Djokovic survives Cobolli onslaught to reach record 14th Wimbledon semi-final

The siren call of a record 25th grand slam title grows ever louder for Novak Djokovic. But he was given a fright by the lively young Italian Flavio Cobolli, as well as a nasty slip in the final game of a pulsating match, before coming through 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

It wasn’t always convincing, but Djokovic found a way – just like he usually does. Incredibly he still hasn’t lost to anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz here since 2017.

His reward is a record 14th Wimbledon semi-final, one ahead of Roger Federer, and another meeting with the No 1 seed, Jannik Sinner. And while he looked to be in some pain after a nasty slip two points from victory, he made light of the situation afterwards.

“I had a nasty slip but that is what happens when you play on grass,” he said. “It did come at an awkward moment but somehow I managed to close it out. Obviously I will visit this subject with my physio now and hopefully all will be well in a couple of days.”

Beforehand the tale of the tape was so overwhelmingly in Djokovic’s favour that few gave Cobolli a shot. The Italian, after all, came into this match with a 1-11 win/loss record against the world’s top 10. His career record on grass stood at a modest nine wins and six defeats. And he was up against the greatest of all time, the seven-time champion here, and someone who had thrashed him 6-1, 6-2 in their only meeting.

But this was a different Cobolli, one determined to roll the dice and with the confidence to believe he provide could the biggest shock of this year’s Wimbledon.

In their last-16 match, Alex de Minaur had tried to defeat Djokovic by mixing it up with deft spins and devilish unpredictability, using the swirling wind as his friend. Cobolli’s approach was more blunt. He simply wanted to blast Djokovic off the court. It nearly worked too.

As Djokovic admitted afterwards: “It was a great performance from him. He played at a really high level and what surprised me a lot was his serve. He was serving at a really fast pace and going for his shots. He is definitely one of the guys we will be seeing in the future.”

Flavio Cobolli looks skywards during his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Initially the Italian looked to be feeling the pressure of his first grand slam quarter-finals. His first shot – a return of serve – scooted into the net. His second was a mis-hit. And after he lost the first game he kept rolling his neck, as if trying to ease the tension. Then went love-30 down on his first service game.

But Cobolli was determined to hit himself out of trouble. Serves were thundered down at over 130mph, forehands were struck flat and hard, and he survived.

It set the tone for what was to follow. Even when he went down 5-3, he broke back immediately before taking the first set in a tiebreaker after a 137mph serve.

Often when young players take a set off Djokovic they immediately hit a let-down spot. Can you blame them when their body and minds have been confronted with such intensity? Yet initially Cobolli just kept powering on. He held serve at the start of the second set and at 2-1 up, was looking the better player.

And then, suddenly and imperceptibly, Djokovic upped his level while his opponent switched off ever so slightly. In no time the Serb had rattled off five games in a row, winning 20 points and conceding just six in return, to take the second set 6-2.

Novak Djokovic fans cheer their man on during his quarter-final against Flavio Cobolli. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Cobolli took a break at the start of the third set, trying to clear his senses, but it appeared to be too little avail as he immediately lost his serve and went 2-0 down. Had his resistance been crushed? It certainly looked that way. But, from nowhere, the Cobolli radar suddenly found its range again and he broke back.

At 5-4 in the third, the Italian looked to have every chance. But Djokovic knows how to strike and pounce better than anyone. Suddenly at 5-5, Cobolli hit two forehand errors in a row, was broken, and quickly lost the set. Still the Italian kept fighting. But at 4-4 and 30-30 in the fourth set, the tension became too much. A double-handed backhand went halfway up the net before a drop volley was fluffed.

It left Djokovic serving for the match. But there was still time for more drama as, on the second match point, the Serb fell hard after another Cobolli winner flashed past him.

But however gingerly he got up – he was still able to finish the job.