LONDON (AP) 鈥 Novak Djokovic began expressing a heartfelt thought about returning to the semifinals at the All England Club 鈥 鈥淚t means the world to me,鈥 he was saying, 鈥渢hat I鈥檓 still able, at 38, to play (in the) final stages of Wimbledon鈥 鈥 when the Centre Court crowd interrupted with yelling and applause.
鈥淭hank you for cheering for my age. I really appreciate it. That鈥檚 beautiful. Makes me feel very young,鈥 he said with a smile. 鈥淎nother thing that makes me feel very young is competing with youngsters.鈥
Truth is, Djokovic should be used to this sort of thing by now. He is the last member of a golden era of men's tennis still on tour, and after beating one 23-year-old in the quarterfinals, Flavio Cobolli, to reach his 52nd Grand Slam semifinal as he bids for , Djokovic will meet yet another 23-year-old, No. 1-ranked , on Friday for a berth in the final.
鈥淭hat motivates me 鈥 to see how much can I still keep going with these guys, toe-to-toe,鈥 the sixth-seeded Djokovic said.
Djokovic enters his Wimbledon semifinal with 4 losses in a row to Sinner
He's lost his last four matches against Sinner, including in the semifinals of .
And Djokovic lost each of the past two title matches at Wimbledon to , who is almost exactly 16 years younger, meaning they're the men with the second-largest age gap between major final opponents.
No. 2 Alcaraz, who is 22, will play No. 5 , 27, in the other semifinal.
Alcaraz and Sinner 鈥 a pair Djokovic identified as 鈥渢he leaders of (men's) tennis today鈥 鈥 have combined to win the last six Slam trophies in a row.
Djokovic is more than a decade older than the other men left at Wimbledon
For Alcaraz, his career haul of five Slams includes the title last month at Roland-Garros, where he overcame a two-set deficit and a trio of championship points to sneak past Sinner in a five-set, 5 1/2-hour classic of a final. Sinner's count is three. Both have been ranked No. 1. (Fritz's best showing at a major was being the last September.)
All noteworthy. But nothing compared to what's on Djokovic's resume, which includes seven triumphs at Wimbledon alone 鈥 one shy of Roger Federer's men's mark 鈥 and 100 tournament titles, along with the most weeks spent at No. 1 in the rankings by any player.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a legend of our sport,鈥 the 22nd-seeded Cobolli said Wednesday after being eliminated 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 by Djokovic.
, from the returning prowess to the court coverage to the power-plus-precision groundstrokes. Not much higher a compliment is possible.
Djokovic took each of their first three head-to-head matchups, including at the All England Club in the 2022 quarterfinals and 2023 semifinals. But Sinner has gone 4-1 since.
鈥淢e and Novak, we know (each other) ... because we played quite a lot. So we understand what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not,鈥 said Sinner, who out-served big-hitting in a 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal victory Wednesday. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e never won against him here in Wimbledon, so it鈥檚 going to be a very, very tough challenge.鈥
Worth monitoring Friday: Djokovic took an awkward fall in the last game against Cobolli; Sinner hurt his right elbow when he slipped in the last game of his fourth-round match Monday.
Alcaraz seeks a sixth Grand Slam title, Fritz eyes his first
Alcaraz and Fritz have met just twice, never at a major and never on grass. Alcaraz won both matches.
But Fritz has become a different player over the past year, improving his returns and overall game while still possessing one of the best serves around. The surface at Wimbledon can only help, he figures.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy that we鈥檙e not playing at the French Open, on clay, with the French Open balls, 鈥檆ause that would be an absolute nightmare,鈥 the Californian said. 鈥淕rass is very much so an equalizer.鈥
___
Howard Fendrich has been the AP鈥檚 tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
