Novak Djokovic is through to the semi-final at Wimbledon, staying competitive at 37 and a couple of weeks after a knee procedure! As often on the most notable scene, Novak collected eye-catching achievements at Wimbledon. The Serb joined a selected group of players in a couple of records and continued improving his own.

Thus, Djokovic collected his 60th Major quarter-final at the All England Club, reaching the milestone number and leaving his closest rival, Roger Federer, at 58. Novak kicked off the season with 57 Major quarter-finals, matching his great rival already in Melbourne.

The Serb wrote history at Roland Garros despite withdrawing, becoming the player with the most Major quarter-finals in history. Now, Djokovic added the 60th Major quarter-final to his tally, raising the bar high and challenging Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and other young guns.

Novak reached the last eight at Majors for the first time at Roland Garros 2006, remaining competitive 18 years later! Djokovic gathered three Major quarter-finals in 2007 at 20 and set the standard for the years to come, achieving that in 14 seasons!

In addition, the greatest player of all time notched all four quarter-finals in eight seasons, reducing the deficit to Federer and passing him a couple of weeks ago. Novak could not play the Roland Garros quarter-final, beating four rivals before withdrawing due to a knee issue.

The Serb underwent surgery and started the race against time ahead of Wimbledon. The seven-time champion arrived in London and entered the competition with protection on his knee, hoping to endure the efforts. Novak took down Vit Kopriva in the opening round, dropping five games and passing the first test.

Novak Djokovic secured his 60th Major quarter-final at Wimbledon.

Djokovic dominated on serve and return, sailing over the top and setting the second-round clash versus Jacob Fearnley.

The Briton scored his first Major win at Wimbledon and gathered a boost, challenging the 24-time Major champion before falling in three hours. Fearnley stepped in and attacked in the third set, taking it with a late break and standing two points away from forcing a decider in the fourth!

However, Novak stayed focused and stole the rival’s serve in the closing stages, sealing the deal and avoiding spending more time on the court. Djokovic faced another stern test in the third round, losing the opening set versus Alexei Popyrin but moving over the top in three hours and five minutes.

Alexei made a reliable start before Novak responded in sets two and three. The veteran claimed the fourth set in the tie break, emerging over the top and arranging the fourth-round duel with Holger Rune.

Chasing his 60th Major quarter-final and the 15th at Wimbledon, Novak beat his good friend 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and three minutes, remaining on the title course and earning a milestone.

Djokovic endured stomach issues, his rival and hecklers from the crowd, standing strong and showing his incredible mental strength. Novak had the upper hand en route to his fourth win over Holger, taking 22 points more and outplaying the young Dane on serve and return.

Djokovic saved both break points he faced, keeping the pressure on the other side. Rune could not match that pace, serving at 54% and losing 40% of the points behind the initial shot. He faced four break points and suffered four breaks, enough to propel Djokovic over the top in straight sets.

Novak landed the same number of winners and unforced errors while welcoming 30 mistakes from Holger.

The more experienced player was off to a flying start, taking the opening 12 points and moving 3-0 in front in no time.

Rune faced another break point in the sixth game, saving it and remaining within one break deficit. Djokovic kept the strong pace in his games, providing fine holds in games seven and nine and taking the opener 6-3 in 29 minutes with an ace.

Holger followed Novak’s pace early in the second set, leading 3-2 and opening a 40-15 lead in game seven. Djokovic climbed back and stole the rival’s serve, earning a break and holding a few minutes later for 5-3. The young gun served to stay in the set in game nine and offered world no.

2 six set points.

Rune stayed focused and saved them, bringing the game home and extending the battle. Novak faced the first break point in the tenth game, denying it with a forehand winner and holding for a 6-3, 6-4 lead after 82 minutes.

Djokovic grabbed a break at the beginning of the third set and moved 3-1 up with two commanding holds. Holger generated his second and last break point in the sixth game, and Novak saved it with a serve & volley combo before opening a 4-2 lead.

Rune hit a double fault in the seventh game, losing serve and sending the veteran further in front. Djokovic served for the victory at 5-2 and landed a volley winner on a match point, earning a place in his 60th Major quarter-final.

Novak did not play a point in it, as Alex de Minaur withdrew ahead of their duel due to a hip injury. Thus, Djokovic will play against Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the final.

Tennis icon John McEnroe made one very funny comment while addressing a Carlos Alcaraz topic at Wimbledon as the 65-year-old American told the 21-year-old Spaniard that he is welcome to his house to teach him some positivity.

Anyone who knows tennis, knows what kind of personality McEnroe was back in the day as to this day he remains one of the biggest characters the game has had. But despite his fiery personality and getting annoyed or irked by pretty much anything on the court, McEnroe was able to have a very successful career and finish with seven Grand Slams.

Alcaraz, who turned 21 in May, is already a three-time Grand Slam champion but also one of the most liked players among the fans but also in the locker room. And a big reason why that’s the case is the Spaniard’s attitude and approach to the game – he is having great fun on the court but also winning a lot.

And former world No. 1 McEnroe admits that’s something he wishes he could have had during his career.

“He had that positive attitude which helped. You watch Carlos Alcaraz he’s always smiling, whatever the score is he’s amazing. I don’t know how he does it but it’s never too late to teach an old man, come over to my place sometime,” McEnroe said in the BBC studio.

“This guy can do anything and everything – and he does do that. He brings the crowd in, the crowd is eating it up, thank the lord for Carlos Alcaraz is what I’m saying. We are lucky,” McEnroe said.

“He’s got better touch, arguably, than anyone else in the game and even Novak Djokovic is thinking: ‘OK I need to bring my A game, A-plus game.’ That was one of the greatest matches I have ever seen, the Wimbledon final last year, unbelievable match. Novak was in position to win but somehow Alcaraz was able to rise to the occasion and beat the greatest of all time.”

McEnroe on Alcaraz: This relentless positivity…

Even when Alcaraz was 19 and became a Grand Slam champion at the 2022 US Open and the world No. 1, former greats and tennis experts were often remarking that he was already a very complete player. And that was often mentioned as one of the scariest parts of Alcaraz’s game.

And now, McEnroe is pretty much repeating the same thing only adding that his positivity on the court is also a big part of his success.

“It’s hard to believe that he is this good, this fast and this complete of a player. It’s not just all the shots, it’s his attitude, the smile, the relentless positivity that comes from him,” McEnroe added.

“It’s something that I hope all these kids that play the game not only study the way he hits shots but his attitude on the court is absolutely… I don’t think I have seen a person at this level with a more positive attitude that brings people wanting to see a player more than him.”

Alcaraz shows major respect for Daniil Medvedev ahead of their Wimbledon showdown

On Friday, Alcaraz will be playing in his second Wimbledon semifinal. And for a second consecutive year, there will be an Alcaraz and Medvedev semifinal at The Championships.

Last year, Alcaraz gave no chance to Medvedev, ousting the Russian 6-3 6-3 6-3. But Medvedev is coming off an upset win over world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz says he absolutely won’t take the Russian for granted.

“The most difficult thing about facing Daniil, or the most special thing about him, is he can reach every ball. Well, he is like a wall. Every ball bounces back. I feel like I can hit an unbelievable shot, the ball is going to bounce back,” Alcaraz said of facing Medvedev.

On the other side, Medvedev is also wary of Alcaraz’s abilities and acknowledges that sometimes even a great shot doesn’t mean that the point is over against the Spaniard.

“You know whatever shot you hit, he can hit a winner from there. So you try to make his life difficult. You try to hit the shot as good as you can. Maybe he goes for it and he cannot make it. But that’s pretty special because there are not many players like this. Carlos can do whatever from any position and that’s not easy to play against,” Medvedev said of Alcaraz.

Going into the match, Alcaraz owns a 4-2 head-to-head versus Medvedev and he is the favorite to reach back-to-back Wimbledon finals.