By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic admitted reality was beginning to bite after the Serb was unable to bridge a 15-year age gap in a Wimbledon semi-final drubbing against Italian Jannik Sinner on Friday.
One of the many milestones he was attempting to etch on his record-shredding list of achievements at his 20th Wimbledon was to become the oldest player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
At the age of 38, however, even a player who has so often looked superhuman in collecting 24 Grand Slam titles looked his age in a 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat.
Admittedly he said he was less than fully fit after a late fall against Flavio Cobolli in his previous match.
But even without the battle scars of a long and hot fortnight, he would surely have been overwhelmed by the relentless power and accuracy of 23-year-old Sinner’s game.
“Honestly, wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk in details about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best,” the seven-time Wimbledon champion told reporters.
“I want to congratulate Jannik for a great performance. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.”
Djokovic is last man standing of the Big Four after the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray and he has flown the flag for the old guard in admirable fashion, reaching the semi-finals of every Grand Slam event this year.
RETIRED HURT
The Serb retired hurt against Alexander Zverev in Australia, lost to Sinner in straight sets in Paris and suffered an even more resounding defeat by the Italian on Friday.
He also reached the last two Wimbledon finals, falling short against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on both occasions.
But his last Grand Slam glory was in 2023 — when he triumphed at Melbourne Park, Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows — and he knows the clock is ticking ever more loudly.
“It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest,” said Djokovic, whose only successes over the past 18 months have been Olympic gold in Paris and a low-key title in Geneva in May.
“These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with a tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that. It’s one of these things I accept and embrace in some way, deal with the reality the way it is, and try to make the most out of it.”
Cheers of “Nole Nole” resounded around Centre Court as he tried to stay alive against Sinner and his diehard fans will be reassured that he intends to keep fighting the good fight.
“Hopefully it’s not my last match on the Centre Court. I’m not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today,” he said.
“So I’m planning to come back definitely at least one more time, play on the Centre Court for sure.
“Right now I’m so fresh off the court, it’s hard to put things in a larger perspective and say what the plan is for the next few months or a year. I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams. Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.”
Asked about the duopoly developing between Alcaraz and Sinner, who have shared all the Grand Slam titles since his 2023 win in New York, Djokovic said: “I think the anticipation for this final is big. They’re definitely several levels above everyone right now.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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