Djokovic Battles Back Against De Minaur to Advance at Wimbledon 2025 Quarterfinals

Djokovic Stumbles Early but Finds His Feet

On Centre Court, the mood shifted quickly. Novak Djokovic, usually so reliable early at Wimbledon, looked unsettled out of the gate during his fourth-round clash against Alex de Minaur. He double-faulted. He slouched. Broadcasters like John McEnroe didn’t hold back, calling out the Serb’s uncharacteristic nerves. It wasn’t just Djokovic’s fans who were biting their nails — even neutrals sensed the tension rippling through every exchanged rally.

But then, Djokovic did something few expected: he ripped off his shirt and started some serious, focused breathing right there on the court. This wasn’t frustration—it was his way of resetting. He went through deliberate diaphragmatic breaths to calm down and snap back into the present. For a moment, even De Minaur, the sharp Australian seeded 11th, looked taken aback by the spectacle.

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It didn’t stop De Minaur from fighting tooth and nail in the second set. The Australian’s box was buzzing, with his fiancée, Katie Boulter, on her feet and every point driven by relentless energy. The second set turned into a war of attrition: nine deuces and six break points spanned a single game, and Djokovic was right in the thick of it, grappling to hold serve.

With the pressure mounting, Djokovic switched gears. He cranked up the pace on his forehand, forcing De Minaur further behind the baseline. Suddenly, the roles reversed—Djokovic claimed a 3-1 lead, silencing some of the doubters who questioned his early match form. When De Minaur faltered in the third set (his slip-up during a key break was hard to miss), Djokovic seized the chance and went up two sets to one. By the fourth, Djokovic’s engine was humming, and every routine exchange felt like a chess move with extra pieces on his side of the board.

Fans couldn’t help but notice tennis royalty in the stands. Roger Federer, Djokovic’s great rival, watched with interest, adding another layer of intrigue to the occasion. Djokovic’s Wimbledon 2025 run has now seen him notch up a staggering 101 match wins at the All England Club. This quarterfinal appearance is his 16th at Wimbledon—numbers that are almost unthinkable for most pros.

After the match, De Minaur showed sportsmanship, recognizing just how close some of those games had been. "That second set could’ve swung it all," he mused, reflecting on the thin margins that define matches at this level. He spoke of lessons learned and his hopes for deeper runs in the future, especially after a premature departure last year due to injury.

For Djokovic, next up is an encounter with Flavio Cobolli in the quarters. For De Minaur, it’s back to the drawing board, but not without a few heads turning at just how hard he made the former champion work. Wimbledon’s grass keeps showing us that no win at this stage comes easy—even for legends.