But otherwise, thanks all for your company – enjoy the rest of the weekend and peace out.
So what of tomorrow? Well, we’ve got plenty at which to go. Sinner v Rune stands out – Rune will expect to win, which is a lot of the battle – while Rybakina v Keys could be a lot of fun.
Otherwise, there’s Lys v Swiatek, Michelsen v De Minaur, Monfils v Shelton, Navarro v Kasatkina and Sonego v Tien, the last of those particularly exciting. Join us around 12am GMT to see how it all shakes out!
Draper has a proper head; let’s hope he gets his hip right too.
Badosa, if she turns up, if a proper threat to Gauff – she’s always had the talent and might just be ready now. But yes, this potential semi is an extremely enticing prospect.
Let’s round up today…
Stop press! Jan removes his t-shirt – he’s got a different one on underneath – and Djokovic puts it on. Great stuff.
Speaking to Eurosport, Djokovic says he felt great with a few hiccups, particularly losing his serve after breaking at the start of set three. He had chances to break thereafter noting Lehecka served big at those times, but he played the big points well.
Otherwise, he says sometimes he handles pressure well, sometimes not, and only people who’ve experienced what it’s like at the top of the game understand what you have to go through. When you’re feeling challenged you have to weather the storm and he thinks he’s handled adversity well the last couple of matches.
Asked if he notices how stressed Murray is, he says he sees the same poker face he saw on the court for 30 years. Murray understands very well what kind of pressure moments and energy you face on the court when you’re challenged and it’s great to have his energy and encouragement; he loves it.
Finally, Jan, Djokovic’s oldest fan – and his wife – come in. They saw him play at 1, spotted his potential greatness, and are wearing t-shirts showing a photo taken at that time. Ah, that’s lovely.
I don’t think this Djokovic can beat Alcaraz on this surface … but I can’t wait to see him try. They’ve not met since their Olympic-final classic and Alcaraz isn’t yet at his best; the question, I think, is whether the old man can hit his lengths as consistently as he does at his best. If he can, he’s in business.
Strange: Djokovic takes the mic from Jim Courier, says “Thank you very much for being here tonight, I appreciate your presence and your support and I’ll see you nexrt round,” then leaves. I guess the crowd have naused him up and he doesn’t want to get into it, instead preferring to nurture the sense of injustice that serves him so well.
Lehecka swings a backhand into the net and, if we’re being real, never really threatened. Djokovic, a 10-time champ, makes a 15th quarter-final and, as so often, is improving through the rounds. That’s the first match in which he’s not lost a set, and I’m sure there’s more to come. Next up, though: Carlos Alcaraz!
Another Lehecka return flies long and I wonder if he’s struggling to moderate his emotions – he’s regularly giving his shots too much. Djokovic leads 5-2, and though the Czech soon makes it 5-4, a gorgeous volley at the net means at 6-4, we’ve two match points.
Oh that’s magical mastery from the maestro! Djokovic sticks in the next point, flipping a lob then reading an overhead, before seizing via backhand pass and clinching the mini-break with another. He soon consolidates via service-winner, and at 4-2 is three points from victory.
An error from Lehecka donates an immediate mini-break, then Djokovic ups the drama by bouncing the ball for several hours, also keeping his opponent waiting and guessing – purely by accident, I’m sure. But it’s the Serb who errs – he seems to blame the birds overhead – before making 2-1.
Lehecka unloads the suitcase at a forehand but it’s wild then, well in the next rally, he overhits again, his 41st unforced error of the match. At 40-0,he finds his range, pasting a second serve back down the line, but a better delivery out wide secures Djokovic the tiebreak. On the one hand, that might favour Lehecka because he has a big serve and is able to win single points but, on the other, Djokovic is quite good at tennis.
Lehecka is confident now, a serve-volley point taking him to 40-15, and a netted return guarantees him a tiebreaker – minimum.
