Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic out to defy Father Time in Jannik Sinner semi-final – ‘You couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge’ | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner: much-decorated veteran versus fresh-faced world No 1. And it plays out on Centre Court in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday.

Tennis has witnessed many of the dominant forces of the past two decades in the men’s game make their emotional exits in recent years – Roger Federer in 2022, as well as Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal last year – and, at the same time, the wheels have firmly been in motion on a ‘changing of the guard’ to the next generation of greats.

Carlos Alcaraz has won five Grand Slams since the game said goodbye to Federer, already one-fifth of the Swiss great’s career haul – and the 22-year-old has the chance to eat into that further this weekend when hunting a third-straight Wimbledon title, starting with his semi-final against fifth seed Taylor Fritz.

Sinner too has bagged three major titles in the last 18 montht alone, storming to world No 1, but there is one grizzly old veteran of the bygone era that continues to cling on to relevance among these young pretenders, and he just so happens to be a 24-time Grand Slam champion going in search of a record 25th.

Djokovic: Wimbledon ‘my best chance’

The 38-year-old Djokovic – the only player not named Alcaraz or Sinner to win any of the last 12 majors – said it himself when clinching an incredible 14th Wimbledon semi-final and 52nd in slams after beating 23-year-old Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals.

“It means the world to me that at 38 I’m still able to play the final stages of Wimbledon,” Djokovic said. “I guess another thing that makes me feel young is competing with youngsters like Cobolli today. I enjoy running and sliding around court with him.

“Speaking of young guys, I have Sinner in the next round so I’ll look forward to that.”

And Djokovic really will look forward to that, with their two previous meetings at Wimbledon – including Sinner’s only prior semi-final at the championships in 2023 – going the Serb’s way.

That said, we live in a very different world to the one we occupied two summers ago, when Djokovic was a sprightly 36 and coming off wins at the Australian Open and French to eye a calendar slam, and with a 21-year-old Sinner at the time blissfuly ignorant to the pressures of the final four of a major.

That is very much not the case now. Sinner has won three of the six Grand Slams held since the start of 2024, losing in the final of another – an epic French Open climax in which Alcaraz saved three championship points in turning around a two-set deficit.

Sinner has also since dominated his recent meetings with Djokovic, winning their last four, including in straight sets in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros, to now lead their head-to-head 5-4.

Changing of the guard? Quite possibly.

Djokovic knows his opportunities are limited to break his tie for major titles with Margaret Court and set the record alone at 25. He soon will follow Federer, who was in attendance for his and Sinner’s fourth-round matches, into the Royal Box as opposed to starring on Centre Court.

But he still feels that Wimbledon, where he has reached the last six men’s finals held, winning four, represents his best opportunity to notch No 25.

“I don’t think I’m a favourite against these guys [Alcaraz, Sinner] at the moment,” Djokovic admitted ahead of his quarter-final against Cobolli. “I think they are [the favourites]. Both of them.

“But I probably have my best chance against them here. If it comes down to me facing one or both of them, which I hope it does, as it would mean I have proceeded all the way to the final, then I’ll obviously look for my best game to win.

“I think I do have a chance. There’s no doubt about it. I think my results on grass, even in the previous years, are a testament to my confidence on this surface.”

Can Sinner overcome elbow issue to reach final?

Aiding Djokovic’s hopes further is the fact that Sinner is nursing a bit of an elbow complaint – albeit one that didn’t seem to bother him too greatly when storming past Ben Shelton in straight sets in the quarters.

The Italian had injured his right elbow after slipping during the opening game of his fourth-round match with Grigor Dimitrov, and had been trailing by two sets to love at 2-2 in the third when his 34-year-old opponent himself had to pull out with a pectoral injury.

This is a Sinner that, though world No 1, wore a protective sleeve over the troublesome elbow against Shelton and who hasn’t actually played a great deal this year, due to serving a three-month doping ban between the Australian Open and the French Open.

He’s as hungry as ever though. “Just trying to put myself in these positions, the semi-finals of Grand Slams, they’re amazing occasions, great chances,” Sinner said ahead of his Djokovic clash.

“I’m happy that I’ve put myself here again in this position and to see what I can achieve. I haven’t won [at Wimbledon], so I want it even more.

“I always believe that you have one opponent at a time. Hopefully I can show some good tennis in the next round. If not, obviously it’s impossible that I win that match.”

Djokovic also knows he has a battle on his hands. “It’s going to take the best of me at the moment to beat Jannik, I know that,” the seven-time Wimbledon winner said. “You couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge.

“I lost straight sets to Jannik in the semis of Roland Garros. I think I played a solid match, but he was just better player when the moments were important.

“I get another opportunity. For me, this is what counts actually the most.

“It is and it has always been my greatest goal to do well in slams. I’m, again, in another great position, playing against the best player in the world right now.

“Him next to Alcaraz are the dominant force, the leaders of men’s tennis today.”

That is, unless Djokovic can cling onto the crown a little while longer and can continue to defy Father Time with at least one more memorable win on his Centre Court stage on Friday.

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