London: There was no chance for Novak Djokovic to beat his chest this time.
Djokovic knocking out two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January gave him a late-night platform to spout what amounted to an “I told you so” to anyone who dared ask why he was still playing.
Almost six months later on the same slam stage, albeit at Wimbledon instead of Melbourne Park, Sinner – again as the top seed – got his revenge.
This reminded them more of their three other big semi-final matches, all of which the Italian superstar won by losing only one set. including direct success at the All England club last year.
This latest 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Djokovic was irrefutable evidence that world No. 1 Sinner was behind him, both physically and mentally. shock Roland-Garros failure. Even Djokovic called it, “a good old blast”.
“It means a lot to me to play one more final here,” Sinner said.
“It’s the most special tournament we have, and playing against Novak (is an opportunity). What he’s showing is still encouraging, and we always have very tough matches.
“The last winner, he won the semi-final in Australia, so I tried to make some adjustments. I tried to be very aggressive, and I served very well, which helped me a lot today.”
All that was left for Sinner was to beat first-time Wimbledon finalist Alexander Zverev, who finished Arthur Fery’s legendary British race home slam in the same style as the main, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-4.
Zverev seems to be playing more freely since winning his first Grand Slam title in Paris, but he has lost nine matches to Sinner, including last year’s Australian Open final, which ended in straight sets – like most of their battles.
Sinner’s mysterious Roland-Garros fell in unusual heat – whether that was the reason or not – from two sets and 5-1 against the Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo won a remarkable streak in which he stayed three months without a loss.
After no longer playing the lead in the grass, Sinner found himself two sets to one down to Djokovic’s fellow Serbian, Miomir Kecmanovic, in the first round at Wimbledon before pulling out of trouble.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has not dropped a set since, also seeing off Nuno Borges, Jenson Brooksby, Shintaro Mochizuki and Jan-Lennard Struff, in what has been a friendly draw, especially as arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz continues to sideline him with a sore wrist.
But Friday’s semi-final was the best Sinner has seen in two weeks.
Part of the things that make him so amazing is how he can remain a rock while waving off grunts from both sides, such as the play of the low shot that he stabbed Djokovic at the net to break at 5-4 in the opening match.
By the end of the set, Sinner had two winners (14-7), one less unforced error (4-5), claimed almost all of his first-round points and tricks, and abused Djokovic’s second chance.
There was an inevitable response from Djokovic in the second set, but the problem for him these days against Sinner and Alcaraz is that chances are few. Sinner slipped 15-30 behind early in the set, but hit a 211km/h serve to overtake the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
That kind of clutch service was the theme of this London afternoon. There were times when Sinner’s serve looked weak, but he has landed more aces than anyone in this tournament.
Djokovic escaped from two points in the next game, but was unlucky the next time with Slazengers in hand. Sinner hit a backcourt winner to earn two more break points, and in the second he showed all of his court skills, capped off with a beautiful forehand winner.
Already two sets down, Djokovic had to dig himself out of a 15-40 hole to start the third set. He had to avoid another to go ahead 2-1, but his indomitable spirit remained.
It helped that the center court crowd was rooting for Djokovic. They found their voice when their hero twice came within two break points in the fourth game, and they were on their feet when it turned into break point. You can guess what happened next: a top speed of 201km/h under the T.
Two more points later pushed him 3-1 ahead, and Djokovic’s last chance to come back from an improbable situation was gone.
Djokovic will be 40 when the next Wimbledon starts, but he’s still as good as any player not named Sinner, Alcaraz and, perhaps, Zverev. He said after the match that he wanted to come back at least one more time.
It took Djokovic a record five hours and 15 minutes beating Canada’s third-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, and the risk to his body contributed to his failure to challenge Sinner.
“Of course, I’m disappointed. Of course, I wanted to win Wimbledon. That’s why I’m still working hard,” Djokovic said.
“But I just lost to a better player. I have to admit it. Obviously, it’s hard. Once you get off the court, it’s hard to accept it. But it is what it is. I’m not upset. I don’t think I did too bad. I was a level or two worse than him.”
After upsetting the likes of Flavio Cobolli and Grigor Dimitrov, Fery – who turns 24 on Sunday – finally met his match in Zverev.
The local hero, who will climb to a career-high No. 36 next week from his current 114, showed his usual work to recover an early break, tie at three-all, and reach a first-set break.
But he began to look more like the outsider he was supposed to be, failing to earn a single point in the play-off and not getting a chance from there as Zverev cruised into his first Wimbledon final.
“It’s amazing. This grand slam has always been the day I’ve struggled the most, and suddenly, I’m in the Wimbledon final,” Zverev said.
“I’m very happy, and I’m very proud of the team and everyone involved, but we have one more on Sunday, and that’s my goal.”
Marc McGowan traveled to London in aid of Tennis Australia.
News, results and expert analysis from the sporting weekend are posted every Monday. Subscribe to our Sports newsletter.
