Djokovic saves his skin against Sinner and goes to the semifinals

Forced to a strenuous effort, Novak Djokovic saved his skin in a match to the limit against the intrepid Jannik Sinner.

The 20-year-old Italian, the youngest of the eight quarter-finalists, did not know how to complete the task, but he kept the six-time champion of the tournament in suspense thanks to two excellent first sets, in which he laid the foundations for what could have been a victory. historical.

He suffered

as he had not done in the entire tournament, where

.

He won 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, in three hours and 35 minutes, and will play the semifinals on Friday.

It is the seventh time he has lifted two adverse sets, the first since he did it against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros final last year

, to win his twentieth Grand Slam title.

For many moments he was seen as incapable, without the resources to neutralize an unleashed kid, who managed to overwhelm him with his sharp, sharp tennis, a firm arm to open the court and a mimosa hand when handling the drop shot and the backhand cut.

Djokovic comfortably dominated the first set after breaking at the dawn of the match.

However, he got distracted, gave up his serve twice and from 4-1 went on to deliver the partial in the second option that Sinner had with the service.

With 25 wins in a row (already 26) in a tournament where he hasn't lost since the 2017 quarterfinals, when he retired injured against Tomas Berdych and started a very delicate period in his career, it was hard to argue with his status as favourite, no matter how the Italian, seeded tenth, came from surprising Alcaraz in the second round.

poise of italian

In his first appearance at this round of Wimbledon,

, displayed more than just poise in the early part of the match.

He was not intimidated by the moment and the rival, who was moving steadily through the competition.

Aggressive, successful with the service and also with the return, he soon confirmed that the reaction in the first set had not been an isolated episode.

In the third game of the second he had already gained a disturbing advantage for the Balkan, which he would make effective with a new break, leaving his opponent on the brink of the abyss.

The fuel did not reach him and he felt dizzy, despite the fact that he never laid down his arms.

It was difficult to sustain the exalted tone of his tennis against an opponent of the category of Djokovic, who took the risks with success, knowing his resilience in disputes over the course, even at Wimbledon, where a much higher toll is usually charged to undertake the way back.

Ebullient, he glided over the grass with his arms wide open after landing an impressive backhand crosscourt

that put him on the verge of victory.

Already consummated, he paid tribute to himself in the center of the field, feeling the irremediable applause of the stands, which, once again, had been on the other side of the trench.

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