Simply too strong: world No.1 Jannik Sinner denied Novak Djokovic (8th) another chance to win a record 25th Grand Slam trophy by knocking out the 39-year-old Serbian in the Wimbledon semifinals on Friday, and will face Alexander Zverev in the final.
Winner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on a Central Court cooled by a light breeze easing the heat that has been hitting London for several days, the Italian defending champion left no room for doubt.
Enough to dispel, at least for a while, the worries caused by his sudden physical collapse at Roland Garros, where he was knocked out in the second round, played in stifling heat.If Djokovic could legitimately have a few ambitions when stepping onto the court, he who has won Wimbledon seven times and managed the feat of knocking out Sinner (24) in the semifinals of the last Australian Open, his younger opponent quickly put them to rest.
Unstoppable on his serve and persistent in trying to break the Serb’s, the first Italian to play multiple Wimbledon finals found an opening on his third break point in the first set (5-4), and on his fourth in each of the last two sets.
Meanwhile, Djokovic had to wait until the third set to get his first – and only – break point of the match, which Sinner erased with a perfect ace.
“A good old-fashioned thrashing” –
After 2 hours and 20 minutes of an uneven battle, the Belgrade native congratulated his conqueror with a smile before putting away his rackets and leaving the court to the applause of a crowd whose ‘Novak! Novak!’ chants weren’t enough on Friday.
‘It was a good old-fashioned thrashing,’ Djokovic himself admitted in the press conference. ‘I couldn’t do much,’ the Serbian noted, hinting that he ‘would like’ to play ‘at least once’ more on London grass.
‘I’m very happy with my performance,’ Jannik Sinner commented in his post-match interview.
‘He had won our last clash in Australia, so I tried to make a few adjustments (…), to stay aggressive since he’s one of the best returners’ on the ATP tour, the winner explained.In addition to the Wimbledon double, Sinner will aim on Sunday against Alexander Zverev for a fifth Grand Slam title.
The German just won his first major trophy at Roland-Garros at 29, after three final losses, the last one against Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open.
- “Suddenly in the final” –
Like Djokovic, the hurdle was this time too high for Arthur Féry (world No. 114): the lowest-ranked player in 25 years to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, the British revelation of the tournament lost 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4 to the German Alexander Zverev (No. 3).
Born in the Paris suburbs to French parents, the 23-year-old right-hander kept up with the recent Roland-Garros champion in the first set.
But a double fault and a wide forehand at the start of the tiebreak signaled his decline.After a warm hug with his opponent, Féry threw a wristband to the spectators, packed up his things, and left the Central court slowly, savoring the crowd’s ovation for his unlikely hero.
“I felt good before the match, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as comfortable here at the Central as I did during my wins against Grigor Dimitrov or Flavio Cobolli (10th) in the previous rounds,” the Brit said.
“This loss hurts, but overall, this fortnight has been amazing,” the loser added with a positive spin.
Despite his defeat, Féry will enter the top 40 for the first time and has given hope back to a nation saddened by the withdrawals of its headline stars Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, who are injured.Zverev is going to contest his first Wimbledon final, having never gotten past the round of 16 before, and will overtake Carlos Alcaraz, who is still dealing with a right wrist injury, to move up to second place in the ATP rankings.
Of the four Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon ‘has always been the one that gave me the toughest challenges, and suddenly, I find myself in the final. I’m extremely happy and proud,’ the German reacted.
