Jannik Sinner will attempt to stop Novak Djokovic from winning his eighth Wimbledon title. This will be no easy task, but Sinner can call on last year’s experience of running the great Serbian close, having led by two-sets to love last year in the quarterfinals only to lose in five.
There is of course no shame in losing to Djokovic at Wimbledon. Particularly on Centre Court. Andy Murray managed to defeat Djokovic twice, the first at 2012 London Olympics in the semifinal, before going on to defeat Roger Federer to claim his first Olympic Gold medal. Murray then repeated the feat in 2013 in the final, to the delight of the crowd everywhere to end the 77-year-wait for a men’s singles champion.
Rafael Nadal, Tommy Haas, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, and Sam Querrey are the only others to defeat him there since 2007. Berdych and Murray have the honour of defeating him twice at the All England Club. Having come as close as anyone last year to joining this club, before Djokovic went on to claim the title against Nick Kyrgios, Sinner will surely like his chances of testing Djokovic again.
Of course, the Serbian will go into the match as the favourite, as he does every time he steps on to Centre Court. But Sinner’s powerful game makes him well-suited to the grass and the Italian will no doubt want to avenge last years loss. A big difference between the two is that Sinner has yet to face a seeded player at Wimbledon. Djokovic on the other hand, has already defeated two in Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev, though both took a set off him.
Indeed, there were times against Hurkacz and Rublev that Djokovic looked almost mortal. The concern for Sinner is how Djokovic looked the rest of the time. It is a tough ask for Sinner, or anyone really to beat, Djokovic at Wimbledon. However, it has been done in the past and Sinner might just have as good of a chance as anyone this year. Let’s see if he can do it and join the exclusive club.
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
