Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner sends seven-time champion Djokovic to exit route, sets up final clash with Alcaraz

LONDON: World number one Jannik Sinner pulled the curtain down on ‘hindered’ seven-time champion Novak Djokovic’s campaign and stormed into his maiden Wimbledon championship match on Friday.

The Italian swept aside the struggling Serbian maestro and scripted a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals at the grass major in a fixture that lasted for an hour and 55 minutes. He booked a clash with Carlos Alcaraz and earned the opportunity for a major-final revenge. Last month, Sinner let slip three championship points against Alcaraz in the French Open final and will add another chapter in their rivalry at the All England Club’s iconic Centre Court.

“We saw the last final. You never know. It’s a huge honour for me to share the court once again with Carlos. We try to push ourselves to the limit. He is for sure one of the players I look up to. I love watching him, and we all agree on what kind of talent he is. Hopefully, it’s going to be a good match like the last ones,” Sinner said about Alcaraz as quoted from ATP.

Djokovic missed his trademark movement, while Sinner was clinical in his approach and breezed past the Serbian without breaking much sweat. Apart from his lapse in the third set, which left him reeling at 0-3, Sinner hardly gave anything away with his fiery serves and baseline dominance.
Sinner, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion, broke Djokovic’s serve in the third game of the opening set and then extended his lead without facing any considerable threat. He struck the ball beautifully from both wings and split just 17 points on serve.

Djokovic needed medical treatment at the end of the second set on his left thigh. He swiftly raced to a 3-0 lead but remained incapable of maintaining the momentum. Sinner remained dominant in garnering points in extended rallies and clinched five consecutive games to end Djokovic’s campaign on a bitter note.

The 23-year-old has five consecutive victories over Djokovic. Sinner also became the 11th man to complete a set of final appearances at all four Grand Slam events in the Open Era.

There were doubts over Djokovic’s appearance in the semi-final after he fell early in the final game against Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday. He subsequently cancelled his practice at the All England Club on Thursday.

Even Sinner’s appearance was clouded with uncertainty after he fell in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian sustained an injury and retired after leading two sets against the Italian. Sinner squared off against Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals and moved to the last four stage of the tournament. (ANI)