Novak Djokovic beats Flavio Cobolli to qualify for 14th Wimbledon semifinal

Novak Djokovic continued his march at SW19 as he defeated Flavio Cobolli in a four-set contest at the Centre Court on Wednesday. The Serbian defeated the Italian by 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 in three hours and 11 minutes to qualify for his 14th Wimbledon semifinals.

Cobolli took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker before taking the opening set. However, Djokovic bounced back strongly as he dominated the second set to make it even. 

The young Italian once again fought hard in the third set but Djokovic was able to make the most of his experience. In the fourth set, on the second match point, Djokovic slipped on the baseline but quickly recovered to convert his third match point and advance to the next round in the championships.

“Well I finished the match,” Djokovic said when asked how he was after the fall. “It was a nasty slip but that is what happens when you play on the grass. I think I hadn’t fallen so far this year. It is a bit surprising because the way I move on the grass, a lot of sliding, aggressive movement, you are expected to fall and have this kind of situation.

“It did come at an awkward moment but I managed to find a good serve and close it out. I am going to visit this subject now with my physio.”

This will be the 52nd Grand Slam semifinal appearance for Djokovic. The Serbian showered praise on Cobolli for his impressive game.

“A huge congratulations to Flavio for an amazing tournament. I played him once last year on hard courts and we have hit together quite a bit on different surfaces but we had never played on grass,” Djokovic said.

“I had seen him play here and knew he was playing well. It is always different practising from playing in an official match. He played at a really high level. I think what surprised me a lot was his serve. He served at a really fast pace and was going for his shots. He is such a talented and skillful player and one of the guys we will be seeing in the future.”

Djokovic will face World No.1 Jannik Sinner on Friday at Centre Court.