Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Novak Djokovic came back from the brink on Tuesday at Wimbledon, where the six-time champion pulled off a stunning quarter-final comeback to end Jannik Sinner’s hopes at the grass-court major in London. The top seed engineered a mid-match turnaround to roar back and seal a 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory against the 20-year-old Italian. Follow Wimbledon 2022 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Novak Djokovic enters semifinals after epic comeback to defeat Jannik Sinner in five sets in quarterfinal
Comeback complete 👑@DjokerNole is a Wimbledon semi-finalist for the 11th time, sealing a sublime 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory against Jannik Sinner#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/xdkN5os2H2
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2022
Sinner successfully targeted Djokovic’s serve early, breaking it four times on the way to a two-sets-to-love-lead, but the six-time champion responded by raising his game to spectacular effect on Centre Court, wrapping up a three-hour, 35-minute victory to extend his winning streak at SW19 to 26 matches.
The win moved Djokovic within two matches of his fourth consecutive crown at the grass-court Grand Slam, where his semi-final opponent will be Cameron Norrie or David Goffin.
Djokovic started confidently on Centre Court as he broke Sinner’s serve on the way to a 4-1 lead early. The Italian however found some of the top-class returning that had taken him past John Isner and Carlos Alcaraz in the previous two rounds to break Djokovic twice and come back to claim the first set.
Sinner continued to effectively read Djokovic’s serve in the second set, putting the top seed under pressure early in rallies with some clean hitting off both wings. He took his chances to break serve in the third and seventh games to surge to a two-set lead, as the top seed struggled to raise his level to match his opponent’s intensity.
On the brink of his first defeat at Wimbledon since 2017, Djokovic rallied. Despite a couple of magic moments in the third set from Sinner — the Italian capped an epic point with a backhand lob in the seventh game and fended off a set point for the Serbian with a stunning angled retrieval of a Djokovic drop shot —Djokovic’s groundstrokes clicked into gear. The top seed sealed the sole break of the third set before he raced into an unassailable 4-0 lead in the fourth to force a decider.
All the momentum was with the 20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, and he made it count with an impressive final-set performance. He offered Sinner few free points and pulled off some spectacular winners, most notably a backhand on the slide to bring up break point in the seventh game that had an enraptured Centre Court crowd on their feet. Sinner could find no answer to the Djokovic barrage, and the Serbian served out to love to reach his 11th Wimbledon semi-final.
Djokovic vs Sinner LIVE: Novak Djokovic eyes semifinal spot, faces Jannik Sinner challenge in quarterfinal – Follow Wimbledon 2022 LIVE updates
