Favourite Novak Djokovic trailed for the first time at this year’s Wimbledon but responded in brutal fashion to beat Andrey Rublev 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-3 to reach the semifinals on Tuesday.
Inspired seventh seed Rublev snatched the opening set but it was akin to poking a sleeping grizzly bear as Djokovic exacted painful punishment to stay on track for a fifth straight title.
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Rublev played some brilliant tennis that would have accounted for pretty much any other player in the world.
But it was not enough to stop the 36-year-old Djokovic reaching his 46th Grand Slam semifinal, equalling the record of eight-time champion Roger Federer.