Friday features the gentlemen’s singles semifinals, as well as the semifinals in ladies’ doubles.
We could be one round away from a rematch of last month’s epic Roland Garros final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. But first, each man faces significant opposition on Friday, as the semifinals include four of the top six players in the world. Alcaraz plays Taylor Fritz, who is 13-1 on grass this past month. Sinner plays all-time great Novak Djokovic, though there are doubts regarding the 24-time Major champion’s condition.
Day 12 also hosts the ladies’ doubles semifinals, which includes a blockbuster matchup between two of the top four seeds.
Taylor Fritz (5) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
With his straight-set victory over Cam Norrie in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz extended his current winning streak to 23 matches, and to 19 matches at The All-England Club. However, he’s dropped four sets in earlier rounds of this tournament, and at times appeared quite vulnerable. Carlitos is 5-2 in Major semifinals, and has won his last three.
Fritz also endured some turbulence in earlier rounds, surviving back-to-back five-setters against the big serving of both Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Gabriel Diallo. He’s lost six sets in what has been a complicated path to his second Major semifinal, and his first at SW19. Last September, Taylor came back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat fellow American Francs Tiafoe in the US Open semifinals.
Alcaraz is 2-0 against Fritz, with two straight-set victories on hard courts. And he certainly should be favored to reach his sixth Major final, as Taylor cannot match his power, speed, or guile. However, Carlitos can ill afford to have a prolonged dip in his level against this opponent. The American has been serving excellently throughout this fortnight, winning 85% of his first serve points, and with 95 aces to just five double faults. While Fritz hasn’t faced a returner anywhere near Alcaraz’s level, his serve remains a viable weapon, and could prove crucial if these two find themselves in a tiebreak.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – Second on Centre Court
In the last round, there were many questions regarding Sinner’s condition, as he had hurt his elbow when falling on the court two days prior. Despite being taped up and sporting a sleeve, his elbow did not have a considerable impact on the Italian’s play, as he easily dispatched of Ben Shelton in straights. A round later, it’s Sinner’s opponent who has questions surrounding his condition, as Djokovic fell towards the end of his four-set victory over Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday. The seven-time champion appeared to hurt his hip on the awkward fall, and cancelled his practice time on Thursday.
Novak will need to be close to 100% to have a legitimate shot at beating Jannik. But if he is, this tournament is without question Novak’s best chance to win his elusive 25th Major title. He is playing to reach his seventh consecutive final at The Championships, after passing Roger Federer by reaching his 14th Wimbledon semifinal, the most by any man in the Open Era.
Since 2018, Djokovic is 37-2 at Wimbledon, with his only two losses coming in the championship match the last two years against Carlos Alcaraz. He is 10-3 in Wimbledon semifinals, and has claimed his last nine, having not lost in this round since 2012. Beyond all his credentials at this event, this is the surface where he can still best compete with Sinner, as the World No.1 does not yet move fully comfortably on grass.
And this is the one Major where Jannik is still yet to advance to the final, with three losses within the last three years in the quarters or semis. Two of those losses came against Novak, who three years defeated Jannik in five sets, and and two years ago in straight sets two years ago. But of course, the 2025 version of Sinner is an upgraded model, and Djokovic will surely feel pressure on Friday, knowing this could be his last real shot at winning another Major.
Overall Jannik leads their head-to-head 5-4, and after losing four of their first five meetings, he’s now taken their last four. This rivalry changed towards the end of 2023, when Sinner beat Djokovic two out of three times within a three-week period, then went on to beat him again in the Australian Open semifinals, ruining Novak’s perfect record of 20-0 in the semis and finals of that tournament. They most recently played in the semifinals of the last Major, just a month ago in Paris, where Sinner prevailed in straights.
So even if Djokovic is close to 100% physically, he’s still an underdog against the World No.1. I like Sinner’s chances of achieving his first final at The Championships.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Olivia Gadecki and Desirae Krawczyk vs. Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens (8) – This is a fifth consecutive Wimbledon semifinal in ladies’ doubles for Mertens, and she’s 3-1 in this round. Kudermetova lost to Mertens in the final here four years ago, the only other time she’s advanced this far. Gadecki and Krawczyk own Major titles in mixed doubles, but are looking for their first in women’s doubles.
Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend (1) vs. Su-wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko (4) – Siniakova and Townsend are the defending champions, and on Thursday, Siniakova won the mixed doubles title alongside Sem Verbeek. Su-wei is a five-time Wimbledon champion between ladies and mixed doubles, while Ostapenko won the girls’ singles event here back in 2014. This is a rematch from the Australian Open final in January, when Siniakova and Townsend prevailed in a tight three-setter.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
