Wimbledon: Sinner beats Djokovic; final against Zverev on Sunday

Sinner is through to the Wimbledon final! He has won yet another clash with Novak Djokovic, playing a near-perfect match that ended in three sets: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. One break per set and that was that. On Sunday, the Italian, the defending champion, will face Alexander Zverev, who defeated (7-6, 6-2, 6-4) the tournament’s surprise package, Arthur Fery (who had beaten Dimitrov in the last 16 and our very own Cobolli in the quarter-finals).

Sinner seemed to have that little bit extra right from the start. The Serb’s first opportunity to break his serve did not come until the third set, after nearly two hours of play. In the early stages, Djokovic found very little scope to play offensively and hit winners: the South Tyrolean’s suffocating, deep play, his quick footwork on returns, and his consistently profitable serve (his first-serve point conversion rate was close to 90 per cent) prevented the Serb from coming anywhere near winning a set. The third set began immediately with Djokovic losing his service game, allowing Sinner to take a 2-0 lead. Pride, a few errors from the Italian and the support from the centre court crowd were not enough to get him back on track: at the decisive moments, Jannik relied on his powerful serve and the ace came just when needed (as it did on the only break point conceded to the Serb, at 2-1 in his favour): he would go on to serve 16 aces in total. Indeed, at 2-4, Djokovic averted the risk of a heavier defeat by saving a break point to keep the score at 2-5. But the outcome was already decided, and when the Italian went to serve at 5-4, he played a superb game, with two aces and two first serves that left his opponent with no chance.

For the Serbian champion, the dream of a 25th Grand Slam title has once again slipped away. At the press conference, Djokovic acknowledged the superiority of the ‘world’s best player’, who gave him no chance of getting into the match. On the other hand, he pointed out that “last year he reached four semi-finals in Grand Slam tournaments”; this year, he has reached “one final (at the Australian Open, ed.) and one semi-final” – this very one. Results that would send any player into raptures – but not him, as he is aiming for the record of a 25th Grand Slam title.

Speaking to journalists, Sinner expressed his satisfaction, saying he had “raised his game a little across all his groundstrokes” and had “moved better around the court”. This was a necessary step up because playing “against Nole is always difficult”. He added that he had “served well” and that “the serve is a shot we’re working on a lot, paying close attention to it”. And when asked what he would be doing on Saturday, the eve of the final, and whether he had any rituals, he said, “No, I’m not superstitious; it’ll be a normal day. At the moment, I’m watching football.”