Novak Djokovic is one win away from a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title after battling his way past Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals on Friday afternoon.
The defending champion rallied to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4), victory to become the first player in the history of the sport to reach a major final for the 35th time in their career. Djokovic has now recorded 92 main draw wins at the grasscourt major. It is also the ninth time in a row he has beaten a top 10 player at Wimbledon with the last person to get the better of him being Andy Murray in 2013.
Djokovic’s latest performance featured a total of 33 winners against 21 unforced errors in what was a largely straightforward encounter. Although he was hampered with two warnings from the umpire in one game which did not go down too well with the former world No.1 and his team.
“The Semifinal was always going to be very close,” said Djokovic. “It was three very close sets, I think the score doesn’t give the reality of what was happening on the court. The third set could have gone his way but he missed a few shots which allowed me to go into the tiebreak’
“He (Sinner) has proven why he is one of the leaders of the next generation and why he is one of the best players in the world,” he added.
For the second year running both players locked horns at the All England Club after their 2022 thriller which saw Djokovic fight back from a two-set deficit. This time round the Serbian made sure that history wouldn’t repeat itself by clinching a hard-fought opener.
In two out of his first three service games, he was forced to fend off break points. He secured his first breakthrough in the second game after back-to-back sinner forehand errors granted him an early break. That proved to be a pivotal moment as Djokovic went on to seal a 6-3 lead with relative ease by firing a 118 mph ace followed by a 121 mph serve that his rival returned into the net.
The controversy unfolded early on in the second frame when Djokovic lost a point after being hit with a penalty for hindrance after making a noise following one of his shots. Something which bemused the world No.2 who protested his innocence but was unsuccessful in getting the decision overturned. Then to add to his woes he was slammed with a time violation a few minutes later.
“The hindrance could have changed the course of the match,” Djokovic commented before adding, “I felt nervous after that call but I managed to regroup. It was probably the first time in my career that this happened. I don’t normally have extended grunts. Maybe there was an echo in the court?”
As for what was happening in the match, one break in Djokovic’s favour enabled him to ease into a two-set lead. Sinner produced glimmers of his powerful hitting but he struggled to find a way to get back on level terms.
Closing in on his ninth Wimbledon final at the age of 36, Djokovic had three chances to break Sinner early on in what was a highly competitive third set but his Italian rival valiantly saved all of them. Then under his real first sense of pressure at 4-5, he saved two set points whilst also trying to contend with a rowdy crowd, of which some were heckling him.
Despite this, he went on to prevail in the tiebreaker which concluded with three consecutive shots from Sinner crashing into the net.
“We are part of an individual sport and you have to rely on yourself. I try not to look at the age difference as a factor. I feel that 36 is the new 26,” said Djokovic.
“I feel a lot of motivation and I am inspired to play the sport that I love.”
Djokovic will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev in the final. Should he win he will join Roger Federer in becoming the most decorated men’s singles champions of all time at Wimbledon.
