Novak Djokovic overcomes two-set deficit to advance to Wimbledon semifinals
WIMBLEDON, England — Serbia’s Novak Djokovic spotted 10th-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy a two-sets-to-none lead at Wimbledon on Tuesday, then worked his way all the way back to pull away and win 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The victory on Centre Court gave Djokovic his 11th semifinal berth at Wimbledon and his 26th consecutive victory at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
Among men, only Roger Federer, with 13, has made more semifinal appearances at Wimbledon. And only Federer, with eight, has won more men’s championships than the seven that Djokovic would reach by lifting the trophy Sunday for what would be a fourth year in a row.
Djokovic collected his seventh career comeback in a match he trailed by two sets — he last did it in the French Open final against Stefanos Tsitsipas last year — and improved to 37-10 in five-setters. That includes a 10-1 mark in matches that go the distance at Wimbledon, including nine straight victories; the lone loss came way back in 2006.
In the semifinals on Friday, the top-seeded Djokovic, 35, will meet either No. 9 Cameron Norrie of Britain or unseeded David Goffin of Belgium. The men’s quarterfinals Wednesday: No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain vs. No. 11 Taylor Fritz of the U.S., and Nick Kyrgios of Australia vs. Cristian Garin of Chile.
Taylor Fritz made sure there will be an American man in the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a straight-set win. Nick Kyrgios advanced with less drama.
The first player into the women’s semifinals was 103rd-ranked Tatjana Maria, who defeated Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in an all-German matchup. Maria is 34, making her only the sixth woman at least that old to get this far at Wimbledon in the professional era, which began in 1968.
The others? It’s quite a list: Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.
This is Maria’s 35th Grand Slam tournament; only once has she previously even made it as far as the third round.
She’ll take on No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic for a spot in Saturday’s final. The other women’s quarterfinals: 2019 champion Simona Halep of Romania vs. No. 20 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S., and No. 17 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan vs. Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia.
Of the women’s quarterfinalists, only Halep owns a major title (she has two).
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