Novak Djokovic was in his happy place: on Centre Court, dismantling an opponent 15 years his junior, convinced that the world was against him.
It is no secret that Djokovic thrives on adversity but, at a set and a break to the good in his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) Wimbledon semi-final win over Jannik Sinner, he had encountered precious little of that. Sinner, the Italian eighth seed, is a fine player; so fine, in fact, that he led Djokovic by two sets to love when the pair met in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year. But while each rally was fiercely contested, the defending champion had an iron grip on proceedings as he served for a 3-1 lead in the second set.
It was at that point that Richard Haigh, the British chair umpire, intervened. As Djokovic stretched wide to his left and fired a piercing two-hander down the line, he emitted a loud grunt that reverberated around Centre Court under the closed roof. Haigh deemed it a hindrance and awarded the point to Sinner. It was a tight call – the noise began after the ball had crossed the net, but before it bounced on Sinner’s side – and the Serb’s consternation was plain. Djokovic approached the chair to remonstrate briefly with Haigh, but quickly gathered himself to continue.
Gifted a platform in the game, Sinner endeavoured to make the most of it. He ripped a backhand winner to reach deuce, then out-rallied Djokovic to bring up a break point that he narrowly failed to convert. At which point, Haigh interjected again, giving Djokovic a time violation. Once more showing supreme self-control, Djokovic took a moment to compose himself and went on to hold. A potential turning point had been negotiated, another demonstration given of the teak-tough mentality that has carried the 36-year-old to 23 grand slam titles.
“I’ve never had a hindrance call for an extended grunt,” said Djokovic. “I saw the replay. I saw that my grunt finished before he hit the shot. So I thought the chair umpire’s call was not correct.
“I was just trying to hold things mentally together, and not really get upset, even though I was really upset because I didn’t think it was the right call.
“I didn’t see the time clock. I could have gone over. You can argue and say if you went over, even if it’s the first time, you should get a time violation, which is okay. It’s by the rules.
“But at the same time, if it’s the first time it happens, it happens in a game where you already gave me a hindrance, where it’s a close game, rallies. In this particular situation, I feel like the chair umpire should just recognise the moment a little bit more.
“It was a very stressful game for me to survive and to kind of storm through. It was super important because if he made the break – he was very close, he had a break point – who knows what would happen from that moment onwards. Luckily for me, I stayed calm.”
There was calm, too, albeit laced with anger and derision, when Djokovic later navigated his only real crisis of the match. That came when Sinner held two set points with Djokovic serving at 4-5 in the third set. Disturbed by someone in the crowd between his first and second serves, Djokovic responded with ironic applause and a withering thumbs up. Having fended off the danger to reach deuce, he pointed to his ear, inviting his tormentor to keep talking. That earned him jeers from nearby spectators, but they may as well have stood up and offered a rousing motivational speech; Djokovic went on to hold, mimicked tears in their direction, and then walked off muttering under his breath. Never awaken the beast.
The tiebreak that followed had the air of a formality, as tends to be the case with Djokovic nowadays. Sinner earned the first mini-break with a crunching return winner only to hand it back almost immediately with a double-fault, from which point Djokovic assumed control. He has now won a record 15 grand slam tiebreaks in a row – further evidence of the towering mental strength that has enabled him to remain unbeaten on Centre Court for a decade.
“I am aware of the tiebreak streak,” said Djokovic. “I think the longer the streak goes, I guess mentally the more resilient or tougher I am in these particular situations.
“Coming into every tiebreak now, I feel I think more comfortable than my opponent just because of the record. I think that my opponents also know about that record. That mentally makes a difference.”
What also perhaps made a difference is that Sinner, who was contesting his first major semi-final, is like a younger version of Djokovic himself. The 21-year-old possesses smooth groundstrokes that he strikes with immaculate timing and easy power. He has a natural ability to slide on all surfaces, the legacy of a youth spent on the ski slopes of San Candido, the alpine village where he grew up. He plies his trade mainly from the baseline, but has the technique and hand skills to operate comfortably in any area of the court. Yet there remains a gulf in experience between the pair.
“Obviously you know that you play against the best player in the world at the moment, especially on this surface,” said Sinner.
“If you think how big he is, you struggle. His mental side is very strong, for sure. Especially the important moments, he knows exactly how to play them. He’s not going to give you something.”
Such is the challenge that awaits Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Alcaraz, who later defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, will be contesting his first Wimbledon final; for Djokovic, it will be the fifth in a row and ninth in all. Win it, and he will draw level with Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer, the only men in history to win five on the bounce. He would also equal Federer’s men’s record of eight titles and Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles, completing the third leg of a calendar-year grand slam in the process. And if the crowd are against him as he faces a man 16 years his junior, that will suit Djokovic just fine.