'I faced Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon but the crowd were all watching football' - EXCLUSIVE

Novak Djokovic will continue his Wimbledon campaign on Saturday, and the seven-time champion can expect a much calmer night this year. Djokovic took on Alexei Popyrin on the same day in 2024, but their match clashed with England's Euros game against Switzerland.

There was a brief disruption on Centre Court when the stands erupted upon learning that the Three Lions had won on penalties. Djokovic and Popyrin got involved and pretended to take their own penalty, and the Australian world No. 22 has now told Express Sport exactly what it was like to play in the middle of an England game.

"I do remember it," Popyrin, who failed to get off the mark at Wimbledon this year and suffered a first-round upset at the hands of British star Arthur Fery, said.

"They cheered in between one of the points, and Novak and I knew exactly what it was and he kind of kicked a fake ball, and I kind of tried to save it. So, yeah, I gave the crowd a little bit to cheer for and a little bit of entertainment.

"But honestly, I think everybody in that stadium was trying to focus on the match. I kind of felt that vibe. On our match, not the England match, but I think when everybody gets a ping on their phone, a notification, then everybody cheers.

Popyrin, who was born in Sydney to Russian parents, could relate to the fans on Centre Court that evening. Although he doesn't support England, the 25-year-old loves football and, unusually, is a big Everton fan.

He continued: "It was a new experience for me. I never experienced that, but look, I think the Euros and football in England, I'm a big football fan and football in England is probably the biggest sport, isn't it? And whenever England play, I think, the whole of England watches, it's massive for them.

"Tim Cahill was my favourite player. So I grew up watching Tim Cahill, the 2006 World Cup for me, when he scored the two goals against Japan and then they made the round of 16 against Germany, that just solidified my love for Tim Cahill, and he played for Everton at the time and just kept watching Everton since then."

Unlike England on that fateful Saturday night last summer, Popyrin was unable to get the win over Djokovic and suffered a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) defeat.

The world No. 21 had also pushed Djokovic to four sets when they met at the Australian Open earlier that year. And he finally got third time lucky at Flushing Meadows later that summer, upsetting the 24-time Major winner in the third round of the US Open.

Popyrin recalled: "It was big for me. The two matches that we played last year in Slams, second round Aussie, third round Wimbledon, I felt like I had my chances, I felt like I could have gone on to win those matches.

"He just played the bigger points better than I did. And at US Open it was the other way around and I played the bigger points better than him and it felt very similar to the previous two rounds, to the previous two times that we played each other.

"But the bigger points just went my way in that match, and I played really well, so it was a great feeling and it was kind of a relief, you know, to be like third time lucky to get past him in a Slam."

It wasn't to be for Popyrin at Wimbledon this year, however, as he was stunned by British wildcard and world No. 461 Fery in four sets on Monday. The 25-year-old will be hoping to step it up on the North American hard courts in a few weeks' time, as he is defending the title at the Masters 1000 in Canada.

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