World No.2 Novak Djokovic is on a roll at the Wimbledon Championships, cruising to his 12th semi-final in the tournament. The Serbian has just dropped 2 sets so far, making him one of the favourites to win the title for the 8th time. However, his next opponent will be the World No.8 from Italy, Jannik Sinner.
Sinner is considered one of the brightest talents on the ATP Tour who could win Grand Slams once the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal retire. His performance in this tournament is his best in Grand Slams so far and this matchup is all set to get spicier thanks to Djokovic’s recent comments on the Italian.
Novak Djokovic admits to watching Jannik Sinner match on TV during his free time
In his post-match press conference at Wimbledon on Tuesday, Novak Djokovic was quoted as saying –
“I watched Sinner’s first set today (in the quarterfinal against Roman Safiullin). He’s playing on a very high level, likes quick surfaces, smashing the ball really hard from both wings trying to dictate. He’s young, so he’s improving ofcourse. Complete player. He is going to be very motivated, just as me.”
It is interesting to note that Djokovic played Sinner in last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinal. That match was the closest the 23-time Grand Slam champion came to losing in the 2022 edition. It went to 5 sets but he managed to bounce back from 2 sets to 1 down, winning 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Apart from that clash, Djokovic also beat Sinner in Monte Carlo on clay, 6-4, 6-2 back in 2021.
But since those 2 meetings, Sinner has improved as a player by leaps and bounds, making it to his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal. Taking major cues from Djokovic himself and Roger Federer, his game is becoming more all-round and now he is being seen as a potential threat. He was recently quoted as saying an interview with ATP Tour –
“For sure physically I have improved. I’m much stronger. I can stay on court for many hours without suffering. Also mentally you’re going in a slightly different mental side on court knowing you are also Top 10 player. It is a little bit different. You might go as a favorite most of the time on the court until certain rounds of the tournament.
“Also this is different. I think game-wise or tennis-wise I feel better. If I have to play the slice, I can play now without thinking. Before [it] was always a little bit different. I can go to the net knowing that I have good volleys. I have some good things now in my game and hopefully I can use it in the right way.”
Sinner is clearly feeling the heat just with the prospect of playing Djokovic in such a crunch match. While praising his idol, he is optimistic of a successful result.
“It’s for sure one of the toughest, if not the toughest, challenge in front of me… It is a very, very important round, semi-finals,” Sinner said. “He (Novak Djokovic) has won 23 Grand Slams. [He] won in Australia, won in Paris. He is in a huge confidence boost also.
“It’s going to be tough, but I will obviously try my best. Last year I played a very good match against him. I have learned about it. Hopefully I can show this also on the court. I’m going to stick with my game plan in my mind, and hopefully I can execute it in the best possible way. So let’s see.”
Novak Djokovic smashes records at Wimbledon 2023
Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament, reaching the milestone of crossing 350 Grand Slam match wins. He has reached his 46th Grand Slam semi-final, which is the highest-ever in men’s singles tennis history, sharing the record with his second biggest rival, Roger Federer.
It is incredible that Djokovic has 44 consecutive wins on Centre Court, which is the most for any player since he last lost to Andy Murray in the 2013 final. On the other hand, he has 33 back-to-back wins in the tournament with his last defeat coming against Tomas Berdych back in 2017, when he had to retire due to injury.
