Wimbledon 2025: Novak Djokovic reaches record 14th semifinal with win over Flavio Cobolli
The Serb, chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam singles crown, was given the royal seal of approval by Britain's Queen Camilla
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tennis: Evolving Swiatek meets resilient Anisimova as Wimbledon set for new champion
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during the women's singles at Wimbledon. Photo: AFP The Wimbledon women's singles championship will culminate with a new name set to be etched onto the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish for the eighth successive year. Eighth seed Iga Swiatek of Poland will look to win her sixth Grand Slam title and first on the grass courts of London when she faces 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who is targeting her maiden major crown. Swiatek stamped her authority as the queen of clay when she lifted her fourth French Open title in five years in 2024. Her vast trophy cabinet also contains the 2022 US Open trophy. It has been a barren 13-month run for the 24-year-old, who has had to deal with off-court distractions after a short doping ban late last year following her positive test for trimetazidine due to contaminated sleep medication. While the 24-year-old has never previously had too much love for grass, with the slick surface posing a litany of challenges for the Pole, Wimbledon has offered her a golden opportunity to return to winning ways and confirm herself as an all-court ace. "I never thought it was going to be possible," said Swiatek, who will attempt to become the youngest woman since 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam singles titles on all three surfaces. "I'm not this kind of person that sets these kinds of goals. I live tournament-by-tournament. It's not like I wake up and I'm like, 'Ok, I'm going to win three Grand Slams this year' because that's not how I work. "I have more down-to-earth goals, practising day-by-day. This is what has always been working." Swiatek's approach has helped her fly under the radar over the past fortnight, with only one set dropped in the tournament, and she romped into the final by thrashing 2020 Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-0. Amanda Anisimova while playing at the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland. Photo: PHOTOSPORT She could become only the third woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win all of her first six major finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles, but Swiatek is not taking the big-hitting Anisimova lightly. "I haven't followed her previous matches... she must be playing great," said Swiatek, who until last month had never even reached the final of a grass court event. "She had a great tournament before Wimbledon. She knows how to play on grass. With her game style, the surface fits her, so it's going to be a challenge." Drawing inspiration from Williams, Anisimova will look to become the first American woman to claim the Wimbledon title since her compatriot in 2016 and keep her country's flag flying at the majors. After Madison Keys won the Australian Open at the start of the year and Coco Gauff triumphed at Roland Garros, victory for Anisimova will keep alive hopes of US women completing an "American Slam" of the four majors. Having dabbled in art while taking a mental health break from the sport in 2023 over burnout fears, the 23-year-old Anisimova will look to pick up her racket and paint a masterpiece on Centre Court with the world watching. There have been strokes of brilliance during her run this year, highlighted by her semi-final win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka, but Anisimova said reaching the level she has after her eight-month sabbatical felt even more special. "It goes to show that it's possible," Anisimova said. "That's a really special message I've been able to show because when I took my break, a lot of people told me I'd never make it to the top again if I take so much time away from the game. That was a little hard to digest. "I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day. Just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritise yourself... that's incredibly special to me. It means a lot." Although the pair met as juniors, this will be their first clash at the elite level and Anisimova is up for the challenge as she pits her powerful, aggressive style against the court craft of Swiatek. "Iga's such an unbelievable player," Anisimova said. "She's also been an inspiration to me. Her work ethic and all of her achievements have been really inspiring. I'm sure it will be an amazing match. "I'm going to go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what's on the line there." - Reuters
1News
3 hours ago
- 1News
Sinner beats Djokovic, will face Alcaraz in Wimbledon final
Jannik Sinner overwhelmed a not-fully-fit Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semifinals overnight to set up a showdown for the championship against Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 1-ranked Sinner's victory at Centre Court put him in his first final at the All England Club. No. 2 Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) earlier Friday to move within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon title. Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after beating Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London (Source: Associated Press) Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, and Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, now head into a rematch of their epic final at the French Open four weeks ago. Alcaraz won that one after fending off a trio of match points. ADVERTISEMENT "Hopefully it's going to be a good match, like the last one," Sinner said. "I don't know if it'll get better, because I don't think it's possible." Alcaraz is 5-0 so far in Grand Slam title matches. Sinner owns three major trophies. They are far and away the leaders of men's tennis — and are at the height of their games right now. This will be the seventh straight major tournament won by one or the other. "The things we are doing right now are great for tennis," Alcaraz said. Alcaraz takes a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday. Sinner will be participating in his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final, after winning the US Open last September and the Australian Open in January, before his heart-breaking defeat in Paris after wasting a two-set lead. For the 38-year-old Djokovic, his lopsided loss brought an end to his latest bid for an eighth Wimbledon title — which would tie the men's mark held by Roger Federer — and for an unprecedented 25th major trophy in all. Novak Djorkovic of Serbia reacts during the men's semifinal singles match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Djokovic was diminished two days after slipping and doing the splits on what he called a "nasty" and 'awkward' fall in the last game of his quarterfinal victory. He cancelled a practice