Novak Djokovic continues his epic quest to win a record 25th grand slam title at the age of 39 as he faces defending Wimbledon champion and world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
Djokovic won the longest match of his Wimbledon career on Tuesday, beating the third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in a match tiebreak and after an astonishing five hours and 15 minutes.
Djokovic lost to Sinner in straight sets in last year’s semi-finals, before the Italian went on to beat Carlos Alcaraz and win his first Wimbledon trophy and fourth grand slam title.
But Djokovic beat Sinner in their last meeting at the Australian Open in January, producing one of the greatest performance of this stage of his career to end Sinner’s dominant winning streak in five sets.
Whether Djokovic can recover physically from his marathon efforts in the quarter-finals remains a huge question, but the Serbian may believe that this is his best chance to take the grand slam record.
With Alcaraz absent, there will be a first-time finalist on the other side of the Wimbledon draw: Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli and Arthur Fery were the quarter-finalists in the bottom half.
When is Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner?
As Djokovic and Sinner played their quarter-final on Tuesday, their semi-final will be played first on men’s semi-final day on Friday. Djokovic and Sinner will take to Centre Court at 1:30pm BST.
How to watch Wimbledon on TV
In the UK, every match from Wimbledon will be available to watch live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, with viewers able to access a stream from all 18 courts. In the US, ESPN and Tennis Channel hold the rights.
TV schedule – Friday 10 July
- 12:30-19:30 – Live coverage – BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
- 14:00-18:00 – Live coverage – BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
- 19:30-21:00 – Live coverage – BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head
Djokovic ended a five-match losing streak to Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals in January. It was a much-needed win for Djokovic, as their rivalry had completely flipped since Sinner saved match points to beat Djokovic in the 2023 Davis Cup semi-finals. After that, Sinner won five tour-level matches in a row, as well as two exhibitions, to lead the official head-to-head. But a Djokovic win on Friday would level the head-to-head at 6-6. This will be the fourth time Djokovic and Sinner have played at Wimbledon.
Head-to-head
- 2026: Australian Open, semi-final, outdoor hard – Djokovic wins 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
- 2025: Wimbledon, semi-final, outdoor grass – Sinner wins 6-3 6-3 6-4
- 2025: French Open, semi-final, outdoor clay – Sinner wins 6-4 7-5 7-6(3)
- 2024: Shanghai Masters, final, outdoor hard – Sinner wins 7-6(4) 6-3
- 2024: Australian Open, semi-final, outdoor hard – Sinner wins 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3
- 2023: Davis Cup Finals, semi-final, indoor hard – Sinner wins 6-2 2-6 7-5
- 2023: ATP Finals, final, indoor hard – Djokovic wins 6-3 6-3
- 2023: ATP Finals, round robin, indoor hard – Sinner wins 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2)
- 2023: Wimbledon, semi-final, outdoor grass – Djokovic wins 6-3 6-4 7-6(4)
- 2022: Wimbledon, quarter-final, outdoor grass – Djokovic wins 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
- 2021: Monte Carlo, round of 32, outdoor clay – Djokovic wins 6-4 6-2
What happened in the Wimbledon quarter-finals?
Djokovic won the longest ever Wimbledon quarter-final after five hours and 15 minutes against third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, booking a semi-final with defending champion Sinner and keeping his bid for a record 25th grand slam title alive.
At 39, Djokovic outlasted Auger-Aliassime in a thrilling match tiebreak, winning 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4) in a titanic five-set battle, but one he must now recover from as he attempts to dethrone the reigning champion Sinner in a rematch of last year’s semi-final.
“I did it with a racket, and a lot of heart,” Djokovic said afterwards, following the longest win of his Wimbledon career. “A lot of management of the nerves and the extreme tension you feel in these kind of matches. It was anybody’s game. These are the moments I still play tennis for, for sure. I wish it was the final so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow.”
Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner’s route to semi-final
Djokovic
- 1st round: Wu Yibing 64 57 64 64 (3:12)
- 2nd round: Stefanos Tsitsipas 63 64 62 (1:38 )
- 3rd round: No. 25 Arthur Rinderknech 75 64 16 76(4) (3:01)
- Round of 16: (Q) Roman Safiullin 76(6) 63 36 63 (3:26)
- Quarter-finals: No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime 76 (10) 36 63, 67 (4) 76 (10-4) (5:15)
Sinner
- 1st round: Miomir Kecmanovic 46 63 67(6) 62 63 (3:30)
- 2nd round: Nuno Borges 76(4) 76(2) 64 (2:32)
- 3rd round: Jenson Brooksby 64 63 64 (2:14)
- Round of 16: (Q) Shintaro Mochizuki 63 76(0) 63 (2:25)
- Quarter-finals: Jan-Lennard Struff 75 76 63 (2:35)
What has Novak Djokovic said?
“What can I say? These are the kind of moments that I still play tennis for. I wish it was finals, so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow. But I’m happy. Happy that I won.
“I was telling the kids to go to sleep after the fourth, but they didn’t want to listen. I’m glad they stayed, because it was honestly one of the best matches that I was part of on this court in my career.”
What has Jannik Sinner said?
“I feel like every match is different. Even when I had this small streak with him, I felt like every match has really its own story. Especially when you play on a surface like this, if you have a bad serving day or not feeling the ball very well, it’s going to be very, very tough.
“In any case, I’m happy to be back in the semis. I’m happy to fight for every ball, then we see. He has won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it. I’m looking forward to it.”
