London [UK], July 11 : India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav said he has come to watch and support his "inspiration" Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of ongoing 2025 edition of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Serbian superstar's challenger in the semifinal is world number one Jannik Sinner, with the Italian ending Ben Shelton's run in the competition with a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 win
Speaking at JioHotstar, Suryakumar said, "I have definitely come to watch Novak Djokovic. I have been following his career for a very long time. I even read his book 'Serve to Win', which really inspired me. I made my international cricket debut a little later in life, though not quite as late as 30, but I could really relate to his journey and perseverance. The way he keeps going is phenomenal."
Djokovic took one step closer to record-levelling eighth-time Wimbledon glory as he battled past Flavio Cobolli to advance to a record 14th semifinal at the tournament on Wednesday.
Having dropped the first set to Alex de Minaur in the final 16 clash recently, Djokovic found himself in the same situation. But as it is with champions of his calibre, Djokovic found his answers when it was needed the most, producing a clutch comeback to secure a 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory.
Djokovic had a little scare, slipping on the baseline. However, after some leg stretches, he was back to his feet for a battle which lasted three hours and 11 minutes.
Serbian struggled to keep up with the Italians' athleticism and shot-making in the first set. But his big match came in handy against his opponent, who was competing in his first-ever quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
This is his 102nd win in the tournament and takes his season record to 26-8. Two more victories, and Djokovic will be able to secure his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title and his first since the US Open 2023.
He will also level with Swiss icon Roger Federer for the joint-most Wimbledon titles, with eight each. The former world number one has not had a good time at title clashes in London as of late, having lost his previous two Wimbledon titles in successive years to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.