Novak Djokovic has added another record to his extraordinary list of tennis achievements after beating Andrey Rublev in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The Serb’s 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-3 win over the Russian sees Djokovic equal the great Roger Federer’s record of 46 grand slam semi-finals, with the Serb also hoping to equal Federer’s record of eight titles at The All England Club.
Djokovic’s seemingly unstoppable progress to a record-extending 24th men’s grand slam title – a feat that would put him alongside Aussie tennis legend Margaret Court – is now just two wins away. In beating Rublev, the Serb also extended his extraordinary winning streak at Wimbledon to 33 matches. Only Bjorn Borg (41) and Federer (40) have more consecutive wins at Wimbledon in the Open era.
In fact, Djokovic has not lost on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 10 years, with his last defeat there coming against Andy Murray in the 2013 final. The Serb’s love-affair with Centre Court continued at SW19 on Tuesday as he brushed aside the spirited Russian No.7 seed Rublev in 12 minutes under three hours.
After conceding the first set, Djokovic restored his authority with a 28-minute demolition in the second but had to work hard in a third set lasting a minute shy of an hour. When that went Djokovic’s way, Rublev’s resistance was broken and the result was as good as a foregone conclusion as the 36-year-old powered into another semi-final to leave the tennis world in awe.
