Novak Djokovic says playing in the later stages of a Grand Slam brings out the best of him ahead of his clash with Jannik Sinner at the French Open.
Djokovic, who is 15 years older than the Italian world No.1, is the oldest man to reach the last four in Roland Garros since 1968. His win over Alexander Zverev on Wednesday was the 10th time he had beaten a top-five player at the tournament. So far in this year’s draw, he has dropped only one set in five matches played.
Awaiting him in the semi-finals will be top seed Sinner, who has been in ruthless form. Sinner has dropped seven or fewer games in his last four matches played in the French capital. In his quarter-final match, he stormed past Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0.
“I know what to expect from Jannik,” Djokovic said after beating Zverev.
“He’s going to come out. He’s going to play at a very high level, as he did basically every tournament that he played in the last year and a half. I don’t expect anything less from him.”
The two tennis giants are currently level at 4-4 in their head-to-head with Sinner winning their three most recent encounters. It will be only the second time they have clashed on the clay after the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters.
“These kind of matchups and challenges in a way extract the best out of me,” Djokovic continued.
“Playing best-of-five, in the late stages of a Grand Slam against the No. 1 in the world is…you can’t get more motivated than that for me at this age. That’s how I see it now.
“How am I going to stop him? I don’t think about that. I think about how am I going to execute what I want on the court and feel how I want to feel. That’s where my thoughts are going.”
As for Sinner, he is not underestimating Djokovic ahead of their showdown. He is playing in only his second tournament since returning to action following a 90-day suspension for an anti-doping violation.
“He has shown now in the last period that he is back to the level,” Sinner said of the Serbian.
“He plays very, very well, so it’s going to be quite tactical, but very, very difficult. He’s such an experienced player, with 24 Grand Slams. I think that says everything.”
Whoever wins the semi-final match on Friday will then play either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Lorenzo Musetti for the title.
