Novak Djokovic has progressed into the final four of the men's singles at Wimbledon after a hard-fought, emotionally charged victory over Andrey Rublev.
The Serbian had his work cut out against the Russian and actually lost the first-set 6-4. However, he brushed off the disappointment to dominate the second, winning that set 6-1 with extreme ease in just 28 minutes. The third set was significantly tougher, but the world number two held on despite some nervy moments to take it by six games to four.
There were times where Djokovic's frustration with the centre court crowd came to the fore, particularly in the final game of the third set when he brought his finger to his ear, seemingly asking if the fans in attendance would cheer for him as loud as they were the underdog.
Shortly after that gesture, Djokovic made sure to over-emphasise his fist clench of celebration, which looked like another pointed dig at the crowd.
An early break of serve in the fourth set handed the favourite all the momentum and left Rublev with ultimately just too much to do, despite some impressive shots
Djokovic did well to show minimal sign of fatigue throughout, given his late start on Monday night meant he was back out on centre court Tuesday afternoon to finish his match against Hubert Hurkacz.
By the time the half-way point of the fourth set was reached, it was Rublev who looked considerably more tired as he desperately tried to cling on while Djokovic worked his magic.
Ultimately that break early on in the fourth set would prove costly for Rublev and Djokovic saw out the win in style, booking his place in the last four.
He now has 44 consecutive wins on centre court, the longest winning run since it opened back in 1922. Those kind of records only add to the Serbian's aura and make the prospect of facing the man with more grand slams than any other all the more daunting.
It may be little more than consolation for Rublev, but the Russian's performance ensures he leaves the competition with some new admirers. Ultimately, Djokovic's absurd quality proved simply too much to handle.
Following his win, the number two seed actually thanked the crowd, adding: "First of all thank you for making the atmosphere great on the court for both of us players, I hope you enjoyed the match, there were some thrilling rallies."
He went on to explain that he loves the pressure that comes with being the man everyone wants to beat and conceded the tournament "will only get tougher", with Jannik Sinner awaiting him in the next round.
