Novak Djokovic’s smooth journey through the Wimbledon draw became even easier on Wednesday. He advanced to his 13th semifinal at the tournament after his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew due to a hip injury.
Despite undergoing knee surgery shortly before Wimbledon began, there were doubts about Djokovic’s ability to compete for his eighth Wimbledon title and add to his record of 24 Grand Slam trophies. However, the 37-year-old has only dropped two sets so far.
He faced a qualifier in the first round, a wild-card entrant in the second round, and one seeded player, No. 15 Holger Rune. Djokovic was scheduled to play No. 9 de Minaur in the quarterfinals, but now he will enjoy three days off before Friday’s semifinals.
Off the court, Djokovic has also been in the spotlight for his interactions with spectators at Centre Court. Following his victory over Rune, Djokovic criticized some fans for showing what he called “disrespectful” behavior in their cheering.
In the women’s quarterfinals on Wednesday, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina staged a comeback by winning nine of the last 11 games to defeat No. 21 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2. Meanwhile, No. 31 Barbora Krejcikova defeated No. 13 Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a matchup between two former French Open champions.
Rybakina closed out her victory with her seventh ace and improved her Wimbledon record to 19-2 in four appearances.
“Definitely, I play an aggressive style,” Rybakina stated. “I have a strong serve, which is a big advantage.”
Her match lasted just over an hour, shorter than the second set alone of Krejcikova versus Ostapenko, where at one point Ostapenko asked her coach to leave the stands.
Krejcikova won her first major title at the French Open in 2021, but had never before won five consecutive matches on grass.
“There have been many doubts from within and from the outside world,” said Krejcikova, who arrived at Wimbledon with a 2024 record of just 6-9. “But I’m incredibly happy that I never gave up and that I’m standing here right now.”
In the other women’s semifinal, No. 7 Jasmine Paolini will face unseeded Donna Vekic.
Djokovic will next face either No. 13 Taylor Fritz of the United States or No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. Their quarterfinal match was scheduled for Wednesday.
No other male player has reached as many Grand Slam semifinals as Djokovic’s 49. He and Roger Federer are the only men with 13 appearances in the final four at Wimbledon.
De Minaur’s withdrawal is the latest injury-related exit in the tournament’s second week. Other players who stopped competing in the middle of fourth-round matches due to injury include No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the men’s draw, and No. 12 Madison Keys and No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya in the women’s.
De Minaur’s hip issue emerged near the end of his four-set win over Arthur Fils on Monday. He said he heard a crack and knew something was wrong.
He had medical tests on Tuesday that showed how bad the problem was, but he still tried to practice on Wednesday morning, hoping he could play against Djokovic. It was the first time de Minaur had reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
“It’s no secret that, at this point in my career, this was the biggest match of my career. So I wanted to do everything I could to play,” de Minaur said. “I knew what the results were yesterday, but I still hoped I might wake up today and feel some kind of miracle and not feel it when I’m walking.”
Doctors told him playing on Wednesday could make his hip worse.
“The issue with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, could turn this injury recovery from three to six weeks into four months,” de Minaur said. “It’s too much of a risk.”
