Wimbledon: Djokovic Hits Fourth Round as Centre Court Cheers England’s Euro Victory

Novak Djokovic advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round for the 16th time on Saturday, pausing mid-match to join the Centre Court crowd in celebrating England’s Euro 2024 victory over Switzerland in Germany.

Djokovic secured a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, keeping his quest alive for a record-tying eighth Wimbledon title and his 25th Grand Slam win.

With this win, Djokovic has now reached the last 16 at Grand Slam tournaments for the 65th time and notched his 95th Wimbledon match win, despite undergoing knee surgery last month.

During the match, Djokovic celebrated England’s quarter-final win over Switzerland by mimicking a penalty kick. When the crowd inside Centre Court erupted at 4-1 in the second set, marking England’s shootout win in Dusseldorf, Djokovic playfully kicked an imaginary ball while Popyrin pretended to make a save as the goalkeeper.

“I assumed it was a penalty shootout between England and Switzerland – it felt like for a set and a half the crowd really wanted to understand what the score is in the football match,” Djokovic said. “Did England win in the end? That’s why you guys stayed. Congrats to England.”

He humorously added, “I tried to shoot a penalty, I’m left-footed, but Alexei defended it well.”

The world number two will next face Denmark’s Holger Rune, the 15th seed, in the fourth round. Rune, a quarter-finalist last year, overcame Quinton Halys in a thrilling comeback, winning 1-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, marking his first victory from two sets down.