Jannik Sinner has silenced all doubts about his physical fitness after his disappointing exit at the French Open. The young Italian made a powerful s
Jannik Sinner has silenced all doubts about his physical fitness after his disappointing exit at the French Open. The young Italian made a powerful statement by defeating seven-time champion Novak Djokovic with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday, propelling himself into the Wimbledon final. This match was not just a victory; it was a revenge match for Sinner, who had lost to Djokovic in five sets during this year’s Australian Open semi-finals. As for Djokovic, the 39-year-old Serbian missed yet another opportunity to add to his already impressive tally of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Now, Sinner, the top seed, is gearing up to defend his title at this prestigious grass-court tournament, where he will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev in the final this Sunday. Earlier, Zverev showcased his skill by defeating British wildcard Arthur Fery 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4, in a match that had the star-studded crowd at Centre Court buzzing with excitement. Zverev is looking to secure his second major trophy just a month after clinching his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. “This Grand Slam has always been the one that I struggled with the most, and all of a sudden I’m in the final of Wimbledon,” the 29-year-old German reflected. “We got one more match to go on Sunday, and that’s what the focus is on.”
The weather was warm and inviting in southwest London, with temperatures reaching around 29°C. It felt like a far cry from the stifling heat and humidity of Paris, where Sinner had squandered a significant lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, ranked No. 56, leading to an unexpected end to his impressive 30-match winning streak. Meanwhile, Djokovic was coming off the longest quarterfinal match in Wimbledon history, having battled for 5 hours and 15 minutes against Felix Auger-Aliassime. In contrast, Sinner hadn’t dropped a set since facing Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, making his performance against Djokovic all the more impressive.
From the first serve, Sinner dominated, using his powerful groundstrokes to keep Djokovic on the back foot. He delivered crucial serves at critical moments, even producing an ace when he faced his only break point early in the third set. On the other hand, Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is on a mission to become the first man since 1968 to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first. With Sinner having won their last nine encounters and 14 straight sets, the stakes are high.
Zverev acknowledged the challenge ahead, stating, “I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win, and that’s what I’m going to do.” The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up just five minutes from the All England Club and played for Stanford University, was aiming to make history as the first wildcard to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001. However, Zverev managed to keep the enthusiastic pro-Fery crowd at bay, capitalizing on a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker to establish control.
Standing tall at 1.98 meters, Zverev’s serve was a force to be reckoned with, clocking in at 224 kph, compared to Fery’s 193 kph. Prior to this tournament, Zverev had never advanced beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon. Now, he stands as the first German man to reach the final of this grass-court Grand Slam since Boris Becker lost to Pete Sampras in 1995. The last German man to lift the Wimbledon trophy was Michael Stich, who triumphed over Becker in the final back in 1991. Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion, expressed his congratulations to Zverev in a post on X.
As we anticipate the women’s final featuring two Czech players, Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova, one can’t help but wonder: how will Sinner and Zverev fare in this high-stakes showdown?
Kaynak: Orijinal Haber