Still, Djokovic dusted himself off and took the next two points, reaching the semifinals at the All England Club for a men’s-record 14th time with a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli to set up a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

The last survivor of the old guard is not going quietly. Roger Federer may be watching from the Royal Box, Rafael Nadal may be relaxing in Spain, Andy Murray is probably playing golf somewhere. But Novak Djokovic is still scrapping and scrabbling on Centre Court for every point like his life depends upon it.