Wimbledon: Djokovic Survives Rublev Scare to Reach S’final

Novak Djokovic on Tuesday came through a bruising battle with seventh seed Andrey Rublev to maintain his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon men’s title.

The Serb, also aiming to match Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles, fought back to win 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-3 in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Djokovic, 36, will play Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the last four.

Sinner, 21, reached his first Grand Slam semi-final by beating Russian Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-2.

In contrast, Djokovic will contest a 46th major semi-final – having equalled Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record – when the pair meet on Friday.

It is a repeat of their quarter-final last year when Sinner came close to beating Djokovic, before the veteran fought back from two sets down to win.

Four-time defending champion Djokovic’s hard-fought win against Russia’s Rublev was his 33rd consecutive victory at the All England Club.

He has not lost a completed match in SW19 since 2016 and has not been beaten on Centre Court since losing the 2013 final against Britain’s Andy Murray.