Defending champion Novak Djokovic said he never doubted his ability to recover from two sets and beat Jannik Sinner on Tuesday to reach his 11th Wimbledon semi-final. Djokovic won 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and will face Britain’s Cameron Norie for a place in the final on Sunday.
It was the seventh time in the 35-year-old Serb’s career that he returned from two sets and loved to win.
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“I always believed I could come back. I know that with the experience I have in situations like this, I can eventually win,” said six-time champion Djokovic.
“It was just a change of pace. I thought starting the third set was the key to a good start, try to break his serve early. That’s what happened.”
Djokovic also came back as recently as the 2021 French Open from two sets in the fourth round against Lorenzo Musetti and then in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Importantly, Tuesday’s quarter-final was his 47th match in five sets. For the sinner, it was just his fifth.
“I think the sinner who comes into the match didn’t have much to lose, but he had a lot to lose when he had two sets to love,” said 20-time major winner Djokovic.
“I could feel with him mentally. He hasn’t played many five-set matches in his life…not many matches on the center court.
“So all of these things play a part. It definitely helps to know that you have been in these special circumstances and that you have had success in the past.”
Sampras Mark
Djokovic is bidding to level up with Pete Sampras as seven-time Wimbledon men’s champion.
This would make him only one away from Roger Federer’s record of eight.
He appeared ready for a regular afternoon when he swept into a 4-1 lead in the opener and was the break point for 5-1 against the 20-year-old Italian.
10th seeded Papi saved it and rallied to lead 6-5, looking for an opportunity to serve for the set.
Djokovic saved a set point but a net service return gave the set to Italy.
Papi, who had consecutive winners from all corners of the court, again defeated the top seed in the third and seventh games with a two-set lead.
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Djokovic immediately left the court, as he did at Roland Garros last year when he looked to lose against Tsitsipas.
“It was just a loud thing, a positive thing. Today it worked,” he said.
“I felt like I had to change something. I wasn’t playing well, I wasn’t feeling well on the court, I was dominated by sinners. Thankfully, Grand Slams are played in best of five, so I have to come back.” Got a chance
The bathroom thing definitely worked.
A break in the fourth game of the third set helped Djokovic cut his losses.
In control, he leveled the tie with a double break in the fourth set as Sinner took a worrying tumble on his ankle to the center court net.
Djokovic made two more breaks in the decider, the second from behind a surprising, cross-court backhand before calmly serving to go 5-2.
Norie defeated Belgium’s 58th-ranked David Goffin 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of a Slam for the first time.
Nori said he struggled at the start of the match, admitting he was forced to dig deeper.
“It was all just adrenaline, using my feet and trying to put the ball on the court, and that’s great,” the left-hander said.
Norie, who is the first British man to reach a Wimbledon semi-final since Andy Murray in 2016, said he was going to “pick it up” to Djokovic.
The result was tough on Goffin, who made it to the quarterfinals in his last appearance at Wimbledon in 2019.
In Tuesday’s match, he hit more winners from 49 to 38, winning more points, with his 151 trumping Norrie’s 145.
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