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Diaranson 6 Juli 2022

2 sets down, Djokovic wins 26th consecutive Wimbledon match

three-time major champion After 19 unforced errors over
Stan Wawrinka and then beat the initial two sets, he made
a pair of seeded foes: No. 20 14 over the final three. After
John Isner and No. 5 Carlos getting broken four times
Alcaraz. over two sets, he won all 13
of his service games the rest
With his wide wingspan, and of the way.
a Djokovic-style ability to
slide into strokes, the 6-foot- He became increasingly ani-
2 (1.88-meter) Sinner gets to mated, too. Djokovic shook a
balls that appear out of reach fist and yelled after breaking
and is able to reply with con- twice to move out to a 3-0
siderable power. That allows edge after 20 minutes in the
him to lengthen exchanges third set.
and make even a consum-
mate baseliner like Djokovic "He was dictating more," Sin-
put in extra work to earn a ner said.
point.
On Tuesday, Sinner went After landing on his stomach
up a set and a break when following a slide that turned
Djokovic sailed a backhand into the splits on a backhand
long, then bowed his head. in the fifth set, Djokovic
Sinner broke again for 5-2, spread his arms out wide like
and soon enough, 1 1/2 hours a child pretending to be an
in, was a set from the biggest airplane — or a baseball um-
(AP) — It says a lot about of Belgium 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, "He's been in this situation triumph of his nascent career. pire calling a runner safe.
Novak Djokovic that a 7-5; No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tu- many times," the 20-year-old
two-sets-to-none hole at nisia beat Marie Bouzkova of Sinner said. "That definitely Before the start of the third, Sinner's play, meanwhile,
Wimbledon on a day he the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, helps." Djokovic headed toward the dipped. His form at the net,
was hardly at his best nev- 6-1; Tatjana Maria defeated Tuesday's match brought locker room for a bathroom so good early, faltered: He
er seemed insurmount- Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Sinner's major quarterfinal break, just like he did at Ro- was successful on 14 of 17
able. Not to him. Not to in an all-German matchup. appearance total to three, land Garros against Tsitsipas trips forward over the first
anyone watching. which is exactly 50 fewer 13 months ago. two sets but 8 of 18 in the last
Norrie, Jabeur and Maria all than Djokovic's. "You approach these particu- three. He caught a toe in the
Says a lot about his history of earned the right to make their lar situations when you're grass and turned his left ankle
overcoming that sort of defi- debuts in a Grand Slam semi- Sinner has shown enormous two sets down a bit more on one push forward, falling
cit. A lot about his ability to final. potential, reaching the quar- calmly, a bit more confident," and immediately clutching
adjust, to adapt and to right "Can't enjoy it too much terfinals at the 2020 French Djokovic said, "with more his ankle; Djokovic climbed
himself. A lot about his pre- now," said Norrie, 26, who Open before losing to Rafael self-belief." over the net to help Sinner
eminence at the All England was born in South Africa to Nadal and the 2022 Austra- When play resumed, Djokov- get up. That did not seem
Club in recent years. British parents, grew up in lian Open before losing to ic was so much better than he to affect Sinner's footwork,
New Zealand and played col- Tsitsipas. As for grass? Sin- had been. though.
Djokovic spotted 10th-seed- lege tennis at Texas Christian ner was 0-4 until last week. "Two different matches," he
ed Jannik Sinner of Italy University. "Just get ready for But he got win No. 1 at said. Djokovic was simply a lot to
the huge lead Tuesday, then Novak in a couple days." Wimbledon by eliminating deal with.
worked his way back to win
5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at Cen- The 103rd-ranked Maria is,
tre Court, earning an 11th at 34, the oldest first-time
semifinal berth at Wimble- women's semifinalist at a ma-
don with his 26th consecu- jor and only the sixth woman
tive victory at the grass-court at least that old to get this far
Grand Slam tournament. at Wimbledon in the pro-
"I always believed," said fessional era, which began
Djokovic, who faces ninth- in 1968. The others? Quite
seeded Cam Norrie of Brit- a list: Martina Navratilova,
ain next, "that I could turn Billie Jean King, Chris Evert,
the match around." Serena Williams and Venus
Williams.
Among men, only Roger Fe-
derer has made more semifi- "I always believed that I have
nal appearances at Wimble- something inside," said Ma-
don with 13 and won more ria, who only once before
championships (eight) than reached as far as the third
the seven Djokovic could round. "That I can do this."
reach by lifting the trophy
Sunday for what would be a Djokovic, a 35-year-old
fourth year in a row. from Serbia, managed his
seventh career comeback in
"He makes you play differ- a match in which he trailed
ently — well, not differently, by two sets — he last did it
but in a way that he likes," in the 2021 French Open fi-
Sinner said. nal against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Djokovic was responsible — and improved to 37-10 in
for just one of Wednesday's five-setters. That includes a
comebacks: In all four singles 10-1 mark in matches that go
quarterfinals on a sunny day, the distance at Wimbledon,
the player who dropped the including nine straight vic-
first set ended up victorious. tories; the lone loss came in
Norrie edged David Goffin 2006.