Federer and his wife, Mirka, spent nearly four hours watching Djokovic play Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Federer then went to the players' area to greet and congratulate Djokovic on his 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance.
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Federer attends the Djokovic-De Minaur match at Centre Court, All England Club, London, England on 7/7. Photo: Reuters |
Federer attends the Djokovic-De Minaur match at Centre Court, All England Club, London, England on 7/7. Photo: Reuters
"Yes, we had a brief chat," Djokovic revealed in the post-match press conference. "Roger congratulated me. He said it was a good match and wished me luck for the rest of the tournament. It's truly great to see him in the stands. He's a great champion, present at the tournament where he's had the most success."
Historically, only Djokovic (101) and Federer (105) have won over 100 matches at Wimbledon. Federer holds the record with 8 titles, while Djokovic has 7.
Before the match against De Minaur, Djokovic expressed his desire to share margaritas on the beach with Federer and Rafael Nadal after his career ends. When asked about this again, Djokovic acknowledged the possibility, highlighting the respect the "Big 3" have for each other.
"Honestly, I haven't thought beyond focusing on this season," the 38-year-old player said. "I just had a tough match, sometimes exhausting after about 30 rallies with perhaps the fastest player in the world. De Minaur has been in the top 10 for a few years, and he will expose all your weaknesses."
De Minaur was the first to take a set from Djokovic at Wimbledon this year, winning the opening set 6-1. However, this didn't stop Djokovic from securing the overall victory in four sets. He will face another young opponent, Flavio Cobolli, in the quarterfinals. Djokovic has avoided many strong opponents so far, as players like Jack Draper, Jakub Mensik, and Tomas Machac all lost early.
If Djokovic defeats Cobolli, he will face Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in the semifinals. In the other half of the draw, Taylor Fritz will face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
Vy Anh
