“I don’t think it’s bad fortune. It’s just age. The wear & tear of the body…” Novak Djokovic did not shy away from admitting that his age is finally catching up after losing to the World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, in straight sets [6-3, 6-3, 6-4] on Friday. Throughout the match, Sinner simply outplayed the seven-time Wimbledon champ, who was just helpless against the 23-year-old.

This is not the first time Sinner has denied the Serb of his historic 25th Grand Slam. Just last month, during the Roland Garros semis, the Italian defeated Novak in the semis as well. So, Djokovic was not lying when he admitted the lack of strength whenever facing Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, or any young player, for that matter. “These guys are fit, young, sharp, & I feel like I’m going into the match with tank half empty…” Djokovic, who won three rounds against players at least 10 years younger than him in this edition of SW19.

If not for his QF match against Grigor Dimitrov, where the Bulgarian almost knocked him out, Sinner is yet to lose a set at Centre Court this year. So, his win against Djokovic did not come as a surprise. But his post-match gesture for the 24x Grand Slam champ certainly won everyone’s hearts, including the Serb.

Soon after clinching a spot in the finals, Sinner walked towards the net to meet Novak. After a brief handshake, both players were seen embracing each other. During that heartfelt moment, the Italian acknowledged Djokovic’s grit to keep playing even after suffering from an injury. Talking about the incident, Djokovic mentioned, “He (Sinner) apologized for me feeling bad today.” However, the 38-year-old doesn’t believe the apology was necessary: “There’s nothing to apologize for from his side.”

Praising Sinner for his performance, the Serbian stated, “Obviously he’s done very well for himself today, and for the last year and a half he’s been the best player in the world. He’s gonna have a chance to win his first Wimbledon title. I wished him luck, it’s gonna be his first final here, and I’m sure he’s going to be super pumped.”

As Sinner enters the finals, he’ll now meet Alcaraz as his opponent. The pair met last month during the finals of Roland Garros, where the Italian lost three championship points against the Spaniard. However, this time, Sinner will look for his redemption in order to lift his maiden Wimbledon trophy against the 2025 Roland Garros winner. Talking about the adrenaline rush that the finals will bring, Novak Djokovic even added, “After the finals they played in Paris, I think the anticipation for this final is big. It’s amazing. They’re definitely several levels above everyone right now.”

Interestingly, just like the 2025 French Open semi-finals, this time too, Sinner made his way to a Grand Slam final by defeating the same opponent: Novak Djokovic. Last month, after losing in straight sets against the Italian at the Philippe-Chatrier, the Serbian took a moment to share his perspective on Sinner’s style of play and how he is playing in his best form.

Novak Djokovic praised Jannik Sinner for his incredible form

On June 6th, after Djokovic finished on the wrong end of points between zero and four shots in the Roland Garros semi-finals, he stated, “Jannik is the kind of player who loves to play in very fast pace the entire match.” The 38-year-old then mentioned, “He’s very physical. He’s very fit, and he’s striking the ball incredibly well. He seems to be always in a good timing. He’s rarely off-balance and he’s just playing the tennis of his life.” 

However, Sinner has never made a Wimbledon final before, until today. More so, the 23-year-old has now won the last six meetings against Djokovic, but this was the first time on grass. For Sinner, it’s his maiden Wimbledon final, but Djokovic has made the final at the SW19 in every edition since 2017. Hence, the 2025 edition gives the 38-year-old his first semi-final loss since defeat by Roger Federer in 2012.

Nevertheless, fans were speculating about the injuries of both the semi-finalists before the match. While Sinner was struggling with an elbow injury, Djokovic sustained a potential groin injury during the quarterfinals match against Flavio Cobolli. Though the Italian didn’t seem much bothered with his elbow injury, the Serbian did require medical assistance after the second set and he even considered withdrawing from the match.

Following this, Sinner will now face Carlos Alcaraz. “It’s huge honour for me to share the court again with Carlos,” said the 23-year-old. Hoping to win his first Wimbledon trophy, he further added, “Hopefully it will be a good match like the last one – I don;t know if it will be better because I don’t know if that’s possible but we will try – hopefully it will be enjoyable.”