London, 11 July (H.S.):

World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy produced a commanding performance to defeat seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Wimbledon 2026 men's singles semifinal on Friday, securing his place in the final for the second consecutive year.

Sinner defeated Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to book his spot in Sunday's championship match, where he will face Germany's Alexander Zverev.

The 39-year-old Djokovic struggled to find his rhythm throughout the contest. Reflecting on the defeat, he described it as an old-fashioned straight-sets loss and admitted that he was half a step behind on almost every shot.

Sinner delivered an exceptional serving performance, firing 16 aces during the match. He won 88 percent of points on his first serve and 61 percent on his second serve. His precise serving and aggressive baseline play left Djokovic with few opportunities to mount a challenge.

Djokovic earned just one break point during the entire match, which came in the third set. However, Sinner erased it with an ace before following it up with a powerful smash and another ace to maintain complete control and close out the victory.

Despite the loss, Djokovic acknowledged his opponent's superiority, saying, I felt physically fine. I wasn't as fresh as I was at the start of the tournament, but I was fit. Sinner was simply much better than me today and dominated the entire match. He deserves congratulations. He played outstanding tennis.

Attention now turns to Sunday's final, where Jannik Sinner will aim to successfully defend his Wimbledon title when he takes on Alexander Zverev in the championship match.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar