35 Grand Slam finals, nine at Wimbledon and arguably the eighth title to equal Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic defeated rookie Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 (4)) on Friday and will play the Wimbledon final on Sunday, in which he can change the 23rd of his shoes for the twenty-fourth Grand Slam of his sports career.
With no room for surprises like last year, when the Italian won 2-0 against him in the quarter-finals to give him the tournament’s big shock, Djokovic played his best game of this edition to beat a Sinner who, although it was seems was a lie for the result, he did a great performance and if he stayed empty it was because he is not the best in history, a performance that his rival has.
Djokovic was infinitely better than the transalpine in every tense situation. Breaking balls, on draws, on decisive points, Sinner choked on the ball and the situation, while the Serb enjoyed finding corners and stretching from one ladro to another.
The first game of the game, in which Sinner had two break balls, was in turn a mirage and a reflection of what would happen next. Djokovic saved both chances and broke Sinner’s serve one game later. It could have been the sign of a draw, but Djokovic suffered moral blows along the way.
At 3-1 he deactivated another breaking ball, at 5-2 he fell to the ground after a drop from the Italian and on serving for the set he put himself at 0-15 and lifted it with three direct aces in a row .
When Djokovic conformed to the norm and continued to ping pong from the bottom, Sinner had nothing to do. It wasn’t until the Serb experimented, with drop shots or uploads to the net, that his depiction faded.
Even a shout threatened to take him out of the game as with 15-15 and a break already in Djokovic’s favor in the second inning, the chair umpire warned Djokovic for yelling in the middle of the run that led to the loss of the same . The Belgrade player contested the decision, but went on to win the next two points, until he was cautioned again, this time for wasting time serving.
Two distractions that could mislead anyone except Djokovic, who, despite these attentions, kept his pulse and the serve and speeded up for the second set. An hour and a half on the minute hand and the first two sets were in the pocket of the seven-time champion.
No surprise, no significant shock. Djokovic moved forward like the ocean liner loaded with titles and propelled by pressure. “It’s a privilege,” he assumed, quoting the legendary Billie Jean King, and enjoyed it.
In the third set, the most contested, Sinner was 15-40 in favor and two set points. In the first of them, Djokovic missed the first serve and there was a chant in favor of the Italian. The Serb addressed the audience, applauded and gave a contemptuous thumbs up. He then won the next four points and improved the situation.
He made tearful gestures to the crowd and continued to do his thing, towards a tiebreak in which he is the king. He won the last thirteen he played in Grand Slam, an Open Era record. He is now untouchable. Not even with Sinner’s 3-1 lead and the service failed by the Serb, who took advantage of another failure from the Italian. From a possible 4-1 to three points in a row for Djokovic.
With this win, Djokovic reaches the last nine at Wimbledon, three behind Federer, has 35 in Grand Slam, the most in history between men and women, and will fight to match the 24 Greats at Margaret Court this Sunday. His rival, Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
