Novak Djokovic, like England, knows extra time and penalty shootouts. He’d spent much of the year on the line, without a title and increasingly vulnerable, but with an unwavering confidence that was enough to meet huge expectations; he was never short of either.
Like England, he remains in the Championship, defying consensus – and a superb challenge from world number 47 Alexei Popyrin – after recent knee surgery. Three wins away from a tenth final, the bookmakers are twitching again.
Roger Federer is gone. Andy Murray is (almost certainly) gone. Rafael Nadal is leaving. Djokovic is still there, still winning, still great, albeit slightly down.
Indeed, if the 37-year-old Serb wins his eighth Wimbledon title in the autumn of his career with a healthy leg, tying him with Federer, it will be his 25th Grand Slam title. One of the greatest achievements ever achieved.
To his credit, Popyrin — who defeated Popyrin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Saturday night to reach the fourth round for the 16th time — — made him sweat over this. The 24-year-old Australian, making his fifth appearance at Wimbledon but yet to reach the third round, lit up center court with his powerful serves and delightful one-handed backhands and played some excellent tennis, But it wasn’t enough on the right side.
Djokovic, who will next play Dane Holger Rune, said on the sidelines: “It was another tough game. I didn’t expect anything less. He almost won. We play against each other in Australia. . He was dangerous on any surface. He was the better player in the first set. It was one of the best tiebreakers I’ve played all year.
“Every game is getting better and better: movement, confidence, reach, skating. Hopefully the trajectory will continue in a positive direction.
Even though Popyrin broke serve in the first set with a fierce cross-court forehand and mustered the courage to lead 1-0, the old boy with a strap on his right knee was still the favorite.
The world No. 2 has experienced this countless times during his long career, often taking nearly an hour to rev his engines and cruise to the finish line like a Rolls-Royce. There would be some holes to negotiate throughout the trip, but he quickly fought back to break serve for 3-1 in the second game.
Then came a bizarre highlight: when Popyrin came on to serve with the score 1-4, the chairman had to ask for silence as those watching England’s Euro 2024 penalty shootout on their phones couldn’t contain their amazement . Throughout the evening the tension seemed to have shifted from Dusseldorf to south-west London.
After establishing a mutually consistent rhythm, the two sides began a series of interesting exchanges until Djokovic broke the truce. He broke serve at 2-0 before shocking Popyrin with a forehand return that had stunned Federer at the US Open, with the Swiss losing his cool and describing it as something a teenager might hit. A shot that hits the mark.
How willing he is now to be compared to an impetuous teenager. Still, his tennis is dynamic and his action isn’t far from his best.
The precision with which he serves and leaves the ground slowly overwhelms his opponents, wondering where the next bullet is coming from. During the tournament, Djokovic hit his thousandth ace at Wimbledon, so his serve is still explosive.
When the third group disappeared from his sight, Popyrin began to prolong the drama as long as possible. He’s obviously happy to be there, but he won’t go away meekly. As the match lengthened and time ran out, he forced Djokovic into a big serve to hold on to the fourth set.
Popyrin saved three break points and chased the score to 6-5, and the second seed was under pressure again.
Djokovic held on to win a tight tie-break that came to an end in just over three hours, and the moment for the brave underdog on the big stage quickly became a memory, albeit one to be cherished.
He was relieved and optimistic about the winner, and his confidence was as strong as ever. In a game that almost felt like an afterthought in the twilight, Djokovic reminded us of his greatness. He’s still too good for anyone but the best.
quick guide
Wimbledon: Draw in the last 16
exhibit
Men’s singles:
(1) Jannik Sinner v. Ben Shelton (14)
(10) Grigor Dimitrov v Daniil Medvedev (5)
(3) Carlos Alcaraz v Hugo Humbert (16)
(12) Tommy Paul v Roberto Bautista Agut
(25) Lorenzo Musetti v Giovanni Mpesi Pericade
(13) Taylor Fritz v Alexander Zverev (4)
Arthur Fells v Alex De Minaur (9)
(15) Holger Ruhn v Novak Djokovic (2)
Women’s singles:
Yulia Putinteva v Jelena Ostapenko (13)
(11) Danielle Collins in Barbora Krejcikova (31)
(4) Elena Rybakina v Anna Kalinskaya (17)
(21) Elena Svitolina v Xinyu Wang
Lulu Sun v Emma Raducanu
Paola Badosa v Donna Vickery
(7) Jasmine Paolini v. Madison Keys (12)
(19) Emma Navarro v Coco Gough (2)
Djokovic has faded out of the sight of his peers. Some young Tigers may come close to his record one day but, to borrow the words of the late Yorkshire fast bowler Fred Trueman, “they will be exhausted”.
Beforehand, he looked at his torn meniscus: “It responded really well. The muscles around it were more sore than usual and couldn’t give me that dynamic speed and power. It had an effect on my movement, a little late.” .
“The more games I play, the more comfortable I feel moving around, being agile, and changing direction. I don’t have the time or energy to think about injuring my knee again.
This last concept is the most revealing. He no longer worries about long-term consequences.
He knew everything about time and how it passed uncontrollably. There was still a little sand in the hourglass, but not enough for him to abuse. Just like England.
