Still, on his return from injury, Novak Djokovic clashed with Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships. The match was a tightly contested clash between the two. Novak Djokovic eventually overcame the Australian in four sets, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
Novak Djokovic clashed with today’s opponent, Alexei Popyrin, in the Australian Open in January in the second round. The Australian had stolen the second set off of the 10-time Australian Open champion before the Serbian rallied to win the next two sets. Popyrin had hit 17 aces to Djokovic’s 11 on that occasion.
Novak Djokovic Wins A Tight Popyrin Challenge
“Well, it was another tough match. I didn’t expect anything less than what we experienced on the court today from Alexei. I knew he was going to come to the match with confidence and self-belief.
“He was close to winning that match we played against each other in Australia earlier this year. So, you know with that serve and powerful forehands, he’s dangerous on any surface.”
Today’s encounter was the third time Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin were clashing on the ATP tour. Their first meeting had been in the 2019 Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in the first round of the tournament. Djokovic had defeated the Australian on that occasion 6-4, 6-2. Djokovic had gone on to defeat another Australian, John Millman, in the final.
Alexei Popyrin took the first set of the Wimbledon third round clash with Novak Djokovic before the seven-time Wimbledon champion clawed his way back to lead 2-1 two sets later. By the fourth set, Popyrin took a break off Novak’s serve and at a point, was serving for the match. Djokovic hit his 1,000th ace in the Wimbledon Championships during the match. He’s the sixth male player to ever hit as many aces.
“He was the better player for the first set and then I stepped it up. I think I played a really good second and third and then the fourth really was anybody’s game… so, just a very challenging match today, I think mentally as well to hang in there.
“I’m not allowed to have too big of a concentration lapse, and I think I’ve done well in that regard. I think it reflected positively in a tiebreak that was one of the best tiebreaks I’ve played this year. That’s for sure.”
“I Think Each Match Is Getting Better”
This is Novak Djokovic’s third match since coming back from a knee injury he sustained in his fourth round clash with Francisco Cerundolo in the French Open. The Serbian had to undergo surgery due to a torn medial meniscus.
He resumed training in London a week before the Wimbledon Championships and had practice sessions with top players like Emil Ruusuvuori, Frances Tiafoe, and Jannik Sinner, and even an exhibition match against Daniil Medvedev.
“Well, I think each match is getting better. My feeling of confidence in my movement, particularly the little bit of extreme balls, you know, reaching, sliding, I definitely felt better today than I felt in the second round match. So, hopefully that direction or trajectory will keep going in a positive way. As the tournament progresses, each match I’ll feel better. Yeah, let’s see what happens in the next one.”
During the match, the England football team defeated Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2024 on penalties. This led to a ruckus from the crowd as the crowd burst into celebration. Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin found the light side of the moment with the Serbian then mimicking taking a penalty. Popyrin also mimicked a goalie catching the shot.
“Congrats to England. I tried to shoot a penalty. I’m a left-footer, but Alexei defended it well.”
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