‘Gladiator’ Shoutout: Djokovic ACKNOWLEDGES Virat Kohli’s Praise After Dramatic Wimbledon Win

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic acknowledged a supportive social media message from Indian cricket star Virat Kohli following his gritty fourth-round Wimbledon victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic acknowledged a supportive social media message from Indian cricket star Virat Kohli following his gritty fourth-round Wimbledon victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.Kohli, watching Djokovic’s comeback on Centre Court, hailed the Serb as a “gladiator” on Instagram after witnessing him rally from a one-set deficit to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. De Minaur had led 4-1 in the fourth set before Djokovic reeled off five consecutive games to seal the match.

Djokovic responded to Kohli’s tribute with a concise four-word post: “Thank you for supporting.” The 38-year-old later referenced their mutual respect, stating, “It was really a privilege and an honour to listen to him speak nicely about me. I obviously admire all of his career and achievements.”

Djokovic also humorously mentioned past discussions about cricket: “I started to play cricket. I’m not very good at it… I’ll have a task to perfect my cricket skills before I get to India.”

The victory marked a significant milestone, making Djokovic only the third player in history – after Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer – to achieve 100 Wimbledon match wins. He now chases a record 25th Grand Slam title and an eighth Wimbledon crown to tie Federer.

Reflecting on the tough match, Djokovic admitted: “It wasn’t a great start for me… He was managing the play better. I was very pleased to hang tough in the right moments.”

Djokovic advances to his 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal where he’ll face Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.