Novak Djokovic has promised that his crushing semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner will not be his final appearance at Wimbledon, with the 39-year-old vowing to return to the All England Club “at least one more time” next year.
Djokovic’s future became an immediate talking point after the Serbian was comprehensively beaten 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday. The defeat extended his wait for a record 25th Grand Slam title and marked his fifth loss in his last six major semi-finals.
Asked whether he intended to return to Wimbledon at the age of 40, Djokovic made his intentions clear.
“I’d like to. At least one more time. Let’s see.”
The brief but heartfelt response was enough to reassure fans that the seven-time Wimbledon champion is not ready to walk away from Centre Court just yet.
I WAS HALF A STEP LATE: DJOKOVIC
Djokovic, however, admitted that Friday’s defeat was one of those rare occasions where he simply had no answers. The Serbian was outplayed from start to finish as Sinner’s relentless serving and baseline power left him chasing the match throughout the two-hour and 20-minute contest.
Asked whether it felt like he was being battered by Sinner’s power, Djokovic conceded that he was constantly a step behind.
“I was just half a step late basically on any shot. It’s as simple as that. He was just a level or more better than I was. I was just not sharp enough. Not reactive enough. Not balanced enough to play him. That’s it. There was not much I could do on the court.”
Sinner fired 16 aces, conceded just six points on his first serve and did not face a break point until nearly two hours into the match, producing one of the most dominant performances of this year’s Championships.
Despite another Grand Slam disappointment, Djokovic refused to dismiss what has otherwise been a strong season by most standards. The Serbian pointed out that he had once again reached the latter stages of the biggest tournaments, even if that no longer satisfies his own lofty expectations.
“Last year I reached 4 semifinals. This year out of 3 Slams I reached 1 final and 1 semifinal. For 99% of players that would be a very good Grand Slam result, for me it’s not good enough.”
“Because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of the highest degree in terms of results and achievements. In some way I’m also dealing with myself in a sense that I’m telling myself, look, this is amazing that you’re still able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles.”
The result sent Sinner into his second successive Wimbledon final, where he will take on Alexander Zverev. For Djokovic, meanwhile, the focus now shifts to whether one final run at Wimbledon in 2027 can produce the elusive 25th Grand Slam title that has narrowly escaped him over the past two seasons.
– Ends
