Demon v Djoker: The Wimbledon showdown that is a year in the making
'But still, it was a brutal time for me last year, having to deal with all those emotions. [I'm] feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again, so I'm excited for that.'
A lot has happened in between. De Minaur ascended to a career-high No.6 in the rankings after his 2024 Wimbledon run, but the hip setback had wide-ranging repercussions, from costing him playing singles at the Olympics to spending months on the sidelines.
He somehow extended his grand slam quarter-finals streak at the US Open, but Brit Jack Draper mercilessly thrashed a clearly compromised de Minaur.
His hip has long recovered, and he made a maiden quarter-final at the Australian Open in January – but a second-round loss at Roland-Garros in May prompted him to reveal he was suffering from mental fatigue and needed a tennis detox.
The 26-year-old tumbled out of the top 10 ahead of this year's Wimbledon championships, and lost his only match on grass in straight sets, so expectations were modest.
A friendly draw helped de Minaur advance to the round of 16 for the second straight year, with his opening three opponents' combined average ranking a lowly 127. Djokovic will be a significant rise in class.
What the numbers say
Both players dropped just one set on their way to the fourth round, but Djokovic's serve stands out.
The Serbian superstar has hit 49 aces to the Australian's 12, his first-serve percentage shades de Minaur comfortably (73 per cent to 54), and he is winning 84 per cent of those points to de Minaur's 80.
Djokovic has dropped serve only once – at his first attempt to complete his win over Miomir Kecmanovic in the previous round – whereas de Minaur's been broken four times.
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De Minaur's ability to protect his serve will likely determine his fate, but he will fancy his chances of denting Djokovic's serving dominance, given he is the ATP Tour's leading returner statistically across the past year. Djokovic is 14th in the same metric.
De Minaur has converted 15 of his 42 break points (36 per cent) at Wimbledon this year, while Djokovic has broken 19 times from 53 chances (36 per cent).
There has been a gradual decline in de Minaur's first-serve percentage across the years as he takes more risks searching for power and cheaper points. Winning 80 per cent of first-serve points this fortnight is a great result.
But occasionally, his percentage sinks dramatically, including landing only nine of 27 on his first ball in the opening set against Arthur Cazaux in the second round. That is the sole set de Minaur lost. He made only 42 per cent of first serves in his most-recent match against Djokovic in Monte-Carlo last year – and that won't cut it.
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De Minaur has picked his spots well to come to the net, particularly in his past two wins over August Holmgren and Cazaux, where he won a combined 37 of 42 points (88 per cent) in that part of the court.
But Djokovic has also been dominant at the net, where he is winning 80 per cent of points for the tournament.
What they said
Alex de Minaur: 'Novak has completed the game. He's broken all the records. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more. He's a player who can find motivation and fire from anything – and that's extremely dangerous. You don't want to give him something to get motivated about because then you'll definitely see his absolute best side.'
Novak Djokovic: 'Alex has improved his game tremendously in the last couple of years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure, because he's so quick, and he's a complete player. He has gained pace on his serve as well. He hits his spots very well. [I'm expecting] a very tough challenge. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex.'
Demon v Djoker match-ups
2023 Australian Open R4 (hardcourt)
Novak Djokovic d Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
How Demon reflects: 'Obviously, that first one we played was a whitewash. He was way too good, and I had no answers for him.'
2024 United Cup quarter-finals (hardcourt)
Alex de Minaur d Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4
How Demon reflects: 'It was an incredible moment to be able to overcome that previous result and actually finish on top. That was a huge stepping stone in my career and my confidence levels because the feeling I had after that first time we played wasn't great, and I was able to overcome that.'

