Sinner salutes 'true inspiration' Djokovic - Taipei Times

Jannik Sinner on Friday hailed Novak Djokovic as a "true inspiration" as the defending Wimbledon champion revealed he had to raise his game to end his rival's title bid.

Sinner produced one of his best performances this year to rout Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a one-sided Centre Court semi-final.

The world No. 1 faces French Open champion Alexander Zverev in the final today.

Photo: EPA

Sinner's dynamic display avenged his Australian Open last-four loss to Djokovic in January.

Djokovic once again fell short in his quest to make history with a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, which would break his tie with Margaret Court.

Full of admiration for Djokovic's longevity, Sinner said: "Even when I had this small winning streak from last year, you always feel pressure before playing against Novak. This is why I practise. I like challenges. Playing against Novak in Grand Slams, they are very different than playing in Masters events."

Photo: Reuters

"It's a true inspiration for all of us and also the younger generation, how much a good mindset can do to your body and mind as well," he added.

Brushing away talk of retirement, Djokovic said after losing to Sinner that he plans to return to Wimbledon at least one more time.

In the other semi, Arthur Fery, the British wild card, earned a standing ovation on Centre Court after losing to Zverev 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4.

Photo: EPA

"I was meant to be coming back from holiday today," the smiling Fery said.

He beat Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals, becoming the first wild card in 25 years to reach the men's singles semi-finals at the All England Club.

The "Ferytale" got a reality check, though, against the big-serving Zverev.

"I didn't play a good tiebreak," said Fery, who saw a 224kph serve from the German on the first point before committing a double fault and an unforced error to see the tiebreaker slip away.

"He was always putting constant pressure. I didn't get much rhythm, just not many rallies," Fery added. "Just balls coming back a little bit faster than the other days and what I'm used to. Not as sharp with my footwork and mentally. Against a player like that, it adds up pretty quick."

Zverev told the Centre Court crowd that Fery is just getting started.

"His game is very, very good. I think he has a lot of things in his game that he can still improve, which is a positive thing, because he just made semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time," Zverev said. "If you know that you're just starting and you're making semi-finals of Slams, that's positive."

In the women's doubles, second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Luisa Stefani of Brazil advanced to the final with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over 13th seeds Shuko Aoyama of Japan and Liang En-shuo of Taiwan.

Dabrowski and Stefani were dominant on serve, never facing a break point while holding throughout to win in 67 minutes.

For 25-year-old Liang — known in Taiwan as "Little Cannon" for her powerful baseline game despite standing 1.58m — the result ended a remarkable run.

Partnering veteran Aoyama, the duo reached their second consecutive Grand Slam semi-final after a deep run at the French Open.

Dabrowski and Stefani, who have yet to drop a set at the tournament, face 10th seeds Guo Hanyu and Kristina Mladenovic in today's final.

Additional reporting by staff writer