Right before Wimbledon began, Novak Djokovic declared it was the tournament that gave him the best chance to claim an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles trophy. This makes sense, given that the Serbian won seven titles there already and reached the past six.

Aside from one uncharacteristically unsteady set in the fourth round Monday, Djokovic steadily avoided what would have been his earliest exit at the All England Club since 2016, coming through for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur at Centre Court.

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

"A lot of challenging moments for me," Djokovic said right after the win, then later called it a "big, big relief" not to get pushed to a fifth set. He trailed 4-1 in the fourth – before taking the last five games and 14 of the final 15 points.

"Lifted his level," de Minaur said, "big-time."

Djokovic's bid for an eighth Wimbledon title and 25th Grand Slam singles trophy overall will continue against No. 22 Flavio Cobolli of Italy. Cobolli reached his first major quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) victory over 2014 U.S. Open champion and two-time major runner-up Marin Cilic.

No man as old as Djokovic is now has won a major championship. He keeps showing why it's not preposterous to think he could.

"I didn't have many solutions, to be honest," Djokovic said, "but I just reset myself in the second."

By the very end, it's almost as though de Minaur was resigned to defeat, knowing he's only the latest – and perhaps not the last – opponent to succumb to a surging Djokovic.

"I mean," de Minaur summed up, "he's been pretty good in big moments for a very long time."

Sinner advances to last eight after injured Dimitrov retires

Jannik Sinner advanced to the quarterfinals despite hurting his right elbow in a fall in the opening game and dropping the first two sets when his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, wound up quitting in the third because of an injured pectoral muscle.

Sinner said he will have an MRI exam Tuesday on his elbow "to see if there's something serious" and added in Italian: "There is some concern."

Top-seeded Sinner hadn't dropped a set in the tournament until falling behind No. 19 Dimitrov 6-3, 7-5. However, at 2-2 in the third set, Dimitrov stopped playing.

It's the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament where the 34-year-old Dimitrov failed to complete a match. He also did it at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in May, plus last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

"He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player. A good friend of mine, also. We understand each other very well, off the court, too," Sinner said. "I hope he has a speedy recovery."

On the last point against Sinner, Dimitrov served and immediately clutched his chest with his left hand. He took a few steps and crouched, before sitting on the grass. Sinner walked over to that side of the court to check on him.

Dimitrov, a three-time major semifinalist, including at Wimbledon in 2014, then went to the sideline, sat in his chair and was checked by a trainer and doctor. As Dimitrov talked with them, Sinner knelt nearby. After a delay of a few minutes, Dimitrov walked toward the locker room with the medical personnel.

Soon, he reemerged and said he couldn't continue.

"I don't take this as a win, at all," Sinner said. "This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us."

Andreeva becomes youngest in 18 years for Wimbledon last eight

Mirra Andreeva was the last person on Centre Court to realize she beat Emma Navarro, a result that made her the youngest woman in 18 years to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Andreeva was so focused on not thinking about the score - and avoiding looking at Roger Federer – that the 18-year-old Russian didn't grasp that the fourth-round match was over when Navarro netted a forehand.

So instead of celebrating a 6-2, 6-3 win, the seventh-seeded Andreeva calmly turned back to her baseline and started fiddling with her racket, seemingly getting ready for the next point.

It wasn't until she noticed the reaction from the crowd – and coach Conchita Martinez celebrating – that it dawned on her she won.

"Honestly, I just kept telling myself that I'm facing break points. I tried to tell myself that I'm not the one who is up on the score, I'm the one who is down," Andreeva said in an on-court interview. "In the end I completely forgot the score. I'm happy that I did it because I think that (otherwise) I would be three times more nervous on the match point."

Andreeva became the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 to reach the women's quarterfinals at the grass-court Grand Slam. She will next face Belinda Bencic, who also reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal – 11 years after making her debut at the All England Club. Bencic beat 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4 earlier on No. 1 Court.