'Looking like he never left': De Minaur 'not surprised' to see Djokovic's firing at Wimbledon post surgery

London, July 9
Australia tennis player Alex de Minaur, who has reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, expressed no surprise at Novak Djokovic's formidable form at The Championships just over a month after undergoing surgery.



Djokovic, who underwent surgery on a torn medial meniscus on June 5, eased to a straight-sets win over Holger Rune to reach the last eight to set a quarterfinal with De Minaur.

The Australian believes Djokovic has proven he can bounce back from surgery quickly in the past. "It's just what Novak does. Yeah, I'm not surprised. I mean, we've seen him do these things in the past, recover and be back like he never left," De Minaur was quoted by Eurosport.

"Of course, he's one of those guys that looks after his body, does all the one percenters in the whole world. You can tell with his quick recovery time. It doesn't surprise me.

"There were rumours he was maybe going to miss Wimby or whatever. I knew deep down he was definitely going to be back. Yeah, it doesn't shock me that he's back. Playing some great tennis, looking like he never left," he added.

From Paris to London, De Minaur has been producing a high level of tennis, as his run follows making the quarterfinals in Roland-Garros for the first time last month. This is the third occasion that De Minaur has reached the last eight of a major, having done so for the first time at the 2020 US Open.

Djokovic, on the other hand, advanced to the last eight at Wimbledon for the 15th time, claiming second place in the all-time list for most quarter-final appearances at the grass-court major, moving past Jimmy Connors (14). Only record eight-time champion Roger Federer has advanced to the quarterfinals more (18), according to ATP stats.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who reached his 60th Grand Slam quarterfinal, is aiming to equal Federer’s haul of eight Wimbledon titles this fortnight.