Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic storms past Jannik Sinner to stay on course for a fifth straight title at the All England Club | Tennis News
Novak Djokovic stayed on course for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title after reaching a 35th Grand Slam singles final by crushing the hopes of Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
Djokovic, who is gunning for a fifth straight title at the All England Club, which would move him level with record-holder Roger Federer, easily dispatched Italian poster boy Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, who sealed a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win, was happy to keep the next generation at bay.
“It is great to be part of this next generation, I love it,” he said. “The semi-final was always going to be a very close and tense match.
“I think the scoreline doesn’t give the reality of what was happening on the court, it was super close.
“There was a lot of pressure in the third [set], but he has proven why he is one of the leaders of the next generation and one of the best players in the world.”
Sinner, 21, went into the contest with bad memories of playing Djokovic at Wimbledon after losing in last year’s quarter-finals, having gone two sets up.
He was right to be worried with the seven-time champion in his element on Centre Court and he laid down a marker by taking the opener.
Sinner, who was aiming to become the youngest man to reach the Wimbledon final since 2007, did have break point chances in two of Djokovic’s service games, but could not take them.
The Serb then tightened his grip on the match by winning the second set, which was not without drama.
After Djokovic took an early break he lost a point for ‘hindrance’ when shouting loudly following one of his shots. Umpire Richard Haigh then soon gave him a code violation for taking too long to serve.
Despite the distractions, Djokovic remained focused and took his chances to move one set away from the final.
Djokovic’s biggest weapon is arguably his ability to lock in at the most important moments and that – helped by 15 years’ extra experience – was the main difference between the two players.
Sinner produced his own clutch serving to recover from 0-40 at 1-1 in the third set and looked the better player for much of the remainder of it, but he could not capitalise on an early lead in the tie-break.
Djokovic went on to wrap up the match and claim a 21st win from his last 22 Grand Slam semi-finals before accepting the applause of the Centre Court crowd, who had vociferously backed his opponent throughout.
Djokovic was able to keep his cool after the ‘hindrance’ call in the first set, which came following a long grunt after a backhand.
He said: “The hindrance call could have changed the course of the match. I felt nervous about the call of the umpire, but regrouped. It is the first time in my career this has happened to me, I don’t normally have an extended grunt.
“Maybe it was an echo from the roof. I didn’t feel I was causing a hindrance but I have to respect the umpire’s decision.”
He will face either top seed Carlos Alcaraz or Russian Daniil Medvedev, who play later on Friday, in the final.
