Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner will face each other for the tenth time on Friday. Sinner is the favorite, but Novak Djokovic can continue to vibrate in Wimbledon.
This duel would almost not have occurred to which not only the tennis world, but also Novak Djokovic had been looking forward to it for a long time. When Djokovic slipped on Wednesday with a match ball on the part of the lawn that was not yet played, far behind the baseline, and landed in the balancing act, not only the seven -time winner distorted his face. His wife Jelena immediately captured by the camera and the spectators also held their breath.
After a long minute, Djokovic had clapped, received the racket from his well -playing opponent Flavio Cobolli and ended the match two points later. The 24-time reached Grand Slam-Champion for the 52nd time the semi -finals at one of the four Marjors. Numbers that appear unreal, but now for Djokovic, like the French Open, is going against the world ranking of Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic – performance at the right time
And even if Djokovic should win, he will have to perform two extraordinary achievements to win his 25th title. Because in the final Taylor Fritz or as in the last two Wimbledon final Carlos Alcaraz would wait. But if the Serb has shown one in recent years, it is an almost incredible ability to raise its level for particularly important matches again in such a way that even the very best opponents can hardly counter.
Novak Djokovic has good days in London
For example, against Alcaraz in the final of the Olympic Games last year, when Djokovic played so outstandingly that he did not have to give up the serve against the new clay court dominator once and won Olympic gold. Even during the days in Wimbledon, such performance increases, albeit more on a small scale. In the round of 16 against Alex de Minaur, Djokovic prevented a fifth set with flawless and irresistible lawn tennis, and from the second set, Flavio Cobolli held at a distance.
Sinner – with consistency to the top
Against Sinner, it will probably need an even better performance, because since it was promoted to number 1, Djokovic’s balance against Sinner has been 0: 4. Djokovic finds hardly any remedies against the Constance of Sinners, which is reminiscent of the young Djokovic. But the South Tyrolean also gets slightly handicapped into this semi -finals. In the quarter -finals, a compression sleeve adorned the right arm arm.
In the previous round, Sinner fell on his arm against Grigor Dimitrov. This was followed by a day training behind closed doors – and worried whether the quarter -finals could take place against Ben Shelton. And although the South Tyrolean in the match against Shelton showed his best tennis again, it was possible to see the relieved faces of his coaching team alone how tense the nerve in the Sinner team in the past few days.
Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon at work
Does the surface decide?
Anyway, lawn seems to be the only covering on which the Sinner is not yet constantly capable of absolute top performance. Against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, he did not play like a world ranking list over more than two sets. Probably only the tragic injury of Dimitrov in 2-0 set lead for the Bulgarian prevented an early departure.
That is why Djokovic lurks for his chance. He knows that this tournament is rewarded for lawns that rewarded experience and variability like no other surface. Even if he sounded some behavior before the semi -finals: “Hopefully I can do my performance and keep up with it over five sets.”
But also beyond that, Djokovic wants to do this generation duel: “It motivates me to see if I can still keep up with these boys. I lost to Jannik in Paris in three sets. I played properly, but he was just better. Now I get another opportunity.”
Precision and youth against routine
For his part, Sinner seems to have shaken the disappointment of the lost epic French Open final. He is a master of gaze ahead and hardly stays with the past. Not even after the quarter -finals against Shelton: “I never won against Djokovic in Wimbledon. It will be a very, very big challenge.”
The spectators can look forward to a spectacle. Sinner’s precision and youth against the routine and the almost perfect lawn game from Djokovic. A series will come to an end: Either Sinner loses the final in Wimbledon for the first time since his promotion against Djokovic or Djokovic.