Wimbledon 2023 semi final: Defending champion Novak Djokovic powered through to his ninth Wimbledon final after defeating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the semis. Djokovic secured a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory on Friday.
Djokovic’s semi-final win brings him one step closer to a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title. It is also his 35th final in all Grand Slam tournaments, surpassing all other tennis players in history.
The 36-year-old Serbian will face either world number one Carlos Alcaraz or Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev in his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final this Sunday.
He is currently aiming for a 24th major singles championship, a record in the Open era which began in 1968. Roger Federer holds the record for the most singles titles at Wimbledon, with eight. Martina Navratilova has won the women’s championship nine times.
This victory marks Djokovic’s 35th Grand Slam final, surpassing American legend Chris Evert. However, Djokovic has an even bigger goal in mind on Sunday.
With 23 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, the world number two is striving to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 titles.
Djokovic has already won the Australian Open and French Open this season, and he is aiming for a clean-sweep of all four Grand Slam events in a single year, with the US Open coming up in August.
Last year, Italian eighth seed Sinner came close to defeating Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but the Serb made an impressive comeback from two sets down to secure the win.
This time, Djokovic dominated from the start and easily claimed the first set. He faced some difficulties with umpire Richard Haigh in the second set but managed to win it efficiently.
In the third set, Djokovic saved two set points and responded to the crowd’s support for Sinner by making a sarcastic crying gesture towards the stands. Ultimately, Djokovic won the third set tie-break and secured a victory that puts him on the brink of making history.
(With agency inputs)