Nice from Lehecka, returning well before whamming a forehand winner on to the baseline for 30-15, then Djokovic goes long, and this is a glimmer. Ahahahaha, an ace down the T follows, of course, it does, then the Serb chastises the umpire for losing control because on both his last two serves, someone’s made a noise as he’s about to deliver. But he closes out in short order to lead 2-1 5-5.
Djokovic is so quick for a 67-year-old. He dashes to the net, splits, slides and stretches, then flicks a delightful winner across the face for 30-all; Lehecka responds with an ace, then a service-winner, and at 5-4 imposes a bit of scoreboard pressure.
Coach Calv is back in front of screen following Henry Patten’s mixed doubles win earlier – he and Olivia Nicholls binned the top seeds as detailed below. On Lehecka, he says “Solid, good enough for top 20 but probably not top 10,” and that chimes with what we’ve seen. Like many on the men’s tour, he can do great stuff sometimes, but isn’t consistent enough or brilliant enough at something specific to threaten the elite of the elite. Meantime, Djokovic holds easily for 4-4 in the third…
I’ve been waiting for it and at change of ends here it comes! Banger!
Between games we see Murray, set in tracky bottoms though it’s roughly 405 degrees on court; classic Scotland. Then, when Lehecka serves, a brilliant return gives Djokovic 15-30; an ace restores parity. But another error hands over another break point … saved with an ace on to the outside of the T. And another ace, on advantage, secures a crucial hold, giving the Czech 4-3 in the third, Djoovic by two sets to love.
Lehecka makes 30-all and must take advantage of what is, by the standard, a chance. But Djokovic fires a big serve and cleans up well, then a service-winner out wide and the chance wasn’t, in fact, a chance at all. However there’s now the sense that a breaker, if we get there, could go either way.
A winner off each wing, the second a glorious forehand down the line, give Lehecka 30-0, and he soon flicks another, cross-court, to secure his hold. This is his best sustained period of the match and he has big shots, the problem is that he struggles to win points without them.
Er, no. Djokovic holds to love for 6-3 6-4 2-2, but Lehecka looks a little more ocnfident out there.
And from there, Lehecka closes out for 2-1 in the third, seizing the game with a forehand winner. He might just be starting to relax, but can he make an impression on the Djokovic serve?
Down 40-30, Djokovic unfurls forehands that take him to deuce, the sense that he can do whatever he needs to do to sort this. A double donates advantage … but a better delivery sees a return float long, and back to deuce we go.
Djokovic nets a backhand, and well played Jiri Lehecka! He breaks back for 1-1 in the third, and that was something you don’t often see: the greatest of all time removing toe from trachea.
A brutal rally, then Lehecka raps the net-cord giving Djokovic time to spank a backhand to the corner, finishing off with two overheads. One break-point saved.
Down 0-15, Djokovic is soon berating himself and his bench because Lehecka lays a lovely drop that he can’t run down. And what’s this?! A double follows, cut of course to an agape Andrew Murray, and here come three break points! Not over after all!
Djokovic gets advantage on the Lehecka serve; he’s 2/8 on break points. And guess what happens next: yup, as he did in set one, the Czech sends down a double, and that’s the brain-scrambling pressure of playing Djokovic, who leads 6-3 6-4 1-0. This feels over.
Djokovic makes 40-0 then smokes an ace down the T. After 89 minutes he leads 6-3 6-4 and is just a bit too good for Lehecka, who can’t string together a good enough returning game to seriously threaten.
Lehecka holds, “forcing” Djokovic to serve for set two at 6-3 5-4.
Zverev is in the bottom half of the draw and there’s a fair bit going on there; the winner of him and Paul will play Alcaraz or, assuming he finishes Lehecka off, Djokovic. The top half has Sinner, Rune, Michelsen and De Minaur competing for one semi-final berth; the other will go to one of Monfils, Shelton, Sonego and Tien.
Zverev notes that his interviewer, whose name I missed, has lost her voice – “I think you party too much,” he says; she explains she was yelling at him; “At me, or for me,” he laughs. Yeah.
