LONDON – Defending champion Novak Djokovic said he never doubted his ability to recover from two sets down to defeat Jannik Sinner and reach his 11th Wimbledon semifinal on Tuesday.
Djokovic triumphed 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie for a place in Sunday’s final.
It was the seventh time in the 35-year-old Serb’s career that he had battled back from two sets to love down to win.
“I always believed that I could come back. I know the experience I have could eventually prevail in these kind of situations,” said six-time champion Djokovic.
“It was just a matter of momentum shift. I felt that the beginning of the third set is crucial to start well, try to break his serve early. That’s what happened.”
Djokovic had also come back from two sets down as recently as the 2021 French Open against Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round and then Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Crucially, Tuesday’s quarter-final was his 47th five-set match. For Sinner, it was just his fifth.
“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,” said 20-time major winner Djokovic.
“I could feel that mentally with him. He didn’t have too many five-set matches in his life... not too many matches on the Centre Court.
“So all these things play a role. It does definitely help knowing that you have been in these particular situations and you had success in the past.”