Novak Djokovic is just two wins away from tying Roger Federer as the all-time leader in Wimbledon titles, with eight championships. To get there, of course, he must first defeat Jannik Sinner in the semifinals and then either Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final. However, the Serbian star had to make a decision that raises some concern.
Djokovic had a two-hour practice session scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Aorangi Park, but he decided to cancel it, as confirmed by the All England Club. This is related to his physical issues, which have lingered since his victory on Wednesday against Flavio Cobolli.
In that match against the Italian player, Novak suffered a fall late in the match that, although it didn’t prevent him from closing out the win, did cause some physical concerns. “It was a nasty fall. It was very awkward,” he acknowledged in the press conference following the quarterfinal match.
Regarding the possible effects of that fall, the former World No. 1 was candid. “Obviously, my body is not the same today like it was before, so I guess the real impact or effect of what happened I will feel tomorrow,” he said. “I’m hoping the next 24, 48 hours that the severity of what was happening on the court and what happened is not too bad, that I’ll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days.”
Jannik Sinner plays a backhand against Ben Shelton during the quarter-final match of Wimbledon 2025
Clearly, the effects of that fall remained in the hours after the match against Cobolli, which led Djokovic to postpone his Thursday training session. Nonetheless, this is unlikely to derail his plans for the match against Sinner, even if the lead-up hasn’t been ideal.
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Novak Djokovic shares injury update after final set slide against Flavio Cobolli at Wimbledon
Sinner also arrives with physical concerns
Friday’s semifinal between Djokovic and Sinner comes with an added challenge for both players: overcoming physical setbacks. Just as Novak took a fall in his quarterfinal match against Cobolli, Jannik has had his own issues.
In the case of the Italian star, his trouble started in an earlier round. During his round of 16 match against Grigor Dimitrov, Sinner experienced an issue with his right arm that prevented him from training normally in the following days. However, that didn’t affect his performance in the quarterfinals, where he convincingly defeated Ben Shelton.
In fact, when asked about his physical problems, Jannik downplayed their significance. “This is no excuse,” he said. “There is no better stage to play tennis, and I think I showed this today… I’m very, very happy about today’s performance.”
Sinner and Djokovic have very different motivations
Jannik Sinner will play his second Wimbledon semifinal, having reached this stage in 2023 and lost—coincidentally—to Novak Djokovic. Now he will seek revenge and try to stay on course for his first title on English grass.
For Djokovic, this is familiar territory. He has been crowned champion seven times at Wimbledon and is aiming to lift the trophy once more to tie Federer at the top of the all-time list.
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