Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic wins to set up Jannik Sinner semi-final as seven-time champion fights back from set down

Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli in four, while Jannik Sinner allayed concerns over an elbow injury by cruising past Ben Shelton - setting up a mouth-watering men's semi-final at Wimbledon.

Their Friday meeting is a rematch of the 2023 final-four meeting between the two - Sinner's best prior run at Wimbledon - in which Djokovic triumphed in straight sets.

Two years on, however, Sinner represents a much sterner prospect, the 23-year-old now ranked world No 1 having won three Grand Slams over the past 18 months.

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The 38-year-old Djokovic, a seven-time winner at Wimbledon, is looking to win a record 25th Grand Slam title that would break his current tie with Margaret Court.

The other men's semi-final on Friday will see world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz take on fifth seed Taylor Fritz after the two-time reigning champion knocked out Britain's Cameron Norrie on Tuesday.

Djokovic fights back to keep Wimbledon dream alive

Djokovic has said Wimbledon represents his best opportunity for that 25th slam, having reached the final in each of the past two years - losing to Carlos Alcaraz on both occasions - but a shock quarter-final exit looked on the cards when, up a break in the opener against Cobolli, he spurned a set point before losing a tie-break 8-6.

Cobolli twice trailed by an early break in the second and third sets too, Djokovic doubling up to comfortably take the second, but the 22nd seed - backed by vocal Italian support on Centre Court - battled back to parity in the third.

It looked like another tie-break could be on the cards until a few unforced errors off the Cobolli racquet gifted Djokovic a break and the chance to serve for the set, which he duly snapped up.

In another extremely hard-fought set of tennis in the fourth, Djokovic earned the all-important break of serve in the ninth game, and though he took a worrying tumble behind the baseline after spurning two match points, he returned to his feet - much to the delight of Centre Court - to snap up a third and seal a remarkable 14th Wimbledon semi-final and 52nd in Grand Slams.

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"Wimbledon was, is and still remains the most special tournament we have in our sport," Djokovic said. "It means the world to me that at 38 I'm still able to play the final stages of Wimbledon.

"I guess another thing that makes me feel young is competing with youngsters like [23-year-old] Cobolli today.

"Speaking of young guys, I have Sinner in the next round so I'll look forward to that."

Addressing any concerns over his late slip, Djokovic added: "I finished the match! It was a nasty slip but that's what happens when you play on grass.

"I didn't fall so hard this year, it's surprising with the way I move with a lot of sliding, you're expected to fall.

"It did come at an awkward moment but I found a good serve to close it out. I'll visit this subject now with my physio."

Sinner shrugs off elbow issue to win in straight sets

Image: Jannik Sinner wore a protective sleeve over his right elbow while beating Ben Shelton

Sinner shrugged off any lingering concerns over an elbow injury to book his semi-final spot with an impressive 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-4 win over 10th-seeded American Shelton.

The 23-year-old Italian had been nursing an elbow complaint after slipping during the opening game of his fourth-round match with Grigor Dimitrov on Monday.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Jannick Sinner got a lucky break in the fourth round as Grigor Dimitrov was two sets up before being forced to retire against the world No 1

Dimitrov had been on the verge of ending Sinner's tournament in the fourth round, leading two sets to love when he was forced to retire with a pectoral injury at 2-2 in the third. But Sinner looked back to his best when sweeping Shelton aside in straight sets.

Sinner dropped only one point in his first six service games before taking the tie-break 7-2. Shelton tripled his haul on the Sinner serve in the opening game of the second but spurned two break points when up 15-40.

Sinner, who had an MRI on his elbow on Tuesday and wore a protective sleeve for the match, looked troubled by the injury for the first time in the sixth game of the second set, jarring it when returning a monster Shelton serve.

But any fears were quickly dispelled as Sinner earned a break point in Shelton's next service game, and though the American would save that one, the world No 1 would not be denied two games later, breaking to take the set.

Shelton continued to fight hard in the third but failed to carve out any break-point openings on the Sinner serve, including when 0-30 up at 4-4.

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It would prove to be a costly miss as Sinner would again break with Shelton serving to stay in things, wrapping up a sixth-straight victory over the 22-year-old to secure his safe passage through to the semi-finals.

Sinner said of his elbow after clinching victory: "When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try not to think about it.

"It has improved a lot from yesterday to today. Yesterday my day was very short on the practice court.

"There is no excuse. There is no better stage to play tennis and I think I showed this today.

"Wimbledon is the most special tournament we have in the calendar so being here again in the last four means a lot to me."

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