That says a lot about Novak Djokovic: no one considered him beaten when he trailed two sets to nil at Wimbledon on a day when he was far from at his peak.
And for good reason. He has been dominant on the English turf in recent years. He has also already demonstrated his ability to overcome this kind of deficit. He is also a past master in the art of adapting, of straightening the bar quickly. He also has a habit of coming back into the game and settling things in the fifth inning.
This is exactly the recipe he used on Tuesday against the Italian Jannik Sinner, 10e seeded, to finally win 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on center court. He thus obtained his ticket for an 11e semi-final at Wimbledon thanks to his 26e straight win at the Grand Slam tournament.
Among the men, only Roger Federer, with 13, claims more appearances in the semi-finals. And again on the men’s side, only Federer, with 8, has won more titles than the 7 Djokovic could achieve if he lifted the trophy on Sunday for a fourth year in a row.
Djokovic scored his seventh career victory in a game where he trailed two sets to nil — he last did it in the French Open final against Stefanos Tsitsipas last year — and he improved to 37-10 in five-set games. That total includes a 10-1 record in matches that require five sets at Wimbledon, including nine straight wins; the only loss came in 2006.
“As for the first two sets, compared to the last three, we probably had two different games,” Djokovic said. [Sinner] was the best player for two sets. »
“Then I walked off the pitch for bathroom break and gave myself a little pep talk in front of the mirror — it’s the truth — and sometimes in those situations where things don’t go positive, it is necessary. A break, a little pep talk, try to gather your thoughts and come back to offer your opponent the best possible tennis. »
Symbolic gain for Norrie
This victory was the 84e Djokovic at Wimbledon. He joined Jimmy Connors in second all-time at the All England Club, trailing only Federer.
On Friday in the semi-finals, the 35-year-old Serbian, first seed, will meet Briton Cameron Norrie, noh 9, which defeated Belgium’s David Goffin in five sets — 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Norrie becomes only the fourth Briton in the professional era to qualify for the Wimbledon semi-finals. Andy Murray, Tim Henman and Roger Taylor are the others.
The other two quarter-finals in the men’s draw will feature Spaniard Rafael Nadal (noh 2) against the American Taylor Fritz, and the Australian Nick Kyrgios against the Chilean Cristian Garin.
Maria continues her journey
The first Wimbledon semi-finalist this year is the oldest player still in the running.
Tatjana Maria, a 34-year-old German who returned to the circuit less than a year ago after the birth of her second daughter, qualified for the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, at his 35e participation. She defeated another German, Jule Niemeier, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
“A year ago, I had just given birth, recalled Maria on the ground. If someone had told me that a year later I would be in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, I would have said that was crazy. »
Maria is on her tenth appearance at the All England Club. She is only the sixth woman in the professional era to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon after turning 34. Previously, her best performance was a third round appearance in 2015. She has never made it this far in the other three major tournaments.
“I am doing, by far, my best Grand Slam tournament. Until then, I had only reached the third round once at Wimbledon, and in the other three I never made it past the second round. I always believed that I had something in me, that I could do it. »
It hasn’t been easy for her this year.
Maria is ranked 103e in the world, and she wasn’t among the top 250 players in the rankings as recently as March. Since returning from maternity leave, she has lost in the first round of the US Open, Australian Open and Roland-Garros.
Everything has changed on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
Maria defeated three seeds in a row on her way to the quarter-finals, including fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari in the third round and Jelena Ostapenko, 12e headliner and champion of Roland-Garros in 2017, in the fourth round.
She will now face third-seeded Ons Jabeur. The Tunisian recovered after dropping the first set against Czech Marie Bouzkova, whom she beat 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.