Novak Djokovic reached his 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal after defeating Alex de Minaur on Centre Court. The seven-time champion started slowly, but finished with a sprint.
After beating Jannik Sinner in the 2023 Wimbledon semifinal, Novak Djokovic joked that 36 was the new 26 and claimed he was feeling just great against the next generation. On the second Monday of Wimbledon 2025, the Serb didn’t find the fountain of youth on Centre Court. Djokovic still got the job done by beating Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 18 minutes to go through to the quarterfinals.
The number six seed lacked his usual swagger from the start against the Australian on a much cooler second Monday at SW19. The 24-time major champion was unusually jerky in his movements. There was something slow-motion about the match overall with what Djokovic called a “cat and mouse” trade of sliced exchanges.
It suited De Minaur down to the ground in the first set as he absorbed his opponent’s groundstrokes and broke the Serb three times. Djokovic’s viewfinder on serve was unfocused as he committed four double faults to go with 16 unforced errors. In the press conference, the third favorite for the title attributed his travails to the swirling, windy conditions.
De Minaur is a player who always competes, is one of the best athletes around, and consistently reaches the last eight of the majors. The question mark is how he can be more than just a minor nuisance to the big shots of the game.
