Sinner sets up Wimbledon final against Alcaraz after stunning Djokovic in straight sets
Listen to article
World number one Jannik Sinner will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster Wimbledon final on Sunday as the tennis world braces for the latest chapter in their enthralling rivalry.
Sinner demolished Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in a Centre Court masterclass on Friday to reach his first Wimbledon title match and his fifth at the Grand Slams.
Just hours earlier, Alcaraz — who has won the last two Wimbledon titles — reached his third successive All England Club final.
The Spanish world number two battled to a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) win against American fifth seed Taylor Fritz.
Sinner, 23, will be desperate to avenge his painful French Open defeat against Alcaraz after squandering a two-set lead and three championship points in an epic Roland Garros final in June.
Only 35 days after that five-set marathon on clay in Paris, they will meet again on the lawns of Wimbledon.
Sinner and Alcaraz are the undisputed new kings of men's tennis, claiming the past six majors between them.
Sinner, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion, returned from a doping ban in May, losing the Italian Open final to Alcaraz before his stunning collapse at Roland Garros.
Now he has chance for revenge against the man who is the current top dog on grass.
"It is a huge honour for me to share the court once again with Carlos," Sinner said. "We try to push ourselves to the limit, he is for sure one of the players I look up to.
Jannik Sinner becomes the second player, after Carlos Alcaraz, to beat Novak Djokovic at #Wimbledon since 2018 pic.twitter.com/oFz9RjWRsS — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2025
"I love watching him, what kind of talent he is. Hopefully it's going to be a good match like the last one."
Sinner trails 8-4 in his head to head meetings with Alcaraz, losing the past five matches.
The Italian can take heart from beating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2022, his rival's last defeat at the All England Club.
Reflecting on the prospect of another showdown with his arch rival, Alcaraz said: "In Paris it was the best match I have ever played so far. I'm not surprised he just pushed me to the limit.
"I expect that on Sunday, just to be in the limit. It's going to be a great final. I'm excited about it.
"I just hope not to be five hours and a half on court again! As I said, if I have to, I will. But I think it's going to be great."
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic, who was not 100 percent fit after an injury in his quarter-final against Flavio Cobolli, must wait for another shot at a record 25th Grand Slam title.
It is the first time he has failed to reach the Wimbledon final since 2017 after falling short in his bid to equal Roger Federer's men's record of eight Wimbledon titles.
After suggestions he could retire following his All England Club exit, Djokovic insisted he plans to be back at Wimbledon next year.
"Hopefully it's not my last match on the Centre Court. I'm not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today," the 38-year-old said.
"So I'm planning to come back definitely at least one more time, play on the Centre Court for sure."
With Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio watching from the stands, Alcaraz survived a titanic semi-final lasting two hours and 49 minutes in searing temperatures.
As the mercury rose close to 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), play was interrupted by several fans taken ill.
But Alcaraz kept his cool to subdue the big-serving Fritz with his sublime returns and immaculate serving of his own.
Back to his best after an inconsistent start to the tournament, Alcaraz looks in the mood to extend his reign at the All England Club.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is on a career-best 24-match winning streak since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April.
That blistering run has brought him an epic French Open final triumph against Sinner and titles in Rome, Monte Carlo and at Queen's Club.
