Novak Djokovic Makes Feelings Towards Roger Federer Clear After Wimbledon Win

Novak Djokovic Makes Feelings Towards Roger Federer Clear After Wimbledon Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

It’s been a quiet 2025 for Novak Djokovic who returned to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after not playing since May’s French Open.

The 38-year-old tennis star has the resume and experience to choose his spots. So far in this year’s Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic is headed to the quarterfinals after his comeback win against No. 11 Alex de Minaur.

Djokovic lost the first set 1-6, but slammed the door shut by winning the next three sets, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-4.

Despite outpacing de Minaur in unforced errors 44-38, Djokovic found success by holding his serve well, with 85 of 129 1st serves in (66%) and 59 of 85 1st serve points won (69%).

After the match, Djokovic was gracious in his victory. When asked about overcoming some early struggles in his win over de Minaur, Djokovic paid a compliment to his former rival, Roger Federer, who was in attendance at centre court.

“Sometimes I wish I had a serve and volley and nice touch from the gentleman that is standing right there.”

Novak Djokovic gave props to Roger Federer in his victory speech 👏 pic.twitter.com/K9lzjrPbbN

— ESPN (@espn) July 7, 2025

“There were a lot of challenging moments for me (in the match). Sometimes, I wish I had a serve and volley and nice touch from the gentleman that is standing right there,” said Djokovic, gesturing to Federer.

The fans in attendance gave a big roar of applause at the mention of Federer. The eight-time Wimbledon champion retired in 2022.

The pair played each other 50 times, with Djokovic leading the series 27-23. Of those 50 matchups, Federer and Djokovic played against each other in Grand Slam tournaments 17 times, one fewer than Federer vs. Nadal.

No. 6 Djokovic will face No. 22  Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals. They’ve played against each other once before, with Djokovic winning 6-1, 6-2 in the Round of 32 in the 2024 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai, which features a hard court.

Related: Novak Djokovic’s Wife Reacts to Historic Wimbledon News Without Using a Word

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.