Roger Federer has nailed his colours to the mast with his prediction for today’s Wimbledon showdown between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. The two rivals will face off in the semi-finals in a repeat of their last-four clash at this year’s French Open. Sinner prevailed on that occasion but Djokovic will be looking to put things right this afternoon.
They have faced each other nine times overall, with Djokovic claiming four victories and Sinner winning the other five. The young Italian has also won each of their last four meetings, a run which dates back to 2023. Federer is backing Djokovic to buck the trend at the next time of asking, though.
In a short video clip posted by Sportklub on their Instagram page, Federer was approached by a fan who shouted out of his car window to ask the Swiss icon who he thought would win. He paused for a moment before shouting back: “I think Novak.”
Both players are carrying fitness concerns ahead of the match, with Djokovic suffering a nasty fall in his quarter-final victory over Flavio Cobolli. He went on to cancel his scheduled practice session at the All England Club on Thursday.
Sinner, meanwhile, hurt his elbow after slipping on the baseline during his fourth-round match with Grigor Dimitrov. He ultimately progressed after his opponent retired through injury, but wore heavy strapping on his arm in his last-eight win over Ben Shelton.
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He knows that he will need to play his very best tennis to beat Djokovic, saying ahead of the match: “Just trying to put myself in these positions, the semi-finals of Grand Slams, they’re amazing occasions, great chances.
“I’m happy that I’ve put myself here again in this position and to see what I can achieve. I haven’t won [at Wimbledon], so I want it even more.
“I always believe that you have one opponent at a time. Hopefully I can show some good tennis in the next round. If not, obviously it’s impossible that I win that match.”
Djokovic, meanwhile, said: “It’s going to take the best of me at the moment to beat Jannik, I know that. You couldn’t ask for a bigger challenge.
“I lost in straight sets to Jannik in the semis of Roland Garros. I think I played a solid match, but he was just the better player when the moments were important. I get another opportunity. For me, this is what counts actually the most.
“It is and it has always been my greatest goal to do well in slams. I’m, again, in another great position, playing against the best player in the world right now. Him next to [Carlos] Alcaraz are the dominant force, the leaders of men’s tennis today.”
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