Djokovic battles back to beat De Minaur and break Federer ‘curse’

Novak Djokovic says he has finally “broken the curse” of playing in front of Roger Federer after a thrilling comeback win over Alex de Minaur sent him into the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

With Federer watching from the Royal Box, the 38-year-old Serb recovered from a poor start to beat the Australian 11th seed 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court.

“This is probably the first time he [Federer] is watching me and I’ve won the match,” Djokovic said with a smile. “The last couple of times I lost, so it’s good to break the curse.”

Djokovic edges closer to history

The six-time Wimbledon champion is chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, which would move him ahead of Serena Williams and Margaret Court on the all-time list.

Djokovic will face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the last eight, with world number one Jannik Sinner potentially waiting in the semi-finals.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing for the Serb, who looked rattled early on. De Minaur broke Djokovic’s serve three times in the opening set, taking it 6-1 in just 30 minutes.

Djokovic then found himself 4-1 down in the fourth set before roaring back with five straight games to complete the victory in three hours and 18 minutes.

Djokovic praises Federer and the crowd

“Roger is a huge champion and someone I admired and respected a lot,” Djokovic said of his former rival. “We shared the stage for many years and it is great to have him back at his most successful and favourite tournament.”

Federer holds the men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, but Djokovic could match that if he lifts the trophy this year.

Key stats from the match

• Djokovic reached his 16th Wimbledon quarter-final, second only to Federer’s 18 in the Open era.

• He joins Federer and Ken Rosewall as the only men over 38 years old to reach the Wimbledon last eight.

• The Serb has now won 43 of his last 45 matches at SW19.

What’s next?

Djokovic admitted his performance left room for improvement:

“I don’t know how I’m feeling, to be honest. It wasn’t a great start for me. I was very pleased to hang in tough in the right moments and win this one.”

His next test will be against Cobolli as he continues his bid to make history and silence those who doubt whether he can dominate into his late 30s.