Djokovic battles into Wimbledon semi-finals as Jabeur makes history
LONDON - Defending champion Novak Djokovic battled back from two sets down to reach an 11th Wimbledon semi-final on Tuesday as Ons Jabeur became the first Arab woman to book a place in the last-four of a Grand Slam.
Djokovic triumphed 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 over Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner, recovering from a two-set deficit for the seventh time in his career.
The Serb will face Britain's Cameron Norrie, who also needed five sets to get past David Goffin of Belgium, 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
World number two Jabeur of Tunisia defeated Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
She will next face close friend and mother-of-two Tatjana Maria, who defeated fellow unseeded German Jule Niemeier, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Djokovic, a 20-time major winner, said he had to give himself a talking to after going two sets down.
"The first two sets compared to the next three were like two different matches," he said.
"But at the end of the second set I took a toilet break, gave myself a little pep talk, tried to gather my thoughts.
"I broke early in the third set. I saw a little bit of doubt start to come into his movement. I have many years' experience of playing on these courts and coping with the pressure."
Djokovic is no stranger to Grand Slam adversity, having twice come back from two sets down as recently as last year's French Open.
The second of those stunning recoveries was in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.