With Roger Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon winner, sitting in the front row of the Royal Box, so little went right at the outset for the 38-year-old Djokovic on the grass below during a breezy afternoon with the temperature in the 60s Fahrenheit (teens Celsius), a week after matches were contested in record-breaking heat.

Djokovic came under serious pressure for the first time at this Wimbledon Championships, before solving the riddle to triumph 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 and book his place in the quarter-finals

Novak Djokovic may never quite know how he came through on Centre Court against Alex De Minaur, but the beauty of Grand Slam tennis is that he doesn’t need to know. His mind switches immediately to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, which he has reached for the 16th time.