Have your say: men’s tennis

Down two sets to Sinner in quarterfinals, 20-time majors titlist pep talks himself into a win

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND Scrambling hither and yon, diving to reach a drop volley before its second bounce, Jannik Sinner slips, skids and tumbles to the ground, grasping his twisted left ankle, writhing and wincing.

A gasp from the crowd, followed by a worried hush, and then a massive cheer as the 20-year-old redhead straightens up, gingerly walks off the pain and takes his position at the back of the court, awaiting his opponent’s serve.

On the other side, Novak Djokovic slue-slides to return a slick shot seemingly far out of range, spreading his legs wishbone wide — torn groin territory — to get his racquet on the ball, successfully, then drops on his stomach in a comical flourish, arms extended to imitate a swimming motion.

Somewhere between those two episodes — the young Italian fighting to turn back the tide in the fourth set and the wizened Serb orchestrating an insurance break in the fifth — the audience’s sentiments audibly changed. Oh, they were still encouraging toward the Grand Slam quarterfinals crasher. But their elevating respect for the defending Wimbledon champion was also evident. Djokovic’s gutsy comeback from a stunning twosets deficit had the stuff of sublime mastery.

My, my, what a close call for the 20-majors titlist, though, before he set aside his spunky challenger 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 215 minutes Tuesday.

It was most likely a third-set break Djokovic crafted that reversed the momentum, followed by his toilet break at two sets apiece, when the 35-year-old gave himself “a peptalk in the mirror.” Upon resumption of the enthralling match, Djokovic saw “a little bit of doubt in his eyes,” Sinner’s eyes, a hint of deceleration in his movement.

“As fake as it looks or sounds to you,” Djokovic explained later of his tête-à-tête of one, “it really gives you an effect and support if you are trying to find the right and positive affirmations, tell it to yourself, kind of reanimate yourself in a way.”

It doesn’t always work, he admitted, but it has elevated his spirits before, notably in a similar inspireme confab down two sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros final last year.

“I just felt I had to change something. I was not playing well. I was not feeling well on the court. I was dominated by Sinner. Thankfully, Grand Slams are played in best-offive, so I had opportunity to come back.”

Sinner had effectively targeted Djokovic’s serve through two sets by targeting his opponent’s serve. The Italian, in only his second career Wimbledon appearance and the youngest man left in the draw, was actually trailing 4-1 in the opening set, and fended off another break point in the sixth game, which would have dropped him into a double-break hole. Instead, the top-drawer returner who’d propelled himself past acing monster American John Isner and fellow Next Gen sensation Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in previous matches, drew level and broke Djokovic to claim the frame.

He continued to pressure Djokovic’s serve with clean winners on both wings to seize the second set.

Djokovic was in deep trouble and looked it, seemingly falling apart and on the brink of defeat at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017. The Serb’s ground strokes began clicking, however, to seal the third set before he bounded out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth to force a decider. Djokovic in free-flowing frame of mind and game is simply unassailable. Sinner had come agonizingly close to toppling the superstar but he couldn’t carry the ball into the end zone and become the youngest man to reach the singles final at Wimbledon since Djokovic, in 2007.

“When you are up two sets to love, you play every set in the best possible way,” Sinner told his postmatch press conference. “I mean, in the third, when I was serving and was love-15, I hit an easy forehand in the net, love-30. Then after he played a good point, instead of being 15-30 I was love-40 and he broke me.”

He tried to put the brakes on Djokovic but few have succeeded in blunting the man who spent a record 373 weeks ranked No. 1 before everything went haywire — a departure from Australia over his refusal to get COVID-vaccinated, a couple of ATP Masters events missed for the same reason. He’s also persona non grata for the upcoming U.S. Open.

Djokovic is a five-set beast, having won 36 of them in Slams.

“I was playing well and he raised his level during the fourth,” Sinner said. “I think in the fifth I played the right way, just missed the final shots.”

Djokovic is famous for refusing to allow opponents to boss him around the court and wrong-foot himself into unforced errors. Sinner pushed those buttons for a pair of sets, which was quite remarkable. But, teetering on the edge of liquidation from the All England Club, Djokovic harnessed all the skills that have brought him half a dozen Wimbledon trophies, extending his winning streak at SW19 to 26 matches and advancing to his 11th semifinal on these greensward grounds.

“In these kinds of occasions for young players, they get to experience something they have never experienced before,” Djokovic said, while piling on the praise for his opponent.

“I feel like Sinner, coming into the match, didn’t have much to lose, but he had a lot to lose when he was two sets to love up. I could feel that mentally with him.”

Sinner, who grew up in the Italian Alps as a skiing protégé before turning his focus to tennis around 12, has clearly benefitted from the body balance learned on the slopes, “how to use your feet and hands.” He further honed his game in practice sessions with Djokovic over the past couple of years, which of course isn’t anything like confronting him on a competitive court. They had one previous head-tohead match.

“It’s a little bit different when you face these kinds of players,” Sinner said.

“I like to challenge myself. I am a guy who likes the competition … special matches in important rounds like today, quarterfinals.

“I know I still have a lot to improve but I think I can be happy after this Wimbledon. I showed some good tennis. Also, after he lost the second set he had to raise his level because otherwise he most likely was losing.”

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As fake as it looks or sounds to you, it really gives you an effect and support if you are trying to find the right and positive affirmations, tell it to yourself, kind of reanimate yourself in a way.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC