Last dance: Djokovic vows return to Wimbledon after semi-final thrashing by Sinner

Novak Djokovic has vowed his crushing semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner will not be his last appearance at Wimbledon, with the 39-year-old vowing to return to the All England Club “at least one more time” next year.

Djokovic’s future was immediately discussed after the Serb was comprehensively beaten by world number one Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday. The defeat extended his wait for a record 25th Grand Slam title and marked his fifth loss in his last six major semi-finals.

When asked if he intends to return to Wimbledon at the age of 40, Djokovic made his intentions clear.

“I’d like to. At least one more time. We’ll see.”

The short but heartfelt response was enough to reassure fans that the seven-time Wimbledon champion is not ready to retire from Center Court just yet.

I WAS HALF A STEP LATE: DJOKOVIC

However, Djokovic admitted Friday’s defeat was one of those rare occasions when he simply had no answers. The Serb was outplayed from start to finish as Sinner’s relentless serve and baseline power kept him chasing the match for two hours and 20 minutes of the match.

Asked if he felt like he was being beaten by Sinner’s power, Djokovic admitted he was constantly a step behind.

“Basically on any shot I was just half a step late. It’s that simple. He was just a level or more better than me. I just wasn’t sharp enough. Not reactive enough. Not balanced enough to play him. That’s it. I couldn’t do much on the court.”

Sinner fired 16 aces, conceded just six points on his first serve and didn’t face a break after almost two hours of play, producing one of the most dominant performances of this year’s championship.

Despite yet another Grand Slam disappointment, Djokovic refused to turn down an otherwise strong season by most standards. The Serbian pointed out that he has once again reached the latter stages of the biggest tournaments, even if it no longer lives up to his own lofty expectations.

“Last year I reached 4 semi-finals. This year, out of 3 Slams, I reached 1 final and 1 semi-final. For 99% of players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result, not good enough for me.”

“Because I’m blessed and cursed that I’m used to something at the top in terms of results and achievements. I’m also kind of dealing with myself in the sense that I’m like, hey, it’s amazing that you’re still able to play at such a high level and push guys to the threshold for Grand Slam titles.”

The result sent Sinner into his second consecutive Wimbledon final, where he will face Alexander Zverev. For Djokovic, the focus now shifts to whether one final run at Wimbledon in 2027 can deliver an elusive 25th Grand Slam title, which has narrowly eluded him in the past two seasons.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

Jul 11, 2026 01:22 IST