Sinner is aiming for his fifth Grand Slam title, which would put him two behind rival Carlos Alcaraz.
Published July 10, 2026
Reigning champion Jannik Sinner clinically pushed aside record-chasing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals to set up a title showdown with Alexander Zverev.
On Friday, the world No. 1 scored an impressive 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 39-year-old on Center Court, but Djokovic’s 25th Grand Slam appearance hit a now-familiar snag.
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Sinner hasn’t dropped a set in this tournament since needing a decisive chance to see off Miomir Kecmanovic in a rough first round after not playing a grass-court event for the first time in the build-up to Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old Italian has won his previous nine meetings with the world No. 3 German and is favorite to retain his title when he meets French Open champion Zverev in his seventh major final.
Sinner is aiming for his fifth Grand Slam title, which would put him two shy of the record of his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently sidelined with a wrist injury.
Djokovic was hoping to once again tie Margaret Court for the record for most Grand Slam singles trophies.
He kept that dream alive with a stunning five-hour, 40-minute victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest Wimbledon quarter-final in history earlier this week.
However, the Serbian player did not have the stamina left to seriously challenge Sinner, who had defeated Djokovic with an overwhelming performance and crushed 40 winners.
Djokovic missed his chance
Djokovic will be 40 by the time he has another chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles.
His last Grand Slam title came at the US Open in 2023, and he has lost six times in major semi-finals, four of them to Sinner.
Djokovic managed to beat Sinner, who is 15 years his junior, in the Australian Open last four earlier this year, but lost to Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner bounced back admirably in south-west London over the past two weeks after suffering a shocking loss to the unprecedented Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundro in the second round of the French Open.
It was a low-key start to such a high-profile match, although most of the crowd had yet to regain their seats after home hero Arthur Ferry lost to Zverev in the other semi-final.
But Sinner did all the work, breaking in the ninth game before serving out the first set.
Djokovic managed to prevent two break points in the fifth game of the second set.
But it was short-lived as seventh-seeded Sinner broke to take a 4-3 lead, but two brutal holds on Love put him one set out of the final.
Djokovic dropped serve again in the first game of the third set, and Sinner won easily in just 2 hours and 20 minutes, saving the one break point he faced.
