Entering Friday’s semifinal against Novak Djokovic, there remained a sense of uncertainty around Jannik Sinner.
The world No.1 had yet to find top gear in five wins at the All England Club. The shock of his second-round exit at Roland Garros lingered, the third straight major tournament at which Sinner competed but did not win.
And he was facing an opponent in Djokovic who’d won their last meeting – a five-set semifinal classic in January that will go down as one of the truly great Australian Open matches.
“I think mentally I knew that I need to level up,” Sinner said after a dominant 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over the Serbian legend on Centre Court, his cleanest performance of the fortnight.
Sinner was near-flawless as beat Djokovic in a second straight Wimbledon semifinal, moving another step closer to defending his title at SW19.
He served 16 aces and no double faults, winning 88 per cent of first-serve points and allowing Djokovic only one break point – which he didn’t convert – for the entire match.
Sinner approached the net 20 times and won 17 of those points. He struck 40 winners overall to only 15 unforced errors. He even won 61 per cent of his second-serve points, to Djokovic’s 34.
“Was a good old blowout,” Djokovic conceded with a smile. “Nothing much I could do.”
Djokovic arrived at this point after a herculean five-set victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime, the longest Wimbledon quarterfinal in history at five hours and 15 minutes. At age 39, he was understandably “not the freshest” at this point in his quest for an eighth Wimbledon title and 25th major trophy overall.
Sinner, however, had rediscovered the locked-in mode which saw him scoop all five ATP Masters titles in 2026 and he didn’t allow Djokovic into the match.
“I worked very hard in the past couple of days having a good rhythm,” explained Sinner, who was stretched to five sets in the opening round against Miomir Kecmanovic and looked scratchy in his second-round win Nuno Borges.
“Against Novak, if you want to play even, you need to play your best tennis. I came out, was serving very well today, which helped me. Things could have gone in a very tough way if he breaks me in the third set … but I'm happy that I handled the situations as good as I could.
“Novak is so, so tough to play against because you always feel the pressure. You know it's not easy.
“But I like it. This is why I practise for. I like challenges. Playing against Novak in Grand Slams, they are very different than playing in maybe Masters events or smaller tournaments.
“He's a true inspiration. Seeing him around and having the honour to play against him, feeling the pressure against him, these matches, they hopefully can help me and also in the future.”
It’s the kind of match which should serve Sinner well entering Sunday’s final, where he meets the game’s most in-form player in Alexander Zverev.
The reigning Roland Garros champion has unlocked something on grass this year, progressing beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time and striking his serve and forehand perhaps better than ever.
Zverev earlier on Friday overwhelmed British wildcard Arthur Fery on Centre Court, setting the stage for a blockbuster clash between the top two seeds, which Sinner ensured a few hours later.
“I try to do my best on Sunday. It feels good again being back in a Grand Slam final. It's good for me. I just try to do my best,” said Sinner, who has won the past nine matches and 14 consecutive sets against Zverev.
“Whatever happened in the past between me and him, it happened. In between, he won a Grand Slam in Paris, which gave him a lot of confidence… because he tried for so long, and then when you finally achieve it, it's amazing and then gives you this confidence boost.
“We saw how aggressive he's playing, serving very big. He is a tough player to play against. He was before but now even more because of this confidence he has.
“I saw the semis because [Zverev and Fery were] playing before me… He is very, very aggressive at the moment. He's very relaxed on court, so this is good.
“So let's see. I'm happy to face him. I try to do the best I can, and then we see how it goes. But it's going to be very, very tough – very different than all the other matches we have played.”