After beating Alex de Minaur in the fourth round with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, and 6-4 victory, Novak Djokovic now punches his ticket to the Wimbledon quarterfinals as he also paid homage to one of his former rivals and eight-time Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer – who was present in the game and watched one of his former rivals dominate the court.

Djokovic joked about how Federer’s presence in the games he’s played in the past often led him to lose. This time, however, it was a much more different story as he ended up winning and continuing the fight to the next round, where he will have a chance to go two wins away from his first Major title in a long while.

It was not an easy encounter for the Serbian star. He had to endure a 1-6 loss in the first round, which was not ideal for a player who was seeded high at this point. Still, Djokovic managed to come up with a massive finish when it mattered most – winning the final three sets to close the match out with a bang.

Historic Run to the Top

Djokovic also notched his 101st win in the singles with that strong finish against de Minaur, and now heads to his 16th overall quarterfinal in the same grass-court Grand Slam. On top of all that, he is also close to tying Federer’s record of 105 wins in this stage as well. In fact, he even went on to dedicate this winning finish to the former Swiss star.

"It's probably the first time he’s watching me and I’ve won the match," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "In the last couple, I lost the match, so it’s good to break the curse. It’s great to have Roger here, a huge champion and someone I admired and respected a lot. We’ve shared the stage for so many years and it’s great to have him back in his most successful and favourite tournament, no doubt."

We all know how really great Djokovic can be when he plays at the top of his game, and that says a lot about what we can expect from the star as he enters the deeper stages of Wimbledon. So far, he can expect to battle two of Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Karen Khachanov, Cam Norrie, and Jannik Sinner in the succeeding rounds of the tournament.

A Difficult Encounter

Despite breezing through the round after losing one set, Djokovic knew that this was a hard encounter to begin with, and it cannot be denied that there are a lot of expectations for him to finish up a strong game at this stage.

"It was a very difficult encounter, some very challenging moments for me," Djokovic said, before referencing Federer in the stands. "Sometimes, I wish I had a serve and volley and a nice touch from the gentleman who is standing right there. That would help.”

This time, Djokovic is slated to take on 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli heading into the quarterfinal stage, and it means that this is a solid chance for the Serbian star to keep his eyes on the prize and make a daring run heading into the final of one of the fabled majors in the game now more than ever.

Who knows? Maybe even a shot at moving up to the higher ranks.