The top seeded Serb was 0:2 behind Jannik Sinner before he turned up the heat and after a good three and a half hours he still won 5:7,2:6,6:3,6:2,6:2. In the women’s category, Tatjana Maria sensationally made it into the top four, defeating Jule Niemeier 4:6.6:2.7:5 in the German duel.
In the meantime, Djokovic was literally played against the wall by the only 20-year-old Italian, number 13 in the world. After a nervous start and a 1:4 deficit, Sinner won twelve of the following 15 games. But he couldn’t keep up the high pace, while Djokovic, who was previously too passive, increasingly determined the rallies. The young South Tyrolean was quickly behind with a break in sets three to five and finally missed his first semi-final entry at a Grand Slam tournament.
Crucial toilet break
“He was the better player in the first two sets. I freshened up and had a little motivational talk with my reflection,” Djokovic said of a crucial toilet break. The 35-year-old is in Wimbledon for the eleventh time in the semi-finals, where he meets the winner of the game between Britain’s Cameron Norrie and David Goffin of Belgium on Friday.
Djokovic is aiming for his fourth consecutive title, his seventh overall, on the Wimbledon lawn. He has been unbeaten in south-west London since 2017, when he retired in the quarter-finals against Tomas Berdych with an elbow injury. With his 84 matches won at Wimbledon, the Serb is level with Jimmy Connors. Only the absent record winner Roger Federer (8 titles, 105 games won) is ahead of him.
Tatjana Maria continued to write fairy tales
Maria, 34, continued her Wimbledon fairy tale with an impressive comeback. After losing the first set, she hit back in the second set and finally gave the fans a thriller. Niemeier broke to make it 3:2, but remained too passive and had to accept the 4:4 after a slight volley error. Suddenly Maria was on top again, two points were missing to win the match, Niemeier, who was twelve years younger, remained strong and drove the audience on. After an incredibly hard-fought ball at a score of 5:5, Maria had the better end for herself.
“I have goosebumps everywhere,” reported the mother of two afterwards. “It’s a dream to live with my family and my two little daughters. I gave birth over a year ago. It’s crazy.” For her biggest success so far, she collects the equivalent of 622,000 euros and now meets the winner of the match between world number two Ons Jabeur from Tunisia and Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic.
Source: Nachrichten
