Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are set to clash today, in one of the most enticing and important matches of their rivalry thus far.
After all, it really feels like, for the 39-year-old, this will be one of his last truly big chances to claim a 25th Grand Slam title.
With Carlos Alcaraz having withdrawn before the event even began, and plenty of other top seeds having fallen in the past two weeks, opportunity beckons.
And yet, with the way the seeding has worked, Novak Djokovic will have to bypass Jannik Sinner before the Wimbledon final, where he will face one of Alexander Zverev or Arthur Fery.
Martina Navratilova has been previewing this mouth-watering match-up with Tennis Channel, and thinks Sinner has already been given one advantage due to a decision made by the Wimbledon organisers.
Martina Navratilova and Jim Courier preview Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner
She began with an assessment of Sinner’s improving form: “He looks really, really sharp. Mochizuki played really well and pushed Sinner, but still got the tiebreak and the same against Struff. Struff had chances to get it to one set all.
“But anyway, I think Sinner will be a lot fresher and will be very happy that they’re playing the second match during the day tomorrow.”
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Jim Courier then offered a whole host of questions that he has over this match, adding: “Ooh, well, there’s a couple questions, isn’t there? How will Novak bounce back after five hours and 15 minutes? Yes, he’s had two days off, but he’s also 39 years old. So how does that impact him? Does he have a full tank of gas? He probably will need it.
“How will Sinner respond to another hot day? Yes, they’re gonna start late as the second match tomorrow, but it’s the hottest of the day here is around 4 o’clock. That could be when they’re starting tomorrow. We shall see.
“And can Djokovic play with that same type of authority and aggression that he did in Australia, which gave him that great win?”
Navratilova replied with answers to the most pertinent ones: “Well, I think when Novak played Sinner and beat him in Australia, 18 break points, he saved 16 of them. I don’t know if he can do that again, if he gives up that many break points, and I think Sinner is in a better shape physically and mentally right now than he was in Australia.
“So I think it’s on Sinner’s racket, but Novak, you cannot count him out. But the longer it goes, I think, the better for Sinner.”
Despite all this, there is a clear game plan that Djokovic must follow if he is to beat Sinner.
Where the Wimbledon semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will be won
Sinner will, as usual, lean heavily on his serve to carry him through against the Serbian.
With an average first serve speed of 125mph, which he gets in 65.5% of the time, it’s therefore laughable that, as per a survey conducted by Vodafone, 13% of Brits think they could return a serve from the world number one.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
Jamie Murray also spoke about how difficult returning a professional serve is, describing it as ‘one of the hardest things an athlete can do’.
And yet, Djokovic makes it look so easy.
This is the crucial battle that will decide today’s Wimbledon semi-final, marking a clash between two elite-level champions who will likely struggle to even trouble each other’s serves.
Despite this, a solid chunk of the average onlooker thinks they might stand a chance.
