Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic ties legendary Roger Federer with 46 Slam semi-finals

As Novak Djokovic lunges forward in pursuit of more milestones he is well aware that every opponent he faces would love nothing more than to stop himI know they want to win But it aint happening still he told the crowd at Wimbledon on Tuesday after reaching a 46th Grand Slam semifinal to tie Roger Federers record for menHearing the spectators loud reaction to that boast Djokovic laughed and observed about himself Very humbleHis 46 61 64 63 victory over Andrey Rublev was the 33rd in a row at the All England Club for Djokovic moving him closer to a fifth consecutive championship and eighth overall there which would pull him even with Federer on both countsI feel Rublev said about Djokovic like hes playing better and betterDjokovic a 36yearold from Serbia is also pursuing a 24th career major trophy He already set the mens mark in that category by collecting No 23 at the French Open last month pulling ahead of Rafael Nadal Federer is next on the list with 20Also Read Whats Novak Djokovicrsquos special court romance likeThe only real blip for Djokovic came when the No 7seeded Rublev broke him with a forehand winner to lead 54 at the outset then served out the opening setFrom there Djokovic saved all seven break points he faced and pulled away dropping Rublev to 08 in Grand Slam quarterfinalsEvery time when he had a chance this little chance Rublev said he made them All of themWell not quite Djokovic failed to convert any of his three break points in the opening set After that He went 5 for 9Next up for Djokovic is a matchup against No 8 seed Jannik Sinner who made it to the semifinals at a major tournament for the first time by beating Roman Safiullin 64 36 62 62 earlier TuesdayDjokovic has won both previous headtohead meetings against Sinner a 21yearold from Italy That includes in last years Wimbledon quarterfinals when Djokovic dropped the first two sets before coming through in fiveIts for sure one of the toughest if not the toughest challenge Sinner said about playing DjokovicThe other two mens quarterfinals are Wednesday No 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs No 6 Holger Rune and No 3 Daniil Medvedev vs unseeded Chris EubanksOn Friday Sinner will be the latest to attempt to stop Djokovic who is two wins away from heading to the US Open in August with his sights on the first calendaryear Grand Slam for a man since Rod Laver accomplished the feat in 1969Any tennis player wants to be in a position where everyone wants to win against you on the court Pressure is part of what we do Its part of our sportIts never going to go away regardless of how many Grand Slams you win or how many matches you won or how many years you are playing professionally on the tour Djokovic saidThe pressure is paramount every single time I come out on the court particularly here the Centre Court of Wimbledon But at the same time it awakens the most beautiful emotions in me and it motivates me beyond what I have ever dreamed of actually and inspires me to play my best tennisWith AP inputs