Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will face off in the Wimbledon semifinals for the second year in a row.
Sinner beat Djokovic in the final four last season en route to his maiden title at the All England Club, which was his fourth Grand Slam crown overall.
His victory that day marked a fifth consecutive win over the Serb at tour-level events; a streak that was snapped earlier this year at the Australian Open.
Where does that match rank among the best of Novak Djokovic’s career?
It was the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal in history…
Djokovic triumphed over Sinner at Melbourne Park in a five-set thriller, denying the two-time defending champion a three-peat.
Ahead of their clash at Wimbledon, Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou suggested the loss for the world number one Down Under might still be playing on his mind.
Patrick Mouratoglou discusses the Wimbledon semifinals
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “Jannik Sinner is the huge favourite of this semifinal against Novak Djokovic, but there are two elements that can change the game.
“First, the weather. Second, the semifinal he lost this year at the Australian Open against him.
“When you think of any player except Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner is always the favourite and by far.
“Now, if you look at the head-to-head between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic since 2024, it’s 5-1 for Sinner.
How would you rate Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning Wimbledon?
“The only exception was this year at the Australian Open, and that’s why I think that the fact that Novak beat him will play a role.
“Is it going to be enough or not? I don’t know. When he’s going to play Novak in another semifinal of a Grand Slam, as he did at the Australian Open this year, he will have to think about it. This will be somewhere in his mind.
“That’s not going to be an easy match. I think there will be a lot of rallies. We’ll see who’s going to win this but this will play a role for sure. The favourite is definitely Jannik Sinner and by far.”
Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon run so far
Djokovic’s pursuit of a 25th major title at Wimbledon this year has not come without its hurdles so far, starting from round one against Wu Yibing.
Wu tested Djokovic in the opening round, taking him to four sets, but the 39-year-old prevailed.
Djokovic earned a more comfortable win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two, winning in straight sets, but his third-round opponent Arthur Rinderknech offered him another tough challenge.
The Frenchman came close to forcing a fifth set against Djokovic, who ultimately came out on top in the fourth-set tiebreak.
Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin was no pushover either in the round-of-16, with Djokovic dropping another set before making the quarterfinals.
Felix Auger-Aliassime delivered the best attempt at knocking out Djokovic, having battled with him for five hours and 15 minutes in the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal ever.
But the Canadian could not get over the line, and now Sinner will have the chance to end Djokovic’s run in SW19.
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