Wimbledon: Djoković after a two-set deficit in the semifinals – moment of shock for Sinner

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Novak Djokovic

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HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS

Defending champion Novak Djoković has averted an exit in the Wimbledon quarter-finals and is in the semi-finals of the grass classic for the eleventh time.

After a two-set deficit, the top seeded Serb prevailed in 3:35 hours 5: 7, 2: 6, 6: 3, 6: 2, 6: 2 against top talent Jannik Sinner.

The 20-year-old missed his first semi-final entry at a Grand Slam tournament.

Djokovic now meets the winner of the game between British Cameron Norrie and David Goffin from Belgium.

At the end of the fourth set, Sinner twisted his ankle but was able to continue playing.

In the decisive round, Djokovic took his opponent's serve to make it 2-1 and confidently pulled away.

"He was the better player in the first two sets.

I freshened up and had a little motivational talk with my reflection," Djokovic said of a crucial bathroom break.

Djokovic dreams of number seven

The 35-year-old Djokovic, who also wobbled briefly in the round of 16 against Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven, is aiming for his seventh title at Wimbledon.

He is third in the world rankings because Daniil Medvedev is missing after the exclusion of Russian tennis professionals because of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, as is the injured Alexander Zverev from Hamburg.

As at the Australian Open (2022) and the French Open (2020), Sinner failed for the third time in the round of eight.

In the round of 16 he had set an exclamation mark in the duel of the young stars with the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

He defeated number five seeded Alcaraz 6:1, 6:4, 6:7 (8:10), 6:3 and reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.

ngo/dpa