Novak Djokovic was relieved to “break the curse” of playing in front of former rival Roger Federer as he battled back to overcome an inspired Alex de Minaur and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
With men’s record eight-time winner Federer watching on from the Royal Box, Serbia’s Djokovic lost an error-strewn opener and had to fight back from 4-1 down in the fourth set to win 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.
But, after enduring an uncomfortable three hours and 18 minutes on Centre Court against Australian 11th seed De Minaur, the 38-year-old is now within three wins of another piece of history.
Seven-time champion Djokovic said of playing in front of Federer: “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.
“Roger is a huge champion and someone I admired and respected a lot.
“We shared the stage for many years and it is great to have him back at his most successful and favourite tournament.”
In addition to chasing Federer’s Wimbledon record, Djokovic is attempting to win a standalone record 25th Grand Slam title.
He will face Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli for a semi-final place, with world number one Jannik Sinner potentially waiting in the last four.
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