session Thursday, had his upper left leg checked by a trainer during a medical timeout after the second set against Sinner and was simply unable to move the way the world is so used to seeing. Right after that treatment, Djokovic grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third set and was a point from going up 4-0. But Sinner took six of the remaining seven games. "We all saw, especially in the third set, that he was a bit injured," Sinner said. "He's been in a very difficult situation." When it ended, Djokovic picked up his equipment bags and was given a standing ovation as he headed toward the locker room. He paused to smile, wave and give a thumbs-up to the crowd. Djokovic exited in the semifinals at all three Slams this season, including quitting after a set against Alexander Zverev because of an injured hamstring at the Australian Open, then losing to Sinner at Roland-Garros. There was more intrigue in Friday's first semifinal, particularly when Fritz led 6-4 in the fourth-set tiebreaker, meaning he had two chances to force things to a fifth. But Alcaraz collected the next four points by forcing mistakes by Fritz to finish off the win, then rocked back on his heels, spread his arms wide and screamed. "I'm just really proud about the way that I stayed calm," Alcaraz said, "and [was] thinking clearly." ADVERTISEMENT Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, right, greets Taylor Fritz of the U.S. after beating him in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (Source: Associated Press) With five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg and celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on, Alcaraz marked some of his best shots with a shout of "Vamos!" or a raised index finger. "A lot of the things that I would have changed, I think would have only helped me for a point or two, and then I think Carlos would have just made an adjustment,' said the fifth-seeded Fritz, the runner-up to Sinner at the US Open, "and I don't think it would have been a long-term answer". The temperature topped 30C, with no clouds interrupting the blue sky overhead to offer protection from the sun. For the second consecutive day, spectators had trouble in the heat; there were two brief delays in one second-set game while fans needed to be helped. The pop of a Champagne cork could be heard in the stands just before the start, and the Spaniard burst out of the gate, taking 10 of the initial 12 points, including a break for a 1-0 lead. That game featured glimpses of why Alcaraz is so great already. Indeed, the very first point was illustrative: He returned a 135 mph serve, then capped a 10-stroke exchange with a delicate drop shot. To be clear, Fritz played exceedingly well, conjuring a quality with his neon-orange racket frame that would have been good enough to overcome most any foe on grass. As everyone paying attention — including Sinner — knows by now, Alcaraz is not just any foe. "He has so many different ways to win,' Fritz said, 'and he's very good at making adjustments.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Sinner demolishes Djokovic to set up final against with Alcaraz
Italy's Jannik Sinner plays a forehand return to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their men's singles semi-final tennis at Wimbledon 2025. Photo: AFP News 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 semi final battering. Italian Sinner lost both his previous Wimbledon duels with Djokovic but a devastating display of power and precision proved too much for the seven-time champion who looked all of his 38 years as he subsided to a humbling 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat. In his first Wimbledon final the 23-year-old Sinner will face Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in a mouth-watering repeat of their recent French Open humdinger which the Italian lost after battling for more than five hours, squandering three championship points. "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, said on court. "It's an honour to share the court with Carlos, we push each other to the limit. Hopefully it will be a good match like the last one, maybe not better, I don't think that's possible." Djokovic, bidding to equal Roger Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon titles, had not lost a semi-final since Federer got the better of him in 2012. But it seemed Father Time has finally caught up with the 24-time Grand Slam champion as he looked defenceless in the opening two sets as a sublime Sinner dropped only six points on serve. He briefly stemmed the tide in the third set to move 3-0 ahead but it proved merely a blip for top seed Sinner who 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 him out of his misery in less than two hours. Sinner joined in the applause as Djokovic left Centre Court, giving the cheering crowd a thumbs up, with question marks about whether he will ever return. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts just after his semi-finals match against Taylor Fritz of United States on day twelfth of the Wimbledon 2025. Photo: DAISUKE URAKAMI Earlier, the twice defending champion Carlos Alcaraz tamed Taylor Fritz to reach his third straight Wimbledon final, rediscovering his A-game when it mattered most to battle past the American in a 6-4 5-7 6-3 7-6(6) victory. Eyeing a sixth Grand Slam title, the Spaniard was eventually too strong for the metronomically consistent Fritz, whose biggest weapons were still not damaging enough to unsettle the second seed under a fiery sun on Centre Court. Alcaraz, who last tasted defeat at the Barcelona Open in April, has now won 24 matches in a row, an ominous statistic heading into the final. "I'm not thinking about the winning streak or the results at all," the 22-year-old said on court after wrapping up victory when the world number five sent a forehand long to decide a tense fourth-set tiebreak. "This is my dream - stepping on these beautiful courts and playing tennis in the most beautiful tournaments in the world. That's all I try to think at every tournament and why I try to bring the joy to the courts." Fritz, who was bidding to become the first American man to reach the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick in 2009, was so languid and smooth, emotionally and physically consistent from one point to the next. Alcaraz, on the other hand, was a fidgeting bundle of energy, exploding into life at key moments, ripping top-spin forehands that drew gasps of admiration. Fritz broke Alcaraz for the first and only occasion to take the second set as the Spaniard's intensity levels dropped, but the champion quickly regained the upper hand, breaking twice in the third and coming through the tiebreak to clinch victory. Alcaraz now stands one match away from joining greats Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win three successive Wimbledon crowns in the professional era. "Right now I don't want to think about Sunday," the Spaniard said. "I just want to enjoy this moment and that I've got to a third final in a row." - Reuters
