Djokovic reaches record 14th Wimbledon semi

Daily Tribune

11-07-2025

Novak Djokovic won a testing battle against F l av i o C o b o l l i o n Wednesday to reach a record 14th men's Wimbledon semi-final, which will be a blockbuster clash against world number one Jannik Sinner.
The Serb, chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam singles crown, was given the royal seal of approval by Britain's Queen Camilla before his 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win on Centre Court.
The seven-time champion was pushed hard by the Italian 22nd seed but ultimately had too much for the 23-yearold, who had never previously been beyond the third round of a major.
Djokovic said Wimbledon was the 'most special tournament' in the sport as he was cheered by the crowd.
'And of course, it means the world to me that I'm still able at 38 to play the final stages of Wimbledon,' he said.
'Thank you for cheering for my age. I really appreciate it. It's beautiful. Makes me feel very young.
'And I guess another thing that makes me feel very young is competing with youngsters, you know, like Cobolli today -- he's who knows how many years younger than me.'
The sixth seed pre - pared for the contest by meeting Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, who said she was keeping her 'fingers crossed' for his match.
She watched Djokovic from the Royal Box, along with British actor Hugh Grant.
Cobolli showed early intent, mixing up his play with drop shots and heavy groundstrokes from his flashing orange racquet and unsettling his illustrious opponent.
Djokovic, who has reached every Wimbledon final since 2018, served for the first set at 5-3 but the Italian broke back and won the ensuing tie-break.
Cobolli, who has claimed titles in Bucharest and Hamburg this year, next had to answer the question of whether he could sustain his level against the 24- time Grand Slam champion.
But it was a different story in the second set as Djokovic broke twice to level the match in the evening sunshine.
The pair swapped service breaks early in the third set but Djokovic pounced again in the 11th game and thundered an ace as he took con- trol of the match.
The fourth set was tight but Cobolli failed to put away a simple winner at the net in the ninth game.
Slip
Djokovic slipped and fell awkwardly when serving for the match, grimacing in pain, but got up to finish the job.
He played down the incident in his on-court interview.
'I had a nasty slip, but that's what happens when you play on the grass,' he said.
'It did come at an awkward moment, but somehow I managed to find a good serve and close it out.
Obviously, I'm going to visit this subject now with my physio and hopefully I'll be well in two days.'