‘You guys can’t touch me’: Djoker fumes over Wimbledon crowd ‘disrespect’ in wild interview

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“I just slid out to a forehand on my first match point. I felt like I jarred it a little bit. I kind of was a little bit ginger.

“Again, it’s probably a little bit of a scare more than anything. The situation was tight. In a way helped me relax and finish off the match.”

De Minaur will have to be at his physical best for his quarterfinal contest against Djokovic, who sealed his berth in the next stage after beating No. 15 seed Holger Rune in straight sets then taking aim at the Wimbledon crowd.

The Serb, who reached his 15th Wimbledon quarterfinal from 19 appearances is into the last eight at a grand slam for the 60th time.

The 37-year-old praised the improvements de Minaur has made over the last 18 months and said he was a genuine top 10 player.

He also noted the Australian had beaten him in the United Cup in January and expects that will fuel de Minaur’s belief, but pointed out grand slam matches are a different beast to regular tour outings.

“I’ve seen him only going in the right direction in terms of improvement of his game,” he said.

“I think his serve has become a weapon that maybe wasn’t the case before. He takes the ball early. He’s not afraid to come to the net. So he’s a very all-round player. And he’s now established in the top 10 to 15 in the world.

“He has also has plenty of experience in playing in the big stages, the latter stages of grand slams, so I’m sure he’s going to come out on the court and believe he can win.

“He already beat me this year in Australia, so there’s no reason why he thinks that he can’t win that match. But obviously grand slams are a whole different game, I guess.

“I like my chances. I like the way I played tonight against a tough opponent, so I look forward to it.”