Sinner dismantles injured and ageing Djokovic at SW19

Jannik Sinner will go for revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final after ruthlessly ending Novak Djokovic's title dreams.

It had seemed like Centre Court, where he has lifted the trophy seven times, would be Djokovic’s best hope of one final blow for the old guard against the new kings.

But Sinner took just an hour and 55 minutes to squash that theory flat, producing a machine-like display of brilliance against an ailing opponent.

The Serbian took a medical timeout after the second set for treatment to the left thigh he had appeared to hurt in a fall late in his quarter-final win over Flavio Cobolli.

The 38-year-old briefly threatened a comeback but it became clear his body was not cooperating and Sinner eased to a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory that gives him a chance to bury the memory of the French Open final only five weeks later.

How superbly the Italian has rebounded from letting three match points slip in that Paris thriller, a wound that might have remained open for months or even years in players lacking his mental fortitude.

Instead, Sinner has put it behind him to reach a fourth consecutive grand slam final – only the sixth man in the open era to do so – and make his own piece of history.

The 23-year-old’s first slam final was only 18 months ago in Australia, and by completing his set in just six tournaments, he has set a new record.

Sinner said: "I cannot believe. It’s a tournament I always watched when I was young and I would have never imagined I could play here in the final.

"It shows I’m growing as a player on all surfaces.

"I struggled a lot five years ago when I started on this surface. Now I’m moving much better."

For Djokovic, meanwhile, the defeat means the end of a proud run of having made the final here in every edition since 2017, while it is his first semi-final loss since Roger Federer beat him way back in 2012.

Both men went into this clash with lingering doubts about their fitness, with Djokovic having cancelled his scheduled practice session on Thursday, while Sinner still wore a sleeve on his right arm following the slip against Grigor Dimitrov in round four that almost cost him so dear.

Sinner had played at an exceptionally high level against Ben Shelton on Wednesday, though, and it was the same here from the start.

The hundreds of players who have found Djokovic more a wall than an opponent might have enjoyed seeing the Serbian given the same treatment as Sinner secured his first break of serve in just the third game.

After 33 minutes, he had taken the opening set, with Djokovic winning just two points on the Sinner serve, and the world number one extended his winning streak to five games in a row with another break early in the second set.

He repelled everything Djokovic could throw at him, finding one extra ferocious groundstroke, chasing down every drop shot and staying utterly untroubled on serve.

When Djokovic won the first point on Sinner’s serve at 4-2, the crowd roared as if it was a break point, only for the top seed to respond with a 132mph service winner.

Djokovic saved two set points at 5-2 but Sinner brushed off the missed opportunity by clinching the set in the next game with an ace.

Djokovic had not shown any obvious signs of discomfort but he had lacked his usual sharpness in changing direction and he called the trainer, wincing as his leg was rubbed.

The delay seemed to disrupt the rhythm of Sinner, who had dropped just six points on serve in two sets, and suddenly Djokovic had break point, converting to a huge roar.

Had he taken another chance to make it 4-0, things might have played out differently, but Sinner cut out the errors that had crept into his game and Djokovic stumbled to the finish line thereafter, well aware his well aware his race was run.

It's a maiden #Wimbledon final for Jannik Sinner 💥

The Italian defeats Novak Djokovic with a dazzling 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory to line up a Sunday afternoon meeting with Carlos Alcaraz 🤝

Just world No.1 doing world No.1 things 😅 pic.twitter.com/jObVzUdMqA — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2025

Sinner said afterwards: "I cannot believe. It's a tournament I always watched when I was young and I would have never imagined I could play here in the final.

"It shows I’m growing as a player on all surfaces.

"I struggled a lot five years ago when I started on this surface. Now I’m moving much better."

Djokovic admitted to the frailties of age and said: "It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk in details about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best.

"I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong. I do feel disappointed that I just wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would.

"I don’t think it’s bad fortune. It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest.

"It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like, when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year. But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically.

"The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz.

"These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that."

Djokovic gave a wave to all sides of Centre Court as he walked off, but he hopes his final act on one of his most successful stages can be something more uplifting.

"I would be sad, but hopefully it’s not my last match on the Centre Court," he said. "I’m not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today. So I’m planning to come back definitely at least one more time."

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