It proved to be a tough day at the office for Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals. He succumbed to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Jannik Sinner in what was pretty much a one-sided match. This is now the second year in a row that Sinner has eliminated Djokovic from SW19. But despite the demoralizing defeat, the Serb is not ready to bid goodbye to the iconic grass courts of London.

“I would like to at least one more time, let’s see,” he said during the post-match press conference, when he was asked whether he would return to the tournament next year.

The 39-year-old didn’t have much to say about his performance on the day and accepted that Sinner was too good for him.

“I was just half a step late, basically, in every shot… He was just a level or more better than I was, and I was just not sharp enough, not reactive enough, not balanced enough to play him. There’s not much I could do on the court,” he added.

Though he had the majority of the Centre Court crowd on his side, he just couldn’t match Sinner’s level. Djokovic was especially disappointing when it came to taking points off the Italian’s serve. He couldn’t gain a break and only earned a single break-point opportunity throughout the match.

It was clear that Djokovic hadn’t recovered fully from the draining five-set clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. The match had lasted for five hours and 15 minutes and had seen the seven-time Wimbledon champion record an incredible 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 victory.

On the other hand, Sinner clinched a break each in the three sets and created a total of 13 break-point opportunities in the encounter. This victory saw Sinner reach his second consecutive final at SW19. Having been defeated by Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals earlier this year, this result certainly means a lot for the World No. 1.

Sinner has dominated the matchup in recent years, winning six of the last seven encounters. The Italian will be up against Alexander Zverev in the final of the Wimbledon Championships on Sunday, with a 10-4 lead over Zverev. Moreover, he has already defeated the German on four occasions this year and will now back himself to deliver in the SW19 final.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Djokovic will play the hard-court season from the get-go. The Serb has struggled physically this season and has taken frequent breaks on the tour. Notably, he decided not to participate in tournaments leading up to the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon.

The same can very well happen this time as well, as he was a part of multiple grueling matches at the Grand Slam this year. However, he hasn’t yet withdrawn himself from the Montreal Masters, which commences on August 2, and might be back in action around that time after sufficient rest.