After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third and a flubbed forehand made the game score 15-40 as he served. Two chances for Sinner to finally break. Two chances for him to actually take a set. Djokovic hit a fault, which drew some sounds of approval from the stands. Djokovic sarcastically used his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, then flashed a thumbs-up.
He can back up any such bravado. Djokovic simply does not lose at the All England Club lately. Or at any Grand Slam tournament, for that matter. So he calmly collected the next four points to claim that game, looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear. Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.
“The third set could have gone his way,” said Djokovic, who will meet No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz for the trophy on Sunday. “It was really, really just a lot of pressure.”
While Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, is pursuing a 24th Grand Slam singles championship, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, seeks his second after winning the US Open in September.