During the post-match talk after his 4-set win over Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic gloated about his opponents wanting to defeat him, but not achieving it.
"I know they want ... to win. But it ain't happening, still," he told the crowd at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Hearing the spectators' loud reaction to that boast, Djokovic laughed and observed about himself: "Very humble."
With his victory, the Serbian reached his 46th Grand Slam semifinal, tying Roger Federer's record. His 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win over Rublev was also his 33rd consecutive one at the All England Club, as he nears a record-extending 24th Grand Slam win.
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The only downside in the quarterfinal match saw the 36-year-old concede a break, leading to Rublev serving out the opening set.
Then on, it was just Djokovic dominating the game to eventually go 8-0 Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Djokovic will face 21-year-old Jannik Sinner next, who ended qualifier Roman Safiullin's dream run in the grass-court tournament with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Djokovic has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Sinner, with his last win coming at the All England Club last year in five sets.
The other two men's quarterfinals featuring No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 6 Holger Rune and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev vs. unseeded Chris Eubanks will be played on Wednesday.
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Djokovic vs. Sinner match in the semi-finals will take place on Friday.
