WIMBLEDON NEWS: Through drama and skating to a new spectacle, few understand how Hugh Grant fell asleep

From the special reporter "Vijesti"

Novak Djokovic had to crush the brave Italian Flavio Cobolli twice to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for a record 14th time.

And it seemed that he would have to do a third one - on match point, when practically everything was resolved, when the execution was just expected, he slipped on the grass and was left lying there with a painful grimace.

"We thought we had seen everything, but this..." commented a colleague from Serbia.

Novak nevertheless got up, shook himself off, and collected himself: he won the next two points and set a new record (Federer remained in 13 Wimbledon semifinals), and the unusually warm London day did not get its full dose of drama. As if what was watched for over three hours on Center Court was not enough.

In front of the eyes of the world's acting legend Hugh Grant (as if he had arrived straight from Notting Hill) and other "celebrities" from the Royal Box, Djokovic broke the great Italian twice before finally breaking him.

When he quickly recovered from the loss of the first set and made a break at the start of the third, it seemed that the story was over, but the 22-year-old from Florence seemed to have experienced a new renaissance.

He returned the break, led 4:3, then 5:4, and brought the crowd to its feet on the Center Court, who, not unexpectedly, had sympathy for the underdog.

Many things didn't go his way for Djokovic in those moments - the sun, the heat, the humidity, he cooled himself with ice towels during breaks, but how many times has he found himself in such a situation during his career?

The legend who has 24 times more Grand Slam titles than Koboli does on Wimbledon's Centre Court (this was his first) doesn't go down so easily. Almost out of nowhere, a break came for 6:5 - Djokovic put on his cap, served for 2:1 in sets, and when the shadow finally covered Wimbledon's Centre Court, it seemed that Koboli's story was over.

A story that will be talked about, that will be remembered - how a guy who stepped onto a stage like this for the first time, at his second Wimbledon, reached the quarterfinals and how he turned a two-game deficit in the first set (3:5) into a 1:0 lead against such a giant on the other side of the net.

Against the legend of Djokovic, however, much more is needed - especially at Wimbledon, on such a grandiose stage.

Djokovic's fall at the end was the climax of the drama that, fortunately, ended quickly - a phenomenal match that few people understand, not even the BBC reporters, how Hugh Grant fell asleep for a moment!? Or was he "dazzled" by the sun that moved from the court to the Royal Box in the finish.

For Novak, the real things are yet to come. If the 138th edition of the most prestigious tennis tournament brought sensations in the first rounds, the sequel offered only flashes (Čilić, Koboli, Šelton), and the rest are only the best.

From the beginning, it was believed that only Alkaras, Djokovic and Siner could win the Wimbledon trophy, and a real sensation would have to happen for Taylor Fritz to spoil their party.

Djokovic performed as expected, although he did not complete the expected "task" - to spend less or at least the same amount of time on the court during the quarterfinals as his next rival, Janik Siner. The Italian showed that he has no trace of injury, and the American Shelton showed that he still lacks the "ingredients" to win a match like this.

Will Siner's two hours and 20 minutes matter compared to Djokovic's over three, with an embarrassing fall at the end? Or does it have to mean nothing when it comes to the seven-time Wimbledon champion. The answer will be given on Friday, in another blockbuster of world tennis.

Siner has beaten Djokovic five times in a row, but never on the London grass.