By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) – Defending champion Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic’s latest bid to claim a record 25th Grand Slam title in ruthless fashion with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win on Friday to set up a Wimbledon final against Alexander Zverev.
The searing temperatures of previous days dipped for the day’s semi-finals but Sinner turned up the heat on the 39-year-old Djokovic who barely laid a glove on the Italian.
Earlier, second seed Zverev put an end to the tournament’s most unexpected storyline as he snuffed out the dream run of British wildcard Arthur Fery with a dominant 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4 win to become the first German to reach the men’s singles final since Boris Becker in 1995.
Sinner will bid for a fifth Grand Slam title on Sunday while Zverev, having needed 41 attempts to win his first last month, will be seeking to complete a French Open-Wimbledon double.
CLOCK TICKING ON DJOKOVIC RECORD HOPES
For Djokovic it was a fifth loss in his last six Grand Slam semi-finals and the clock is ticking for the Serb and his hopes of moving ahead of Margaret Court on the all-time list for most major titles in the history of the sport.
The Centre Court crowd, who were not always Djokovic’s firmest fans when he battled Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for supremacy, joined in chants of “Nole, Nole” throughout the match and willed him to make a fight of it.
But Sinner was just too good, serving 16 aces and conceding just six points on his first serve.
After Djokovic left the famous arena to loud applause, Sinner paid tribute to a player who still remains better than virtually every player in the world.
DJOKOVIC SAYS SINNER WAS ‘AT CRUISING SPEED’
“It’s the most special tournament we have and it means a lot to me, of course, playing against Novak,” Sinner said on court.
“He is still a true inspiration not only for you guys, but also for the new generation. What he’s doing is incredible.”
Seventh seed Djokovic, who was attempting to become the oldest Grand Slam finalist since Ken Rosewall reached the 1974 U.S. Open final, admitted there was little he could do against a rampant Sinner who is in his seventh Grand Slam final.
“Was a good old blowout, nothing much I could do,” Djokovic, who vowed to return next year for another go, told reporters. “It’s very simple. He was just a level or more better than I was. I was just not sharp enough.
“He was at cruising speed and I could not catch him.”
SINNER DOMINATES WITH HIS SERVE
Top seed Sinner has raised his level round by round after a tough start to his title defence when he was taken to five sets by lesser-known Serb Miomir Kecmanovic.
He was dialled in from the first game against the man he lost to at the same stage of this year’s Australian Open, peppering the lines with punishing ground strokes and dominating on his laser-like serve.
Sinner did not face a single break point for nearly two hours of Friday’s contest by which time he had the match under control. Even that was saved with a booming ace.
Djokovic had spent 16-1/2 hours on court to reach his eighth successive Wimbledon semi-final and 15th in total, including the longest match of the tournament against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday, and that exertion finally seemed to catch up with him.
From the moment Sinner pummelled a backhand winner down the line to break serve in the ninth game of the opening set, Djokovic’s task began to look like mission impossible.
ZVEREV SILENCES HOME CROWD
When the 24-year-old Sinner injected extra pace into his strokes, Djokovic was regularly rocked on his heels and the Serb’s resistance buckled at 3-3 as, expecting another Sinner bomb, he was left flat-footed by a sublime drop shot.
The writing was on the wall when a free-flowing Sinner broke early in the third and although Djokovic fought on, he wore a resigned look as his hopes of an eighth Wimbledon title ebbed away in the evening sunshine.
Local boy Fery’s run has captivated Wimbledon and had it continued against Zverev, he would have contested the final on his 24th birthday.
Reality finally hit home though as, after a close first set, the towering Zverev silenced the crowd with an awesome display of power that augurs well for his chances in his first Wimbledon final on Sunday.
“For me, I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the best level and continue winning,” Zverev said. “I hope I’m able to do that, and again on Sunday I have another big chance.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Alison Williams)
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