Jannik Sinner dismantled seven-time winner Novak Djokovic to set up a tantalising Wimbledon final against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Shortly after Alcaraz’s four-set victory over Taylor Fritz in the first men’s semi-final, Sinner produced arguably the performance of the tournament to join the Spaniard in Sunday’s final.
Sinner has long been compared to a peak Djokovic but the all-time legend, struggling with fitness issues, had no answers for an inspired world number one bidding for his first win at SW19.
The one-sided contest means Djokovic’s quest to equal Roger Federer’s tally of eight Wimbledon title falls at the penultimate hurdle.
Djokovic, 38, also falls short of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title – his quest to surpass Margaret Court as the most successful singles player in history goes on.
For Sinner, who clinched a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory, a superb performance against one of the great’s of the sport will give him huge confidence he can beat two-time defending champion Alcaraz and win Wimbledon for the first time.
It was Alcaraz who saved three Championship points on his way to a remarkable comeback win over Sinner in last month’s French Open final.
For the second match in a row, Sinner sported an elbow sleeve following the injury scare he endured during an eventful fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.
Sinner had not dropped a set in his opening three matches but found himself 2-0 down to Dimitrov before the Bulgarian was forced to retire through injury.
Cancelling practice and having an MRI scan highlighted the fears over Sinner’s own injury but he eased past quarter-final opponent Ben Shelton before outplaying Djokovic.
The Italian broke Djokovic in the third game and never looked back, earning a second break at the end of the first set to take the opener 6-3 in just over half an hour.
Sinner’s momentum continued in the second, an early break seeing him take control once again. One Djokovic service game lasted almost ten minutes as Sinner repeatedly threatened to break. While he failed on that occasion, the second set was his.
Djokovic called for a medical timeout at the end of the second, potentially a result of the heavy fall he suffered in his quarter-final win over Flavio Cobolli.
The veteran had physical problems throughout the tournament, requiring a medical timeout in his opening match and often taking time out to stretch his abdominal muscles.
The biggest cheer of the afternoon came soon after that timeout as out of nowhere Djokovic took advantage of a loose Sinner serving game to break.
It was just the second time Djokovic has broken Sinner in their last 12 sets of tennis and another almost came at the very next opportunity but the younger man saved break point to avoid going 4-0 down in the third.
A matter of minutes after coming agonisingly close to a double break, Djokovic was broken, Sinner responding superbly to his first blip of the match.
Sinner created two break points in the next as the Serbian began to really struggle physically and only needed one, going in front with his fourth game on the bounce.
Once behind a hampered Djokovic was unable to respond as Sinner wrapped up a victory in straight sets to reach his first Wimbledon final.
Jannik Sinner reacts to reaching Wimbledon final
Speaking in his on-court interview, Sinner said: ‘It’s amazing, I can’t believe it. It’s a tournament I always watched when I was young and I would have never imagined I could play in the final.
‘I know how much work me and my team are putting in, my dad and brother arrived today so it’s even more special, and playing here in front of you guys is amazing.
‘I served very well and was moving much better today. We all saw, especially in the third set, he was a bit injured.
‘He’s been in a difficult situation but I tried to stay calm, play the best tennis I can in the important moments, and let’s see what’s coming now in the final.’
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