Djokovic sees himself with chances: "I feel confident and motivated to go all the way"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 7 Jul 2025 | 20.55

Djokovic sees himself with chances: "I feel confident and motivated to go all the way". Photo: Gettyimages

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Novak Djokovic once again showcased his competitiveness, resilience, and mental strength in his match against Alex de Miñaur. The Australian pushed him from start to finish, always adding one more ball and putting the Serbian player to the test in many of the rallies. Despite starting off slow, the 24-time Grand Slam champion held his ground, accepted the situation, and started hitting balls until his authority and experience prevailed. Djokovic clinched the victory (1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4) and advanced to his 16th quarterfinal at Wimbledon, a record befitting of his legend.

Awaiting him in the pre-penultimate round of the London tournament is one of the surprises of the event, Flavio Cobolli. Djokovic spoke about him in the post-match press conference, as well as about the challenge of facing De Miñaur, the difficult conditions on Centre Court, and the burden of being labeled a favorite by his former coach, Goran Ivanisevic.

The wind and initial feelings were not favorable

"It wasn't a great start for me. He was solid, as I expected. But the wind conditions and swirls on the court were quite extreme today, to be honest, compared to any other day we've had so far in the tournament. It was quite a challenge for me. I began with two double faults, lost a break in the first game. I didn't feel good, couldn't find the right timing. Obviously, he noticed it. He was exposing my game, my weaknesses, trying to mix things up and returning very well. I wasn't getting as many free points with my first serve as in my first three rounds, so that made it even tougher. I had to put in a lot of effort in my service games, especially from that end, against the wind."

Praising De Miñaur's performance

"I think he's one of the toughest opponents you can face in these conditions, with a lot of wind. He's very quick, constantly puts pressure on you, makes you play all the time. He's also a very, very smart player. On grass, he knows how to use the slice and angles. It was a great challenge. Honestly, it was a huge relief to finish the match in four sets. The way the fourth set started, it was much closer to going to a fifth than to finishing it, really. I entered a kind of total blocking mode. I think in the last three games, I only lost one point. I could finally do what I wanted and hit the ball. Honestly, it was quite a challenge. The credit goes to him for making me feel very uncomfortable on the court. I was lucky to overcome this."

Ready for the quarterfinals against Cobolli

"He's a talented player. One of the emerging young talents. He's one of those young and new players we'll probably see in the future. I must say I've been pleasantly surprised by his grass-court results because his game doesn't seem like that of a grass specialist, yet he's made it to the quarterfinals. He defeated Cilic and some big servers and great players who are grass-court specialists, so to speak. It's very commendable. He's a great fighter. We get along well. We practice whenever we can. We just hugged. We embraced after the match. We actually saw each other on the terrace. May the best man win."

"What can I say? Now we're in the quarterfinals. I definitely need to work on my game and start the quarterfinal match better than I did today. I wasn't very happy with my performance, especially in the first part of the match. Yes, I have to improve my performance to have a better chance of moving forward".

He doesn't see himself as a favorite despite Ivanisevic's words, who places him alongside Alcaraz and Sinner

"I love Goran, and I'm glad he loves me, but I don't think I'm a favorite against them right now. I think they are, both of them. But perhaps I have my best chance here against them probably, yes. If I have to face one or both of them, which I hope, it would mean reaching the tattoo final, so yes, obviously I'll seek my best game to win. I think I have chances. There's no doubt about that. I think my results on grass, even in previous years, testify to my confidence on this surface. This year, I've played really good tennis. So I feel good about myself. I feel confident. I'm motivated to go all the way. Let's see what happens," states Djokovic, who remains steadfast in his quest to become the most decorated tennis player in history and hopes to achieve it at Wimbledon, the most iconic venue in tennis.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Djokovic se ve con opciones: "Me siento confiado y motivado para llegar hasta el final"