Day 12 at The Championships hosts the semifinals in gentlemen’s singles and ladies’ doubles.
On Friday afternoon, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will collide in a blockbuster semifinal. They’ve played three previous times at this tournament, with Djokovic winning in both 2022 and 2023, before Sinner notched his first Wimbledon victory over Djokovic in last year’s semifinals. Yet six months ago in Melbourne, after losing five consecutive matches to Sinner, Djokovic upset the Italian in a five-set semifinal. Sinner looks to avenge that loss on Friday, while Djokovic looks to get one match closer to an historic 25th Major singles title.
The other gentlemen’s singles semifinal sees recent Roland Garros champ Alexander Zverev face the “Cinderella story” of this fortnight: British wild card Arthur Fery, who is playing the best tennis of his life at a place he lives within walking distance of.
Day 12 also provides the ladies’ double semifinals, which feature some familiar faces mixed with some fresher ones.
Shuko Aoyama and En-Shuo Liang (13) vs. Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani (2) – 1:00pm on No.1 Court
Shuko and En-Shuo were also semifinalists just a month ago in Paris, as they vie for their first Major final as a team. They required a trio of three-setters to get this far. By contrast, Dabrowski and Stefani have stormed their way through this draw without the loss of a set, and have been averaging just over two games lost per set. Dabrowski is a four-time Major champion, with two titles in women’s doubles and two titles in mixed. Stefani won a mixed doubles Major back in 2023, but she is 0-4 in women’s doubles Major semifinals, which includes losses alongside Dabrowski at the first two Majors of 2026.
Arthur Fery (WC) vs. Alexander Zverev (2) – 1:30pm on Centre Court
A month ago, the draw opened up wide for Zverev at Roland Garros, and it’s done so again here at Wimbledon. He benefitted from a Taylor Fritz injury early in their quarterfinal, and now faces a wild card ranked outside the world’s top 100 in this semifinal. But that’s not to discount how well Zverev has played through five rounds, dropping just two sets. His serve has been especially effective, as he’s only been broken four times.
Fery has been the underdog in his last several matches, yet his inspired and confident play has been utterly remarkable. He completely overwhelmed Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals, coming up with winners from all parts of the court, and hitting nearly twice as many winners as unforced errors. And that was after contesting 18 out of a possible 20 sets in the first four rounds. This is of course completely uncharted territory for the 23-year-old Brit, who previously owned only one match win in the main draw of a Major.
While Fery will be a huge underdog again on Friday, he’s got a shot at another huge upset if he can maintain his level from Wednesday, and feed off the energy of the British crowd. We’ve also seen Zverev get tight in big matches throughout the years, especially when he is the favorite. But based on his current level, and with the confidence that came with capturing his first Major title just a few weeks ago, Zverev should be able to reach his first Wimbledon final.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Novak Djokovic (7) – Second on Centre Court
Overall their head-to-head stands at 6-5 in Sinner’s favor, with five of their last six meetings. Prior to this past January’s Australian Open, Sinner had defeated Djokovic in straights sets three consecutive times. But in Melbourne, the 24-time Major champ upped his aggression, attacking the Italian any chance he got. And in the latter stages of sets four and five, Djokovic was the steadier player, allowing him to complete a five-set comeback.
For Novak, this is a record-extending 55th Major semifinal. However, after going on an amazing run in Major semifinals between 2015 and 2023, where he held a record of 22-1, he’s now lost five of his last seven. That includes three losses at the hands of Sinner. At Wimbledon, Djokovic is 10-4 in semifinals, and had claimed his last nine until he ran into Sinner a year ago.
Sinner is 6-3 in Major semis, and had claimed his last five until he ran into Djokovic six months ago. And that wasn’t the only Major disappointment this year for Jannik: last month in Paris, he was just one game from victory when he wilted in the heat, losing the next three sets. It has been extremely warm the last few days in London, and while the heat will slightly subside on Friday, it will still be quite hot. That will be a concern for Sinner and his camp in this semifinal.
In the absence of the injured Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner is surely eager to add to his Major tally. If he can get an early lead and better manage the heat, the defending champion is the clear favorite to return to the Wimbledon final. Since losing two sets in his opening round, Sinner has comfortably won his last four matches in straights sets.
However, as we saw on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, 39-year-old Djokovic is still fully capable of pulling out clutch wins in extended battles, as he outlasted 25-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in a fifth-set tiebreak. But Djokovic has dropped at least a set in four of his five matches to this stage, resulting in a lot more time on court as compared to Sinner. The fresher and younger legs of the World No.1 may be too much for the all-time great to overcome, in what is surely one of Novak’s last chances to win another Major.
Hanyu Guo and Kristina Mladenovic (10) vs. Xinyu Jiang and Yifan Xu – Last on No.1 Court
In the quarterfinals, Mladenovic and Hanyu notably upset the top-seeded team of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. Mladenovic in a nine-time Major champion across women’s and mixed doubles, with a mixed title here all the way back in 2013, when she teamed with Daniel Nestor. Either Hanyu or Xinyu will become a first-time Major finalist, while Xu has lost her three prior Major doubles finals, including two at this event.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
