Novak Djokovic won a testing battle against Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday to reach a record 14th men’s Wimbledon semi-final, which will be a blockbuster clash against world number one Jannik Sinner. The Serb, chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam singles crown, was given the royal seal of approval by Britain’s Queen Camilla before his 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win on Centre Court.
Djokovic was pushed hard by the Italian 22nd seed but ultimately had too much for the 23-year-old, who had never previously been beyond the third round of a major.
The sixth seed prepared for the contest by meeting Britain’s Queen Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, who said she was keeping her “fingers crossed” for his match.
Camilla watched 38-year-old Djokovic from the Royal Box, along with British actor Hugh Grant.
Cobolli showed early intent, mixing up his play with drop shots and heavy groundstrokes from his flashing orange racquet and unsettling his illustrious opponent.
Djokovic, who has reached every Wimbledon final since 2018, served for the first set at 5-3 but the Italian broke back and won the ensuing tie-break.
Cobolli, who has claimed titles in Bucharest and Hamburg this year, next had to answer the question of whether he could sustain his level against the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
But it was a different story in the second set as Djokovic broke twice to level the match in the evening sunshine.
The pair swapped service breaks early in the third set but Djokovic pounced again in the 11th game and thundered an ace as he took control of the match.
The fourth set was tight but Cobolli failed to put away a simple winner at the net in the ninth game.
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