Novak Djokovic 'played' the violin to celebrate his entry into the second week of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships after defeating Alexei Popyrin. The Serb will enter the second week in SW19 for the 16th time in his career.
The Serb's participation was in doubt after he suffered a medial meniscus tear in his right knee at the French Open in his fourth-round match after which he had surgery. However, he went through rehab to be ready in time for Wimbledon and the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The 37-year-old clinched a routine 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win in the first round against Vit Kopriva to kick off his run for a record-equalling eighth title. He then faced home favorite Jacob Fearnley in the second round, and though he faced some hiccups in the third set, he bounced back in style to win 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
The second seed faced Alexei Popyrin in the third round. The Aussie took the first set, after which the Serb bounced back in his style to comfortably clinch victory 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).
After his win, the two men shared a friendly handshake. Djokovic then gestured playing the violin with his racket and blew a flying kiss towards his box, seemingly towards his wife Jelena, who cheered the Serb on.
The 24-time Major champion and Popyrin also shared a fun moment during the match. When the crowd cheered England's win against Switzerland in penalty shootouts of the quarterfinals of the Euros, the Serb did a ball-kicking action with a laugh. Popyrin, hilariously, became a goalkeeper to save the shot, and the two men and the crowd laughed about it.
Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune set up a blockbuster fourth-round clash at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships
Novak Djokovic will play 15th seed Holger Rune in the fourth round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships in what will be the sixth meeting between the two. It will, however, be their first matchup on grass. The Serb edges their head-to-head 3-2 with their most recent meeting coming at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals where Djokovic won a topsy-turvy three-set thriller.
Rune kicked off his run in style with a straight-set win against Kwon Soon-woo. He followed it with a win against Thiago Seyboth Wild from a set down. The Dane clinched a remarkable win against Quentin Halys in the third round after turning around a two-set deficit.
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