The 22-year-old has won 35 of his 38 matches on grass, a golden spell including 20 successive victories at Wimbledon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Sinner stuns Djokovic to reach first Wimbledon final
Top seed Jannik Sinner ensured Novak Djokovic will be absent from a Wimbledon men's singles final for the first time in eight years after handing the Serbian great a brutal Centre Court battering on Friday. Italian Sinner lost both his previous Wimbledon duels with Djokovic but undoubtedly turned the tables as his power and precision proved too much for the seven-time champion, who, at 38, looked every bit his age in a humbling 6-3 6-3 6-4 loss. In his first Wimbledon final, the 23-year-old Sinner will face Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in a tantalising re-match of their recent French Open humdinger, which the Italian lost after battling for more than five hours, squandering three championship points. Alcaraz stayed on course for a Wimbledon three-peat with a 6-4 5-7 6-3 7-6(6) defeat of Taylor Fritz. 'I don't know what to expect, you saw the last final and you never know,' Sinner, just the third Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final and hoping to become his country's first champion at the grasscourt slam, said on court. 'It's a huge honour to share the court with Carlos, we try to push ourselves to the limit. I love watching him. Hopefully it will be a good match like the last one, I don't know about better, I don't think that's possible.' Djokovic, who arrived in London bidding to equal Roger Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon titles and claim an unprecedented 25th major trophy, had not lost an All England Club semi-final since the Swiss got the better of him in 2012. But his 52nd Grand Slam semi-final proved a bridge too far as Sinner repeated his victory at the same stage of Roland Garros to confirm that a new order has now firmly established itself at the top of men's tennis. Djokovic has often looked superhuman on Wimbledon's most historic stage, but on Friday, Father Time chased him down as he looked defenceless against a sublime Sinner who dropped only six points on serve in the first two sets. He briefly stemmed the tide in the third set to move 3-0 ahead, but it proved an illusion as Sinner, bidding to add the Wimbledon title to his two Australian and one U.S. Open crowns, nipped any hope of a famous comeback in the bud. Djokovic appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages after needing treatment and Sinner wasted no time in putting the old warrior out of his misery in less than two hours to complete his set of Grand Slam finals. Sinner joined in the applause as Djokovic left Centre Court, giving a thumbs up to a cheering crowd who may have thought they had witnessed his last Wimbledon hurrah. Djokovic, who has reached the semi-finals of every Grand Slam this year -- retiring against Alexander Zverev in Australia and losing to Sinner in Paris and now here -- later said he plans to be back, but admitted the wear and tear of battling the new generation takes its toll. 'When I'm fresh and fit, I can still play really good tennis, but playing best of five, particularly this year, has been a struggle physically,' he told reporters. "The longer it goes, the worse the condition gets. I reached the semis of every slam this year but had to play these guys who are fit and young and I feel like I go into the matches with the tank half empty. 'It's just one of those things I need to embrace and deal with the reality. The day's second semi-final had been given top billing, but it proved an anti-climax for the fans, many of whom chanted "Nole Nole" as the match sped away from Djokovic. Sinner's net-skimming, line-hugging ground strokes -- the sort that come straight from the Djokovic textbook -- were suffocating on a boiling Centre Court, while his serving was untouchable. With 41 minutes on the clock, Sinner was a set and a break ahead and in complete control. Djokovic, who slipped on match point of his quarter-final win against Flavio Cobolli and missed his training session on Thursday, required treatment at the end of the second set. Just for a while, it seemed Sinner's fire had been doused as he lost concentration, but this time there was to be no Djokovic fightback as his resistance faded quickly. Alcaraz faced a more troublesome afternoon taming the big-serving Fritz in fierce heat and had to save two set points in the fourth-set tiebreaker to avoid being dragged into a decider. Looking ahead to the final, he said: 'Just going to be a great day, a great final. I'm just excited about it.'
