LONDON
Jannik Sinner crushed Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday to set up the latest instalment of his gripping rivalry with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who earlier tamed Taylor Fritz to reach his third straight final at the All England Club.
The showdown between the top two players in the world on Sunday will mark another chapter in a rivalry that has defined recent Grand Slam tournaments. Alcaraz and Sinner have now claimed the past six majors between them.
World number one Sinner swept aside Djokovic in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory on Centre Court to reach his first Wimbledon final and his fourth successive Grand Slam title match. The 23-year-old Italian will now attempt to avenge his painful French Open defeat to Alcaraz, where he squandered three championship points in last month’s epic Roland Garros final.
“It’s a tournament I always watched when I was young on the television and I would have never imagined that I can play here, you know in the finals, so it was amazing,” said Sinner.
“We saw in the third set that he was a bit injured. He’s been in a very difficult situation but I tried to stay calm, to play the best tennis I can.”
Sinner, still wearing a white protective sleeve after injuring his elbow in a nasty fall against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, was in complete control from the outset. He broke Djokovic in the third game, unleashing a barrage of relentlessly accurate groundstrokes.
Djokovic, 38, wilted under the onslaught in the ninth game as Sinner converted his third set point. He came into the contest with questions over his fitness after tumbling to the turf late in his quarter-final victory against Flavio Cobolli.
The Italian did not let up at the start of the second set, breaking for a 2-0 lead. Djokovic was struggling to gain a foothold but held for 3-1 to roars from the crowd, desperate to witness a classic battle.
Chants of “Nole” rang around the stadium as fans tried to lift Djokovic but he was powerless to prevent Sinner from opening up a 5-2 lead. Djokovic saved a set point on his own serve but Sinner wrapped up the second set with only 69 minutes on the clock.
Djokovic received treatment from the trainer between sets on the upper part of his left leg, apparently on the area he hurt in the match against Cobolli.
He broke for the first time in the match as he suddenly found a new gear, but was pegged back to 3-2 and roared in frustration at the changeover.
Struggling physically, Djokovic was broken again as Sinner sealed victory with his fourth match point.
The Italian, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion, returned from a doping ban in May, losing the Italian Open final to Alcaraz before his collapse in the Roland Garros showpiece.
Now he has a chance for revenge against the man who has won the past two Wimbledon titles and is the current top dog on grass.
“It is a huge honour for me to share the court once again with Carlos,” said Sinner. “We try to push ourselves to the limit, he is for sure one of the players I look up to.
“I love watching him, I think you all guys agree on that, what kind of talent he is but hopefully it’s going to be a good match like the last one.”
Sinner trails 8-4 in their head-to-head meetings, losing the past five matches. The Italian can take heart from beating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2022 — his rival’s last defeat at the All England Club.