On the match, he says Humbert’s taken steps forward recently, making the finals of his first Masters 1000 event; “Who did he lose to,” comes back at Zverev; “OK, yes, he lost to e but that was not the point, why are making it awkward? I don’t know, I don’t want to talk to you.” More laughter. Yeah.
Back to Humbert, Zverev thinks he can break the top 10, then on himself is happy to reach the last eight having dropped just one set. A week ago he was unsure of his tennis having returned from a bicep injury, so he’s extra happy to be playing as he is.
Finally he explains that he’s a pretty laidback person, has a date with the practice court (not his girlfriend) and he’s quick around the court but nowhere else. Yeah.
He’s never beaten Tommy Paul but he wants to play three more matches and love being in Australia.
A good win for Zverev, who was given a bit of a test; he meets Tommy Paul (12) next.
Lehecka hangs in there, holding to trail Djokovic 3-6 2-3; Zverev has two match points, Humbert just unable to play well enough for long enough.
Ooooh, Humbert is on the brink at 15-40, the match disappearing quickly now. He saves the first double-break point with a service-winner, but returning from way out of court, having stood there to welcome precisely this delivery, Zverev creams a backhand winner down the line and bellows his enthusiasm. He leads 6-1 2-2 6-3 5-2 and will now look to close out.
And have a look! Zverev runs around his backhand to punish a forehand winner down the line, an ace on to the T follows, and at 4-2 he’s two holds away from victory. Humbert’s given him a decent workout but just hasn’t been able to sustain the level that enables him to compete and threaten. His second-set purple patch was good and encouraging but, by the looks of things, ultimately insignificant.
At 3-6 1-2, Lehecka makes 15-30, so Djokovic engages him in another rally, hitting length, and shonuff the inevitable error arrives. The difference in this match is of consistency, and it’s incredible to think we had this freak of nature at the same time as Nadal and Murray, two other ludicrously cruel hitters. The fitness and mentality required to keep going as they do and did, I can’t even begin to explain it. Djokovic holds for 6-3 3-1 but, on Cain, a lefty forehand cross raises break-back point for Humbert … and of course Zverev nails a service-winner down T.
That’ll teach em.
Lehecka goes hard at Djokovic’s serve – he needs to – but having raised break point he hits a forehand long, presumably seeking to shorten the rally. Problem being his eagerness means he gives the shot too much, the ball falls out, and from there the consolidation is soon secured. Djokovic leads 6-3 2-0.
Zverev is getting after Humbert now and, fun though today’s matches have been, it’s not been tricky to predict their outcomes. As I type, the German unleashes a forehand winner for 15-40, Humbert then goes long on the forehand, and at 6-1 2-6 6-3 2-1, this match feels almost over. Four holds and Zverev is home.
Djokovic has got Lehecka, who can’t hit with consistency necessary to trouble him. At 30-40, a forehand wafts long, and a break at the start of set two means Andy Murray’s boy leads 6-3 1-0.
Zverev also serves out comfortably to lead Humbert 6-1 2-6 6-3. In both our matches, the underdogs have been found wanting at the crucial moments.
I mentioned Henry Patten earlier, the Wimbledon men’s doubles champ. Well, he and Olivia NIcholls have beaten Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the no 1 seeds in the mixed doubles, 6-3 6-4.
Yup, Djokovic makes 40-15, Lehecka goes long on the forehand, and that’s a 6-3 first set for the young Serb.
…and though Humbert saves one, a backhand return from out wide, zoning cross-court, he can only net in response and Zverev will now serve for 2-1, also at 5-3.
We’ve seen this before haven’t we? Three unforced errors give Djokovic 15-40 … and Lehecka promptly sends down a double! An absolute disaster of a game and at 5-3, the greatest of all time will serve for the first set while, on Cain, Humbert is doing the same thing down 6-1 4-3 15-40…
I am not, now that you ask, altogether enamoured of Humbert’s rig. Nevertheless he holds for 3-3 in the third and is still the better player – can he make it count while the going’s good? – while, on Laver, it’s 3-3 in the first.