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Bumrah strikes for India as Eng post 387 in Test
India's Jasprit Bumrah (2R) celebrates with teammates after clean bowling England's Joe Root on the second day of the third cricket Test match at Lord's on Friday. PHOTO: AFP Jasprit Bumrah marked his India return by gaining a coveted place on the Lord's honours boards with a five-wicket haul before England paceman Brydon Carse's maiden Test fifty frustrated the tourists. Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, took 5-74 in 27 overs as England were dismissed for 387 in their first innings after lunch on Friday's second day of the third Test. Bumrah's haul included a brilliant burst Friday of three for one in seven balls that reduced England, who resumed on 251-4, to 271-7, with the fast bowler dismissing captain Ben Stokes, century-maker Joe Root and Chris Woakes. But tailender Carse frustrated India with 56 after he shared a valuable eighth-wicket stand of 84 with Jamie Smith. England wicketkeeper Smith made India pay for dropping him on five with an innings of 51. That followed his impressive scores of 184 not out and 88 during India's crushing 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston last week. That victory meant India levelled this five-match series at 1-1 despite resting Bumrah in Birmingham. Initial interest Friday focused on whether Root, 99 not out overnight, would go on to make a hundred. In all 17 previous instances in Test cricket, batsmen who were 99 not out overnight completed their centuries the following morning. Root maintained the sequence off Friday's first ball, pushing a wide Bumrah delivery past gully for four. That fortunate boundary completed Root's 37th Test century, fifth on an all-time list headed by India's Sachin Tendulkar with 51 hundreds. Stokes, fit following a groin injury that hampered him on Thursday, had added just five runs to his overnight 39 when he was bowled by a Bumrah delivery that jagged back and smashed into off stump. Next ball, Woakes fell for a golden duck as he got a thin edge to reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, still deputising after Rishabh Pant suffered a finger injury on Thursday. Carse survived the hat-trick delivery but England were still struggling at 271-7. Their position would have been even worse had KL Rahul not dropped a relatively straightforward slip chance when Smith had made just five, with Mohammed Siraj the unlucky bowler. Smith went onto complete a 52-ball fifty including a whipped four through midwicket off Bumrah, with Carse also flaying the paceman through the covers. However, Smith was out shortly after lunch when he was caught behind off the persevering Siraj. Bumrah then bowled Jofra Archer, playing his first Test after more than four years of injury exile, to complete his five-wicket haul. Carse was dropped on 45 when Akash Deep failed to hold a tough chance running back towards deep midwicket. But the unconcerned Carse went to fifty in style when he launched a Siraj slower delivery for a superb straight six to reach the landmark in 77 balls. South African-born Carse was dropped again before he was last man out hitting across the line against a yorker from Siraj, who finished with 2-85 in 23.3 overs.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Lyles back, ready to 'run fast', as Tebogo lurks
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles makes his European season debut in the 200m at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on Friday, back from a tendon injury with a body he says is "ready to run fast". The American's much-anticipated return to elite competition comes at a timely moment as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo. Lyles will be up against Letsile Tebogo, the Botswanan who won Olympic 200m gold in Paris in a race when a Covid-hit Lyles came away with bronze. "Everything's been telling me like my body's ready to run fast," Lyles said Thursday after recovering from an injury caused by what he said was a "freak accident", without disclosing more details. "I've been waiting quite a while. I had an inflamed tendon and it prevented me from actually being able to jog or run. I couldn't put much pressure on it. "I could walk, but other than walking, I couldn't really do much." It was Lyles' first proper injury since one he sustained in his first year as a professional in 2017. Lyles, who will race over 100m in London next week, added: "That was kind of disappointing just watching everybody race. But luckily I have the bye for the world championships and it still sets my season up to be really good." Last season, the 27-year-old said, had made it tough to get back on the track in training after all the add-ons of becoming an Olympic 100m champion. "I remember thinking 'Oh, this is too early'. I want to go out, I want to enjoy the fact that I won the medal and go to events and stuff like that. "I ended up having to take a vacation because I wasn't able to in my off season and go and get away from track in the beginning of April because I was just so burnt out." India's Chopra wants coach Zelezny's big-stage mindset India's Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra said on Friday he hoped his coaching switch continues to pay off as he aims to retain his world title. Chopra joined Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny's coaching group ahead of the 2025 season and last weekend won the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, stretching his streak of top-two finishes to 25 events. "He always performed in big tournaments and I am trying to pick his mindset of a big-stage performer and that will help me," Chopra told reporters on Friday at an event organised by one of his sponsors near New Delhi. "The main target this year is the Tokyo World Championships and we are working towards it." The World Championships are in September. The 27-year-old Chopra won an Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and silver in Paris last year. He took the last world title in Budapest in 2023. Zelezny won four Olympic medals, three of them gold, and three world titles in a career that lasted more than 20 years.
