Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, 38, was defeated by world number one Jannik Sinner in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday, acknowledging that age and physical limitations are impacting his performance more than ever before.The Serbian tennis star was aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title and an eighth Wimbledon crown that would have matched Roger Federer’s record of eight men’s titles at the All England Club.Instead, Sinner, 23, will now face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final.Djokovic appeared physically limited during the match, following a leg injury sustained during his quarter-final victory over Flavio Cobolli.
“It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best. I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.”This setback follows Djokovic’s withdrawal from the Australian Open earlier this year, where he suffered a muscle tear during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.“It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest. It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year.”“But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reached the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”Novak Djokovic on retirementDespite the defeat, Djokovic plans to return to Wimbledon next year. “I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams. Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.”The Serbian champion emphasised his dedication to maintaining his physical condition.“The amount of hours that I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone who is out there on the tour to see if anybody takes care of themselves more than me. And I, unfortunately, don’t get rewarded for that right now, with injuries at the later stages of Slams. But I was rewarded for many, many years.”“I’m just trying to make, I guess, the maximum out of what I have left. Again, I just got off the court, so of course, I’m upset and disappointed, mostly not for the loss, because obviously even if I was fit, I wasn’t a favourite to win against Sinner, I know that, but I think I had good chances if I was fit.”Regarding Sunday’s final, Djokovic offered his prediction.“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now. But it’s just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it’s going to be, again, a very close match-up like they had in Paris.”This will be the first Wimbledon final without Djokovic since 2017.
