Milestone man Djokovic downs Cobolli, reaches 14th Wimbledon semi-final
LONDON - Novak Djokovic was given an early scare but continued his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon trophy and standalone 25th Grand Slam title when he beat Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-7(6) 6-2 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.
The 38-year-old's fightback helped him reach a record 14th singles semi-final at the All England Club, where he will face top seed Jannik Sinner, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz awaiting in the final.
Cobolli, the 22nd seed, displayed tremendous mental fortitude to recover a break after going 3-5 down in the opening set, which he edged in a tight tiebreak by letting rip some blistering winners from his bright orange-framed racket to draw loud cheers on Centre Court.
The former Roma youth soccer player, who switched to tennis after watching Djokovic, was given a masterclass in the next set, however, and his idol broke for a 6-5 lead thanks to a slew of errors before tightening his grip on the contest.
With his thinking cap on in fading sunlight, Djokovic earned break points early in the fourth with vintage tennis but was hitting his shoe with his racket after wasting them, before settling down to go past Roger Federer's semi-finals record at the All England Club. REUTERS
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