WIMBLEDON, England—As Novak Djokovic pursues more history-making victories and more milestones, he is well aware that every opponent he faces would love nothing more than to stop him.
“I know they want … to win. But it ain’t happening, still,” he told the crowd at Wimbledon on Tuesday after reaching a 46th Grand Slam semifinal to tie Roger Federer’s record for men.
Hearing the spectators’ loud reaction to that boast, Djokovic laughed and observed about himself: “Very humble.”
His 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 victory over Andrey Rublev was the 33rd in a row at the All England Club for Djokovic, moving him closer to a fifth consecutive championship and eighth overall there—which would pull him even with Federer on both counts….