LONDON — 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. Made sense, really, given that he’s won seven titles there already and reached the last six finals.

For one uncharacteristically unsteady set in the fourth round Monday, it sure didn’t look as if that would happen this year.

Djokovic, though, turned things around and 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 win 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 Djokovic on the grass below during a breezy afternoon with the temperature in the 60s, 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 the first major quarterfinal of his career 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.

American Ben Shelton, the No. 10 seed, improved to 3-0 against Lorenzo Sonego at majors this year by beating him 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5.

Shelton’s first Wimbledon quarterfinal will come against No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who moved on despite a painful right elbow and a two-set deficit when No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov quit because of an injured chest muscle.

Since winning his men’s-record 24th major title at the 2023 U.S. Open, Djokovic has come close to raising his total.

He was the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon last year — the second consecutive time they met in the final, with the results the same — and departed each of the first two Slams of 2025 in the semifinals.

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.

In women’s action Monday, No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, an 18-year-old Russian, became the youngest player to reach the women’s quarterfinals at Wimbledon since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007, beating No. 10 Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3.

Andreeva next meets Belinda Bencic, who defeated No. 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Iga Swiatek, the five-time major champion who is seeded No. 8, was a 6-4, 6-1 winner against No. 23 Clara Tauson and will play No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova, who advanced to her first major quarterfinal with a 7-5, 7-5 victory against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.