Novak Djokovic is all set to take on World No.8 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Wimbledon 2023 Championships on Friday. Two in-form and 100 percent fit players make for a cracking semi-final. This is a battle between the old guard and the Next Gen, which will finally happen at Wimbledon as it has been seen only at the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open previously in the semifinals or the finals in recent years.
At 36 years and 53 days, Novak Djokovic is the second oldest player to play at this year’s Wimbledon tournament, with his third-round opponent, Stan Wawrinka being the oldest. On the other hand, Jannik Sinner is just 21 years and 332 days old. It means that the duo has an age gap of an incredible 14 years and 86 days.
Wimbledon 2023 semi-final to create history thanks to remarkable age gap
No other Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final till date has had two players with such a big age gap taking each other on, in the Open Era. With Nadal injured and Federer retired, this match could well determine how long Djokovic can dominate the tennis circuit consistently. On the other hand, only Dominic Thiem and Carlos Alcaraz from the Next Gen have won one Grand Slam each so far in the last 3 years.
However, should Novak Djokovic win against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz beats Daniil Medvedev, the final of the Wimbledon will have a bigger age gap. This is because Alcaraz just turned 20 in May this year. As a result, the Serbian might face his biggest challenge at the Wimbledon Championships since 2018 as all three – Medvedev, Alcaraz and Sinner are in tremendous form and at the peak of their physical fitness.
When it comes to the Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner rivalry, the World No.2 took him on last at Wimbledon 2022 in the quarterfinals. That was some match as Sinner challenged Djokovic’s might for most parts of it. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s endurance and experience helped him clinch a thrilling 5-set encounter, which powered him to a title win.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have more in common
Jannik Sinner has himself admitted that Novak Djokovic was one of his role models growing up, and the similarities in their game is evident as both of them rely on their athleticism and agility more than their skills. Recently, Djokovic himself called Sinner a ‘complete player’ who has improved drastically in the last 12 months, calling their semifinal clash ‘much awaited’.
Interestingly, when Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title back in 2011, Sinner didn’t even pick up a tennis racquet and was instead, skiing most of the time. The defending champion loves skiing too, crediting it for his success in the sport. And by the time Djokovic won 7 Grand Slam titles, the Italian youngster turned 13 and it is then when he started playing tennis seriously.
