Photo Source: Camera Sport
Novak Djokovic has earned 53 wins from a set down at the majors, an Open Era record, and another eight from two sets down. But even the greats have their limits, and 38-year-old Djokovic was pushed to his and beyond at Wimbledon on Friday as he fell short in his bid for a record 25th major title, losing to Jannik Sinner, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
"It's a tournament that I watched when I was young, on the television," Sinner told the crowd. "I would have never imagined that I can play here in the final."
Top-seeded Sinner reaches his maiden Wimbledon final and will face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of last month’s epic Roland-Garros final.
What does Sinner expect from the final?
"I don't know," he said with a smile. "We saw the last final, you never know. It's huge honor for me to once again share the court with Carlos. We try to push ourselves to the limits and he is for sure one of the players that I look up to, I love watching him. Hopefully it's going to be a good match like the last one, I don't know if it will be better, because I don't think it's possible, but we will try." The unflappable Italian has been a thorn in Djokovic’s side of late, and he stretches his personal winning streak to five against the Grand Slam king, with wins over him in the semifinals at the last two majors.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic entered the contest as the heavy underdog, and he may have lost this match in the waning moments of his quarterfinal victory over Flavio Cobolli.
Djokovic took an ugly fall just before he finished the match, and then cancelled his practice on Thursday. Worst fears were realized on court, as Djokovic struggled with his movement and quickly fell behind by two sets to love in 69 blink-and-you-missed it minutes.
Many believed that Djokovic’s best chance to win another major would come at Wimbledon, but the stars didn’t align for the 24-time major champion this year. Even if his body didn’t let him down, he would have had to notch wins over Sinner and then Alcaraz to become the oldest men’s singles Grand Slam champion in history.
A daunting task, and one that has never been achieved at the majors.
Djokovic appeared to be suffering from an issue with his upper left leg or hip during the match, and he received a medical timeout after the second set. He then showed signs of life in the third, bringing the crowd to its feet as he broke and raced out to a 3-0 lead. The Serbian even had a break point for 4-0, but the snarl of Sinner’s all-out attack proved to be too much down the stretch.
Sinner, who improves to 25-3 on the season and 19-4 lifetime at Wimbledon, becomes the 11th male player in the Open Era to reach at least the final at all four Grand Slam events, something that not even Alcaraz has managed at this stage of his career.
"It's amazing," Sinner said. "It shows that I'm growing as a player on all surfaces, which for me is even more important. I struggled a lot five years ago when I started on this surface. I couldn't really move very well, now I'm moving much better.
"It's all part of the process."
But he will face the ultimate challenge next. Sinner has lost his last five decisions to his rival, including a heartbreaking defeat at his hands in last month’s Roland-Garros final, where Alcaraz saved three championship points as he rallied from two sets down to earn his fifth major title.