Wimbledon: Djokovic storms into semis, sets up clash with Sinner

UNITED KINGDOM: Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic denied Andrey Rublev his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal spot with a win over the Russian in the quarterfinal of the ongoing Wimbledon championships in London on Tuesday. Djokovic made it to his 46th major semifinal, equalling Roger Federer's men's singles record, with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win. His aspirations for a fifth successive crown in London and record-tying eighth title overall in London are still alive.

He is also the number one in ATP Live Rankings. He must have a better Wimbledon 2023 result than Carlos Alcaraz, who will play Holger Rune in the final eight stages on Wednesday, to reclaim his top spot in ATP Rankings. "I love it," said Djokovic as quoted by ATP.

"I think any tennis player wants to be in a position where everyone wants to win against you. I think it is a privilege, as Billie Jean [King] said. Pressure is part of what we do, it is part of our sport. It is never going to go away..." "I know that they want to get a scalp, they want to win. But it is not happening, still," he added.

Rublev was playing his eighth grand slam QF but is still left in search of his first-ever SF. Nobody has played as many quarterfinal matches without reaching the semis in the Open era. Earlier, Rublev was also beaten by Djokovic in QFs of the Australian Open. Djokovic now has a 4-1 win-loss record against Rublev.

On the other side, Jannik Sinner also reached his first-ever semifinal at a grand slam event after overcoming a mid-match struggle to defeat Roman Safiullin. Jannik defeated Roman 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a two-hour, 14-minute clash.

The 21-year-old is only the third Italian to reach semis of Wimbledon, joining the company of Nicola Pietrangeli (1960) and 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini. "It means a lot to me," Sinner said on reaching his first major SF.

"We have put a lot of work in and a lot of sacrifices for this moment. It means a lot to me. It is a very nice moment for me. I just try to play my tennis and each match has its own story. I am happy to be in the semi-finals," he added. The world number eight, who is currently 37-10 in win-loss records this season will take on Djokovic in the semis.