London: It’s not about how you start that’s important, but how well you finish. Novak Djokovic played out the aphorism to perfection on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.After losing the first set in 30 minutes, winning just 14 points, the 38-year-old, who was seen clutching his stomach during changeovers, turned the fourth-round clash against the 11th seeded Aussie Alex de Minaur around. And just how. The Serb came up with a staggering counter in the fourth set, winning five straight games to score a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in three hours and 18 minutes to make his 16th quarterfinals at Church Road.Monday got off to a wet, windy start at SW19, making for challenging conditions. The sun was moody, and a cold wind swept across the grounds, spectators pulled on their winter cardigans. Centre Court was packed and the roof was open. The ever-stylish eight-time champion Roger Federer was in the house.De Minaur was forced to withdraw before the Wimbledon quarterfinal last year with a hip injury, allowing Djokovic a walkover into the semifinals. This time, the 11th seed put his best foot forward, much to the delight of the crowd, but when Djokovic increased the pace on his forehand, putting the ball out of De Minaur’s strike range, the Aussie was rocked on to the backfoot. The 26-year-old looked like he was out of options.
The first three games of the second set went with breaks. The second game, which De Minaur won, saw nine deuces and six break-points, but the Serb restored order to the play by holding at love in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. De Minaur, who was cheered on by his fiance Katie Boulter, slipped up in the ninth game of the third set and Djokovic went on to take a two sets-one lead.When De Minaur powered ahead to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, making Djokovic run corner to corner, the buzz around the grounds was that the 24-time Major winner’s fourth-round clash was going the distance. The geeks were counting already. Since 2010 Djokovic has only lost a match once after leading by two-sets-to-love, that was to Denis Istomin in 2017 at Melbourne Park. Djokovic, however, had different plans, he clearly wasn’t looking at a fifth set. He broke in the seventh game and levelled at 4-4 before shutting the door on the contest. The world No. 6 was quick to dismiss stomach issues, saying he only needed a breather after 30plus shot rallies. “Sometimes I wish I had a serve and volley and nice touch (like) the gentleman that’s standing there. That would help,” Djokovic said in his on court interview, acknowledging Federer. “It’s probably the first time he has watched me and I’ve won the match. The last couple I lost, it’s good to break the curse.”In the other fourth round match, the 22nd seed Italian Flavio Cobolli beat the 2017 Wimbledon finalist Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) to make the quarterfinal at the grass court Slam for the first time. In the last -eight clash the 23-year-old Italian faces his idol Djokovic for the second time in his career, having lost their lone meeting in Shanghai.Swiss Belinda Bencic, one of nine mothers in the draw, made her first quarterfinal here with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over the 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
