and De Minaur were supposed to meet in the quarter-finals last year only for the Australian to be forced to withdraw ahead of the match because of a hip injury. The 26-year-old has been one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour but trying to pull off big wins at grand slams has been akin to banging his head against a wall, with De Minaur never having gone beyond the last eight. Cheered on by fiancee Katie Boulter, back he came to 3-3 only to immediately drop serve once more, and the key moments of the match arguably came in the final game of the set, when the 11th seed twice had a chance to level once more. But De Minaur could not take either and Djokovic roared in celebration when he clinched the game. There were still challenging moments, but a break in the ninth game of the third set pushed Djokovic into the lead for the first time, and he recovered from 4-1 down to win the fourth. The sixth seed admitted he had been nervous coming into the match having never faced De Minaur on grass before. 'It wasn't a great start for me,' he said. 'It was a great start for him, obviously. Very windy, very swirly conditions on the court. I didn't have many solutions but I kind of reset myself in the second. 'Tough game to close out the second set, that was maybe a momentum shift. A lot of cat and mouse play. He's so good at it. It's tough when you're not feeling the ball that well. He exposes all your weaknesses. I'm very pleased to hang in tough at the right moments and win this match.' Next up, Djokovic finds an unexpected quarter-finalist facing him in the shape of Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli. The 23-year-old dropped his first set of the tournament but saw off former finalist Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3).
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘My pec, my pec' – Grigor Dimitrov breaks down in tears after horror Wimbledon injury and forced to retire vs Sinner
CROCKED Grigor Dimitrov broke down in tears as he retired from a FIFTH successive Grand Slam after injuring himself with a serve. The Bulgarian, 34, was two sets up against world No.1 Jannik Sinner and looking to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time since 2014. 8 Grigor Dimitrov retired against Jannik Sinner after hurting himself while serving Credit: BBC 8 He was seen screaming 'my pec, my pec' in agony Credit: AP 8 Dimitrov was in tears as he had to pull out in horrible scenes Credit: BBC 8 Roger Federer watched on concerned from the Royal Box Credit: BBC Yet as he closed out game four of the third set, to draw level at 2-2, with a 96mph ace, he pulled something in his right arm and shoulder. Dimitrov collapsed to the floor in pain, clutching his right armpit and appeared to say "my pec, my pec" in reference to his pectoral muscle. The No19 seed then went backstage for medical treatment before deciding he could not continue. When he returned to the court to get his bags, he could barely lift his arm to shake the umpire's hand but he received a standing ovation for his efforts. Roger Federer, the eight-time men's champion, looked aghast from the Royal Box as the drama unfolded in an arena where he has had so much success and joy. It means Dimitrov's last five appearances at the majors – twice at Wimbledon, the US Open, Australian and French Open – he has had to quit mid-match. What makes it equally disappointing is that Sinner was there for the taking because he had hurt his elbow in set two and was on the physical brink. Sinner, 23, fell to the ground in game six of the second set when his right foot slipped on the slippery baseline. Most read in Tennis Instinctively, he put his right arm out to break his fall but hurt his elbow in the process of landing awkwardly. The Italian took a medical timeout, at 3-2 to Dimitrov, and a trainer tried to massage the area around his sore elbow. The reigning Australian and US Open champion was clearly in pain and at one point, uncharacteristically, he completely missed the ball with a swing of his racquet. It was his good fortune that he did not have to attempt, against the pain, a five-set comeback as Dimitrov got crocked in unexpected fashion. Sinner said: 'I don't know what to say because he's an incredible player. We all saw this today. 'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player. A good friend of mine also. We understand each other very well off the court. 'Seeing him in this position, honestly if there would be a chance he could play the next round he would deserve it. 'But now mostly I hope he has a speedy recovery. 'Very, very unlucky from his side. I don't take this as a win at all. This is a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. 'I think in the last Grand Slams he has struggled a lot with injuries. To see him now having this kind of injury it's very, very tough. 8 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 'We all saw this with his reaction, how much he cares about the sport, he is one of the most hard-working players on Tour. 'It's very unfortunate. Thank you for coming but this is not the end we wanted to see. It's very sad. We wish him all the best.' Before set three, officials decided to shut the retractable roof in anticipation of bad light. This decision was taken at around 8.20pm – as Sinner went backstage for some rest and treatment on his sore elbow. The call did not go down well with two-time singles champion Andy Murray, who felt there was more than an hour to go before the light really deteriorated. Murray said on X: 'So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match. 'At least an hour of light left. Well over a set of tennis can still be played. It's an outdoor tournament!' American Brad Gilbert – a former coach of Murray, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick – voiced his disapproval over the closure. He said: 'This is day 8 of Wimbledon and the seventh time this tournament will finish under roof. Not for rain. Because of long matches. Never seen this happen before.' Read more on the Irish Sun THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video . Like us on Facebook at 8 Dimitrov sobbed into a towel as he walked off court Credit: BBC 8 Dimitrov underwent a medical time-out but there was nothing that could be done 8 Sinner had treatment on a troublesome elbow after a fall Credit: EPA