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Alex de Minaur has admitted he has to find a way to raise his game at the big moments like champions do. De Minaur's mood, as he reflected on his 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon was so flat he might as well have been roadkill. Which he was in a way, having been steamrollered by the seven-time grasscourt champ in the closing stages of a previously competitive fourth round tie. De Minaur had a break point to go 5-1 up and be one service game away from taking 38-year-old Djokovic into a fifth set. Then the Serb put his foot down and crushed the Aussie No.1's resistance, winning 14 of the last 15 points. "He lifted his level big-time," said de Minaur. "I had a chance to break him and get the double break. He started going after it a little bit more and raised his level, which completely changed the momentum. "I'm frustrated I let that set slip away. But he's been pretty good in big moments for a very long time. "In the bigger moments today I think my level dipped, and I didn't rise to the occasion as I needed to if I wanted to beat someone as good as him. "There's positives (from the match) but where I am in my career I want more. I want to be on the other side of this match coming out on top because that's the next step in my career. "If I'm going to make the next step, these are the types of matches that need to start going my way. "The right thing to do, to tell myself, 'Hey, I was close, I probably should have been into a fifth set, and who knows what happens in that fifth set against Novak at Wimbledon and one of his best grand slams'. I should be telling myself that. "But right now... I won't see that side of things. It's still too early. It's a little bit more about, 'yes, I lost to Novak, but I lost in the fourth round when I was hoping for more this week'." Pressed, de Minaur did list the positives, but nevertheless ended on a negative. "From the back of the court I went toe-to-toe with one of the greats. I was definitely taking it to him and probably felt like I had the upper hand if we had indeed got into a rally. "I was moving the ball well. I was hurting him from the baseline and gave myself plenty of opportunities and chances. The returning, I'm always going to give myself chances. I'm always going to put a lot of the pressure on my opponent, and I did that today. "What I need to improve on is the serve. When (Djokovic) needed it, he really raised his serving. It felt like he was breezing through games. "The serve needs to get me out of trouble, needs to help me in big moments, needs to step up if I want to win these matches." Identifying the problem is one thing, fixing it is another matter entirely. That's de Minaur's next challenge, but he won't shirk it.

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'I know they eat pigeons' I also struggled to erase images of a 2.17 metres giant catfish caught last month within a few hundred yards of the bathing zone, cut off from the rest of the river by a few fig-leaf buoys. I know they eat pigeons. Small children at a push? Thankfully, the bathing area is out of bounds for the under-14s. Another worry was being squashed by a bateau-mouche, the tourist boats that ply the river and point out the sights. Some 300 craft pass the bras-Marie every day. Paris town hall officials assured me they were barred from passing during bathing opening hours – to the reported fury of tourist operators. Perhaps all this – plus the coolish weather after a blistering heatwave – explained the relatively modest queue that formed ahead of the 8am opening time when Paris' Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo came in person to see the first bathers off. Loading In the queue was Noémie Wira, 30. 'I'm a Parisienne and it's such a thrill to be among the first to take a dip. 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I strode through the turnstile without a ticket – all bathing areas are totally free and there is no time limit, but the bras-Marie zone is limited to 150 bathers at a time (the other sites can hold 300 and 150 respectively). A green flag fluttered over the wooden decking that serves as a changing area with lockers to store belongings. There are no changing rooms. A yellow flag signals caution, and red is no-go. Caps and goggles are not compulsory but all bathers are required to be tethered to a fetching yellow inflatable tow float. The next hurdle was the obligatory 'swim test'. 'Well, it's not really a test, we just observe people's first few strokes and fish them out if they don't pass muster,' said lifeguard Trady, who kept an eagle eye on bathers. 'This is a small, protected area but the Seine is a dangerous place,' he warned. Indeed, a sign outside points out potential threats: passing boats, currents, and 'gripping plants'. Intriguingly, it was only in French. Could this be some covert plan to reduce over-tourism?, I mused. But now, the moment had finally arrived and I glided into the river and took a few strokes before plunging below. It felt exhilarating and frankly historic to be among the first 100 members of the public to bathe in Paris since 1923. Loading Parisian Hector Pellegars, 27, said: 'I didn't expect it but there was a feeling of intimacy between me, the city and the river which I have never experienced. It was also very weird as the image I had of the Seine when growing up in Paris was an open-air sewer. Now the water is clean enough for us to swim in and it's fantastic.' Paddling past was Tom, a British 24-year-old from Bath now living in Lyon. He said: 'In England, I've swum in some pretty grim rivers. Now we realise just how grim they are with all the water company problems going on, so this doesn't bother me much, frankly.' Could it catch on across the channel in the UK? 'The Thames is a bit of a long shot. But if they've done it here, why not?,' he said. It was a delightful and surreal experience to view Paris from water level after all these years of observing it from the banks. Indeed, it had become a running joke for me to predict: 'One day I will literally go 'in Seine'.'