‘It will completely different match to last year’: Jannik Sinner’s major ‘Djokovic’ admission ahead of Wimbledon SF

Jannik Sinner is on his best-ever run at a grand slam tournament, having entered the semifinal at Wimbledon, but has been met with the task of beating the defending champion, Novak Djokovic. The rising Italian star also faced Djokovic in the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament, and although he took a two-set lead, Sinner was unable to see off the match. The Serb came all the way back, and went on to clinch the trophy.

Sinner will remember that match, and said he will use the encounter as a learning curve to improve on and to provide him motivation to go on and beat the all-time grand slam leader on Friday.

“I am going to watch [last year’s quarter-final], knowing that it is going to be a completely different match, because I am different but I feel like also he has improved,” the Italian told Euro. “He is playing much better, so it’s going to be a very tactical match.”

Sinner has had a relatively comfortable draw, not playing anyone ranked inside even the top 75 of the world rankings. Early losses to Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud meant his biggest challenges were out early, but Sinner has made the most of it by remaining solid and consistent. It is a strong bounce-back performance from his shock loss to Daniel Altmaier at Roland Garros.

The big-hitting Italian will need to be at his best to break down Djokovic, but spoke about how different conditions could take the match one way or another. “Let’s see how the situation is going to be – if we play with the roof closed if it’s raining, if there is sun, if it’s windy, all these kinds of things. I’m very happy that I can face him again.”

Sinner might prefer the roof to be closed: stats indicate that balls fly faster and more consistently under the roof, which would suit a player who liked to wind up and unleash on his groundstrokes from the back of the court. However, Djokovic hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2013. In some ways, this is the most challenging situation a professional tennis player could find themselves in during any tournament.

Sinner spoke about the significance of a first grand slam semifinal and his success at Wimbledon this fortnight. The Italian has shown consistency, having reached the quarterfinals in 4 of the last 7 grand slam tournaments, but this is the first time he has a shot at playing for the final.

“It means a lot, many hours of work on the court and sacrifices, and it feels good. In the other way, the tournament is not finished. I’m happy, I’m pleased that I can play my first semi-final here in this special court against a very special player. I’m looking forward to and hopefully it’s going to be a good match,” concluded the Italian.

Djokovic is in imperious form and aiming for a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, and overcame another big hitter in Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal. Although he was given trouble by Sinner in their encounter last year, he will also have the confidence that he can outlast a player who has struggled with remaining competitive in long matches in the past. It promises to be a spectacular encounter between the pair.