When playing Jannik Sinner in the semi-final match on Friday, Novak Djokovic has acknowledged that he is the clear favourite. In contrast, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will play third-seed Daniil Medvedev in what might be a thrilling match.
After defeating Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic laughed in his on-court interview, half in jest and half in recognition that he still plays at a higher level. “I know that they want to get a scalp, they want to win, but it ain’t happening, still,” he said.
As he continues to set a maybe unreachable standard for those elsewhere on the tour, Djokovic has frequently hinted that he is ‘keeping up with the young guns’ over the past two weeks.
His next opponent, Jannik Sinner, awaits as he looks to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, eighth overall, and 24th Grand Slam singles trophy.
Sinner, who advanced to the quarterfinals of three of the four majors last year, defeated Roman Safiullin over the course of four sets to go to his first Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 21.
“He’s playing on a very high level. He likes to play on grass,” said Djokovic. “He likes to play on quick surfaces because he likes to be aggressive and take control of the point.
“From both forehand and backhand, he’s smashing the ball really, really hard, trying to be the one that is going to dictate the point from early on. I know his game well.
“He’s so young, so of course it’s expected that he’s going to improve. He is improving, no doubt, I think with the serve. He’s been serving better. On grass, obviously it makes a difference. He’s a very complete player.
“Now for the first time in the semis of Wimbledon. I’m looking forward to that challenge. We both have two days to recover. I’m sure that he’s going to be very, very motivated to win. On the other hand, I am, too. Let’s see what happens.”
The victories over Jordan Thompson, Stan Wawrinka, and Hubert Hurkacz along Djokovic’s path to the semifinals served as reminders of both the harsh reality and intimidating challenge of having to put together three solid hours of consistent play in order to even appear to challenge the 36-year-old Serbian.
He would be on track to complete the Calendar Slam with a victory at the All England Club, which would come after victories at the Australian and French Open.
The favourite? Of course he is.
“I mean, I don’t want to sound arrogant, but of course I would consider myself favourite,” he joked. “Judging with the results I had in my career here, the previous four occasions of Wimbledon that I won, and reaching another semi-final, so I do consider myself favourite, yes.”
Carlos Alcaraz, the current US Open winner and world’s top seed, will face third-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal.
In order to get to the final four, Alcaraz, who just won on grass at Queen’s, defeated an old friend in Holger Rune in straight sets, while Medvedev overcame a deficit to halt Christopher Eubanks’ amazing run over five sets.
“He’s a really complete player,” said Alcaraz of Medvedev. “I’m going to say, I think Rublev said a few times, he’s an octopus. He catches every ball, it is amazing. He’s an amazing athlete. I think it’s a mix of everything. He does almost everything well.”
Alcaraz has made a name for himself as one of the sport’s up-and-coming stars, and his aggressive stroke style and deft use of variation have elevated him to the top of the list.
Regarding his young rival, Medvedev stated: “He is an amazing, amazing player. He’s still 19, right? What he continues to do is just unbelievable. He doesn’t stop. I don’t think he will. But I played a lot of great players in my career. I managed to win many times. So I’m going to try to do my best. If I show my best, I’ll have my chances.
“I think power. When he was 17, which was actually not long ago, he was much less mature and younger, which is normal, he was missing. Everyone saw that he’s amazing, but everyone was wondering if he was going to find the way to miss less by producing the same power. And he did quite fast. That’s what’s pretty amazing.
“Yeah, we see if you give him one easy shot, you can be in trouble. Maybe big chances you’re going to get a winner even with, let’s say, in my opinion, with Novak or Andy, even Rafa, you kind of feel like you can have a chance to get this shot, but the thing is they’re going to have 20 more.
“With Carlos, maybe you’re not going to get this one. One shot sometimes is brutal. I think that’s the most powerful in his game. That’s what I will have to try to deal with.”
