Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic Ease Past Jannik Sinner to reach record 35th Gram Slam finals

A master at work on Centre Court, Novak Djokovic dismissed the big-hitting threat of Jannik Sinner on Friday to reach his fifth consecutive Wimbledon championship match. The Serbian delivered a typically classy all-around semi-final performance to prevail 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) against the Italian and notch his 34th straight match win at the grass-court major.

The second-seeded Djokovic’s clean, deep returning was a constant menace to the Sinner serve and he was rock-solid under pressure as he saved all six break points he faced in his two-hour, 46-minute triumph. By reaching his 35th championship match at a Grand Slam event, Djokovic claimed sole ownership of the record for reaching the most major finals, ahead of former WTA star Chris Evert (34).

“In the semi-finals, it was always going to be a very tense, very close match,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “Three very close sets, I think the scoreline maybe doesn’t give the reality of what was happening on the court. It was super close.

“The third set could have gone his way. He had 5-4, 15/40 and a couple of second serves. He missed a few shots and allowed me to get into the tie-break. It was just a lot of pressure in the third, especially. I had chances early on, but he proved why he is one of the leaders of the next generation and one of the best players in the world that we have, no doubt. It’s great to be part of this new generation. I love it.”

The victory was in stark contrast to Djokovic’s Wimbledon quarter-final battle against Sinner from a year ago. On that occasion, the Serbian was forced to rally from two sets down for a famous victory in London, but a similarly epic encounter never looked likely this time around as Djokovic’s grass-court nous shone through at key moments against his 21-year-old opponent.

Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final at SW19 after the Spaniard later downed Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The Serbian bids to tie Roger Federer’s record by lifting an eighth Wimbledon crown as well as to join the Swiss great and Bjorn Borg as the only players to win five consecutive men’s singles titles. Sunday’s clash with Alcaraz will also represent a straight one-on-one shootout for the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.