Just when Novak Djokovic's troubling year looked like hitting another low, he has salvaged his bid for a fourth successive Wimbledon title, coming back from two sets down to beat Italian Jannik Sinner in the last eight.
The Serbian top seed looked in all kinds of trouble against the inspired 20-year-old, outplayed for two sets, but stormed back to win 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 and set up a clash with surprise British semi-finalist Cameron Norrie.
In the end, there was an air of inevitability about the outcome, as the battle-hardened 35-year-old seized control to reach his 43rd Grand Slam semi-final and 11th at Wimbledon.
He also extended an unbeaten run at Wimbledon that goes back to 2017 and now stands at 26 matches.
Djokovic has not added to his 20 major titles this year, after a COVID-19 standoff saw him deported before the Australian Open and then losing to old adversary Rafael Nadal in the French Open quarter-finals.
He might even be barred from the US Open over his decision to shun a COVID vaccine, but kept alive the prospect of facing Spaniard Nadal in the Wimbledon final with a seventh career comeback from two sets down.
After taking the acclaim of the crowd on Centre Court, Djokovic explained how he had turned it around.
"The first two sets compared to the last three was like two different matches," said Djokovic, who is now joint second all-time with Jimmy Connors on 83 Wimbledon match wins.
"He was the better player for two sets, then I went out and had a toilet break, and had a little pep talk with myself in the mirror - it's actually true.
"I broke early in the third set and that gave me a confidence boost, and I saw a little doubt in him."
Sinner, the 10th seed, looked primed for the biggest win of his career to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Matteo Berrettini, who reached last year's showpiece match, but he wilted under a Djokovic onslaught.
When Djokovic produced a miraculous winner on the slide to earn a breakpoint for a double break in the seventh game of the fifth set, ending up on his belly in a Superman pose, Sinner knew he faced mission impossible.
The Italian belted a volley long on the next point and then Djokovic held to love to seal victory.
Sinner began his third Grand Slam quarter-final anxiously, losing the first seven points and then trailing 4-1, but he then produced an astonishing level of tennis to give the world No.3 the runaround.
He sent a forehand whistling past an outstretched Djokovic to break serve at 5-5 and took the opener, after a dropshot gave him a second setpoint.
Oozing confidence, Sinner dominated the second set, as Djokovic seemed at a loss over how to keep the Italian at bay.
The Serbian's team, including wife Jelena and former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, looked pensive, but they need not have worried. After Djokovic's face-to-face in the mirror, their man came back in defiant mood.
A superb volley helped him break serve for a 3-1 lead in the third set and after shovelling up a dropshot to win a point at 30-30 in the next game, Djokovic conducted the fans' cheers.
Two Sinner double-faults in the first game of the fourth set were a gift for Djokovic, who raced into a 4-0 lead.
Sinner clenched his fist when he held serve at the start of the decider, but Djokovic was relentless and once he got his nose in front, he was unstoppable.
Ninth-seed Norrie reached his first Grand Slam semi-final, when he twice came from behind to beat unseeded Belgian David Goffin 3-6 7-5 2-6 6-3 7-5.
Reuters
