Novak Djokovic faces a good friend, Marin Cilic, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday in a clash that pits their coaches, grass court legends Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, against one another.
Djokovic had expressed how special it has been teaming up with three-time champion Becker here at Wimbledon and the Serb says he can identify a significant improvement in Cilic’s form since he partnered with Ivanisevic – a champion at the All England Club in 2001.
“He's (Cilic) definitely feeling privileged to have Goran on his team because Goran is a legend of our sport, and especially in Croatia and in our ex-Yugoslavian countries. He's somebody that we respect a lot. He always had this personality, this great drive about him,” said Djokovic.
“I am aware of the fact that since he started working with Goran that he has improved, especially in his service department, where for his height I thought that he didn't use his full potential up to now work with Goran, where it's evident that it works well for him.
“Especially on the grass it serves as a great weapon. He won here in straight sets against (Jeremy) Chardy and (Tomas) Berdych and some very good players. So it says enough about his quality play in this tournament.
“If I get to neutralise his serve in a way to get as many returns back in the court and get him moving, not allow him to have, you know, the comfort zone and not allow him to be too aggressive, I guess that's where I'm looking for my chance.”
Djokovic takes a 9-0 lead against Cilic into their match today but the Croat has taken a set off him in each of their two encounters this season – at Indian Wells and the French Open.
The world No2, seeded No1 in Wimbledon this fortnight, had a bad fall on his shoulder in his third round against Gilles Simon and while it seemed it have zero impact on Djokovic in his following match, where he was in lethal form against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Serb says he can still feel a bit of discomfort.
“It's still a bit sore because of the fall that I had a few days ago, but there is no damage, which is important,” said Djokovic.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Andy Murray believes his quarter-final opponent today, Grigor Dimitrov has moved past his early doubts and pressures and is now living up to his potential.
The Scot has lost to Dimitrov earlier this season on hard courts in Acapulco, but owns a 3-1 record against the world No13 overall.
“I think maybe right at the beginning of his career it was hard for him because everyone was comparing him to (Roger) Federer,” said Murray on Dimitrov.
“That's impossible to live up to what Roger's achieved. Maybe no one again will ever win that many slams. I know Rafa's (Nadal) got a shot, but it's going to take a while I think before someone wins 18, 19 majors again.
“So that could have been tough for him at the beginning of his career. But now he's starting to come into his prime. He's won a lot of matches this year. He’s a tough player. Will be a hard match for me.”
Dimitrov, who will be contesting his first quarter-final at Wimbledon, compared to Murray who is into his seventh consecutive here, says he can draw confidence from his win over the Scot in Acapulco.
“It was a hard court, night match. I think we played a great match. I think it was one of the best matches for me this year so far,” said Dimitrov.
“I know him (Murray). I've practiced against him many times. We kind of know our game pretty well. That match in Acapulco was really long and exhausting match. It’s one thing to play best‑of‑three, another thing is to play best‑of‑five.”
