Novak Djokovic is closing on his record 24th Grand Slam title as he beat Andrey Rublev in the men's singles quarter-final event at Wimbledon 2023 on Tuesday, July 11. Meanwhile, the world no.1 and title favorite Iga Swiatek suffered an upset in the women's singles quarter-final against Elina Svitolina.
The 36-year-old Serbian legend is only a Grand Slam away from setting a world record and he faced his toughest challenge in the form of Rublev in the last eight. The Russian started dominantly as he broke Djokovic's serve in the first set to win 6-4 but the latter quickly recovered to win the match by 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 3-6.
Djokovic joined the 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer’s record of 46 men’s Grand Slam semifinals. He will now face Italian youngster Jannik Sinner in the semis and can potentially face the world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
"Any tennis player wants to be in a position where everyone wants to win against you on the court. Pressure is part of what we do. It's part of our sport. It's never going to go away, regardless of how many Grand Slams you win or how many matches you won or how many years you are playing professionally on the tour," Djokovic said after the game.
In the Women's singles event, fans were dreaming of all top four reaching the semi-finals on Tuesday but they witnessed two big upsets. First, Marketa Vondrousova ended the world no.4 USA ace Jessica Pegula's journey with a 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 win and then Ukraine's Elina Svitolina stunned the three-time French Open Champion Iga Swiatek with 5-7, 7-6, 2-6 triumph.
The Polish star dominated the second set after losing the opening one but missed considerable return serves in the third set to lose the thrilling match. In other quarter-final fixtures on Wednesday, current champions Elena Rybakina will face the world no.6 Ons Jabeur and the world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka will clash against USA star Madison Keys.
