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Jannik Sinner beats Novak Djokovic to set up maiden Wimbledon final with Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-4) to reach his first Wimbledon final. He will face Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Taylor Fritz.
Novak Djokovic will have to wait for his record-equalling 8th Wimbledon title as World No.1 Jannik Sinner beat the seven-time champion in straight sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-4) to advance to his maiden Wimbledon men's singles final.
Sinner will face arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz, who is chasing a hat-trick of Wimbledon singles titles, in the grand finale on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Spaniard beat Taylor Fritz in a closely fought first semi-final.
The second semi-final between Djokovic and Sinner, however, was anything but close. The Italian tennis sensation blew away the Serb genius in a rarely seen one-way traffic.
Djokovic, bidding to reach his seventh successive Wimbledon final at the age of 38 looked defenceless in the opening two sets as Sinner dropped only six points on serve.
He briefly stemmed the tide in the third set to move 3-0 ahead but it proved merely a blip for top seed Sinner who nipped any hope of a comeback in the bud.
Djokovic appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages after needing treatment and Sinner wasted no time in putting him out of his misery in less than two hours.
Alcaraz takes a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday. Sinner will be participating in his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final, after winning the U.S. Open last September and the Australian Open in January, before his heartbreaking defeat in Paris after wasting a two-set lead and a trio of match points.
For the 38-year-old Djokovic, his lopsided loss brought an end to his latest bid for an eighth Wimbledon title — which would tie the men's mark held by Roger Federer — and for an unprecedented 25th major trophy in all.
Djokovic was diminished two days after slipping and doing the splits on what he called a “nasty” and “awkward” fall in the last game of his quarterfinal victory. He canceled a practice session Thursday, had his upper left leg checked by a trainer during a medical timeout after the second set against Sinner and was simply unable to move the way the world is so used to seeing.
He's exited in the semifinals at all three Slams this season, including quitting after a set against Alexander Zverev because of an injured hamstring at the Australian Open, then losing to Sinner at Roland-Garros.
