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Just hours after two-time defending champion dispatched Taylor Fritz in a close four-set match in the first men's semifinal at Wimbledon, it felt like the end of an era on Centre Court. Novak Djokovic, the last man standing from the illustrious “Big Four” era, took the court hobbled and helpless against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and had no answers even on one of his favorite courts in the world.
Sinner continued his recent dominance of the 24-time Grand Slam champion, easily dispatching him in straight sets, 6-3 6-3 6-4, in under two hours to reach his first final at Wimbledon. Sinner has now defeated Djokovic five times in a row, including in the semifinals at Roland Garros in June. With this victory, Sinner is now the second-youngest player to reach the final at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
He has now reached four Grand Slam finals in a row, winning the U.S. Open last fall and the Australian Open in January before losing to Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final last month. He is now the youngest man to reach the final at the four majors consecutively, breaking the previous record held by 20-time major champion Roger Federer according to OptaAce.
Sinner came out of the gates firing, collecting an early break in each of the first two sets and serving brilliantly to close them out in comfortable fashion. Djokovic, clearly operating at less than 100% after a nasty fall at the end of his quarterfinal win over Flavio Cobolli, had no answers for the Italian's power and precision.
Despite a small lapse at the start of the third set that saw Djokovic take a 3-0 lead, Sinner quickly locked back in and won six of the next seven games to close the match out in straight sets.
Sinner has looked impeccable ever since his fortunate escape from his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov, where he fell into a two-set hole and was dealing with an elbow injury before Dimitrov was forced to retire with a pectoral injury.
The 23-year old has had his elbow taped up in his last two matches against Ben Shelton and Djokovic, but he has still looked like his usual self. Sinner has been sliding and gliding around the grass as if it were a clay court and will be a very tough out on Sunday.
Still, he will have his hands full on Sunday against Alcaraz, who has beaten him five times in a row now. Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in each of the last two Wimbledon finals and is very comfortable at the All England Club. However, Sinner won their only meeting at Wimbledon back in 2022 (Alcaraz's last loss at the tournament), so he will take some confidence into the matchup.
