Wimbledon, Day 8: Alex de Minaur falls to Novak Djokovic 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4

Alex de Minaur blew Novak Djokovic away in the first set of their Wimbledon showdown. Unfortunately for the Australian, it was all downhill from there.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic endured a nightmare start to his match against Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur on Centre Court, but eventually battled back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic survived a scare to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a tense four-set victory over de Minaur on Monday, local time, staying on course for a blockbuster clash with world number one Jannik Sinner.

The loss continued a tough pattern of Grand Slam losses for the Aussie.

“It is a tough one. I’m looking right now at my grass season as a whole as a tad disappointing,” he said.

“There are positives [from this loss, but] at the moment, where I am in my career, it doesn’t completely fulfil me. I want more. I want to be on the other side of this match and finishing this match coming out on top because I think that’s the next step in my career.

“If I’m going to make the next step; these are the types of matches that need to start going my way.”

Serbia's Novak Djokovic douses himself in water to cool down during a break in play against Australia's Alex de Minaur. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Alex De Minaur of Australia reacts against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025. Picture: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Djokovic was broken in the first game and conceded two more breaks as De Minaur ran away with the first set.

“It wasn’t a great start for me, it was a great start for Alex de Minaur obviously. I kind of reset myself in the second set,” Djokovic said.

The Serb committed 16 unforced errors, including four double faults in the opener.

Djokovic broke immediately at the start of the second set but then became bogged down in a game lasting nearly 19 minutes, which De Minaur won on his sixth break point.

De Minaur plays a backhand against Novak Djokovic during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2025 in London. Picture: Getty Images

Novak Djokovic break as he plays against Alex De Minaur as he tried to recover from a rocky start against the Australian. Picture: Adrian Dennis / AFP

“He’s playing the tennis of his life. He’s definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of Grand Slams,” said Djokovic ahead of the game.

“You’re not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that’s for sure, because he’s so quick and he’s a complete player.”

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts as he plays against Australia's Alex de Minaur during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Both players struggled to hold onto their serve in an attritional battle but Djokovic, pleading for support from the crowd, held his nerve to level the match, letting out a roar as De Minaur went long.

Alex de Minaur returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

The third set went with serve until the ninth game, when De Minaur skewed a forehand wide to concede the crucial break.

De Minaur found new inspiration in the fourth set, surging into a 4-1 lead but crumbled at the pivotal moment as Djokovic fought back, reeling off five games in a row to seal the win in three hours and 18 minutes.

“I was very pleased to hang in tough in the right moments and win this one,” said Djokovic.

Alex De Minaur of Australia shakes hands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the net following his defeat during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025. Picture: Getty Images

Fresh from his 100th win at Wimbledon on Saturday - making him the third player to achieve that feat after Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer - Djokovic reached his 16th quarter-final at the tournament.

Aged 38, Djokovic is aiming to win a record 25th major title, breaking a tie with the long-retired Margaret Court, and a record-equalling eighth men’s crown at the All England Club.

That would make him the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era.

Tennis legend Roger Federer waves after Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat Australia's Alex de Minaur during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Sixth-seeded Djokovic’s 101st victory at Wimbledon came under the gaze of Federer, who was sitting in the front row of the royal box alongside his wife Mirka.

“It’s probably the first time he’s watching me and I’ve won the match,” said Djokovic. “The last couple I lost, so good to break the curse.

“No, it’s great, obviously, great to have Roger, a huge champion and someone that I admired and respected a lot.

“We shared the stage for so many years, and it’s great to have him back.”

Sinner gifted quarter-final spot by Dimitrov injury

A heartbroken Grigor Dimitrov left Wimbledon’s Centre Court in tears on Monday after being forced to retire injured when two sets up in his last-16 battle against Jannik Sinner, handing the top seed a remarkable reprieve.

Sinner himself had suffered a nasty fall in the opening game of the fourth-round clash and appeared to be suffering discomfort in his right elbow.

The Italian was unable to cope with Dimitrov’s varied style across the opening two sets, and was staring at a shock exit when trailing 3-6, 5-7, 2-2.

Yet the 34-year-old Bulgarian, who has now retired in each of his past five Grand Slam appearances, pulled up holding his right pectoral muscle and was unable to continue.

“Honestly I don’t know what to say,” said Sinner. “He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today.

“He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend of mine also. We understand each other very well off the court too.

“Seeing him in this position, honestly, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve it.”

Dimitrov, the 19th seed, served an ace out wide to hold serve for 2-2 in the third set but then collapsed in pain.

Sinner rushed to his aid before Dimitrov went off court, but he returned just moments later in tears and was unable to continue, barely able to wave to acknowledge the crowd’s warm ovation.

“I hope he has a speedy recovery,” said Sinner, 23. “It’s very unlucky from his side. I don’t take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.

“I think already in the last Grand Slams he has struggled a lot with injuries and seeing him now again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. We all saw this with his reaction, how much he cares about the sport.”

Jannik Sinner helps Grigor Dimitrov off court after his injury. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Dimitrov’s injury woes began 12 months ago at Wimbledon, where he slipped and damaged his knee in the first set of his fourth-round clash against Daniil Medvedev.

He was forced to retire from matches at the US Open, Australian Open and the recent French Open.

Sinner, into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive year, will next face world number 10 Ben Shelton, who earlier beat Lorenzo Sonego in four sets.

He is on a potential semi-final collision course with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, but there will be question marks over the Italian’s own fitness after his struggles against Dimitrov.

Sinner has never reached the Wimbledon final, going as far as the semi-finals in 2023.

He has played in the past three Grand Slam finals, taking the title at the US Open and the Australian Open and losing the French Open showpiece in a five-set epic against Carlos Alcaraz in June.