Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory against Jannik Sinner in the semi-final at Wimbledon, July 14, 2023. SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
At Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic is in his garden. The Serb proved it once again on Friday July 14, leaving no chance to Jannik Sinner, whom he beat in the semi-finals in three sets and two hours and forty-eight minutes of play (6-3, 6-4, 7-6 [7-4]). Already winner of the last four editions of the London Grand Slam, the world number two could chain a fifth consecutive success and equal Roger Federer’s record of eight titles.
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But before that, there is one last step for Djokovic, who will have to win the final on Sunday, against Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev, who face each other at the end of the day on Friday. As a regular at Center Court and given his form since the start of the season – he has already won the Australian Open and Roland-Garros in 2023 – he will start as the favorite for this meeting. Jannik Sinner, who was playing his very first Grand Slam semi-final, paid for his lack of experience against the Serb.
This was the case in the last set, during the 15th consecutive tie-break won by Djokovic, an absolute record in the Open era. Without trembling, the latter materialized his first match point to play his ninth final at Wimbledon. A completely different scenario from that of the 2022 quarter-final, when Sinner had frightened Djokovic for a moment by leading two sets to zero, before collapsing (5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6 -2).
More jostled by the referee
This time, the world number 8 failed to really hinder the Serb, always decisive in key moments. At the start of the game, Djokovic saved two break points on his first service game, before taking on that of his young opponent (21 years old). Sure of his fact, “Nole” was finally more jostled by the referee, Richard Haigh, than by Sinner. In the second set, the world number two was booked for a time saver, seconds after being penalized with a lost point for shouting after hitting the ball.
“It could have been the turning point of the match, but I managed to stay focused”, assured a very relaxed Djokovic and a bit lodger towards the referee after the meeting. To win his 34th consecutive match at Wimbledon – he hasn’t lost there since 2017, in the quarter-final against Tomas Berdych – Djokovic still had to fight during the last round, notably saving two set points.
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“He managed to put a lot of pressure on me in the third set. He has proven why he is one of the leaders of the new generation”, acknowledged the Serb. In the final, the latter will face Carlos Alcaraz, world number one and another representative of this youth at the top, or Daniil Medvedev, who was part of the former « next generation ». Whatever the opponent, Djokovic will have only one objective: to win a 24ᵉ Grand Slam title and equal the absolute record, women and men combined, of Margaret Court.
2023-07-14 16:22:52
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