The 2026 Wimbledon men’s semi-finals ended in two straight matches.
One was as expected, with second seed Alexander Zverev taking care of wild card Arthur Ferry. The other was generational, with Jannik Sinner snuffing out what might have been Novak Djokovic’s last best chance at a 25th Grand Slam title.
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Sinner-Zverev will appear in Sunday’s final, which pits the defending Wimbledon champion and most recent Grand Slam champion, ATP No. 1, against current ATP No. 2.
After his win, Zverev was asked whether he would rather face Sinner or Djokovic. He jokingly replied, “It would be nice to play with Junior. That would be great.” Instead, they will acquire a player who has won nine games in a row. Although many would be hoping for the 10th time, the Germans have already saved one monkey this year.
Jannik Sinner takes revenge with overwhelming victory over Novak Djokovic at Australian Open
There has been a lot of talk about Sinner in recent months, from his infamous loss at Roland Garros, his subsequent lack of appearances until Wimbledon, and his bloody first match in London last week.
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All of that seemed to be in the past Friday for him as he selected perhaps the best returner in tennis history, whose serve has improved every year since he turned pro.
To be fair to Djokovic, he is 39 years old and far from his prime these days. To Sinner’s credit, he made Djokovic look 39 years old with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory just months after his surprise loss to the Serb in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Djokovic didn’t have a break point until the third set, two and a half hours into the match.
Sinner won 44 of 50 first-serve points throughout the late afternoon and early evening, dotting his serves in areas that could be uncomfortable for Djokovic. In the return game, he waited for Djokovic’s second serve and fought back, winning 25 of the 38 points.
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Sinner broke Djokovic late in the first set. He broke midway through the second set. He broke early on the third run. The day’s much-anticipated match became slightly tense as Djokovic swayed wildly with each serve to avoid an ace.
Despite his recent struggles, Sinner is very favored going into this tournament, very favored going into this match, and will be very favored on Sunday as well. Despite the heat and humidity in London on Friday, he was the player everyone expected from start to finish at the Masters 1000, where he won an unprecedented five consecutive times between March and May.
He was clinical, with 16 aces to no double faults and 40 winners to just 16 unforced errors. Now he just needs one more win against a player he knows he can easily beat to add another Grand Slam to his record.
As for Djokovic, I can’t say he played poorly. He only encountered the buzzsaw at an age when he was no longer equipped to handle it. However, there is still another missed opportunity, especially with Carlos Alcaraz not playing in the tournament.
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Betting on the 24-time Grand Slam champion was never good business, but that performance shows that age is just a number.
Alexander Zverev has little problem with Arthur Ferry
In the first semi-final, Zverev, fresh off winning a landmark Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, faced local favorite Ferry.
Ferry ticked all the boxes as a typical underdog. 3 digit rank? Check (No. 114 in the ATP rankings entering the tournament). Wouldn’t he have made it to the tournament if he represented another country? Check (he received a wild card). A rambunctious player who is 5 feet 9 inches tall? check. Did you grow up very close to Wimbledon? check.
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It was a wonderful story. And he will play in his first Wimbledon final on Sunday against a player of a different caliber in Zverev, who brought Ferry’s story to a Brothers Grimm-esque conclusion with a 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 win.
With the win, Zverev moves into second place in the ATP rankings ahead of Alcaraz, who missed the last two Grand Slams and lost a significant amount of points.
To Ferry’s credit, he had the right game plan at the start of the match. Zverev, who is 6-6, has an incredible serve and can overwhelm lesser players from the baseline, especially in backhand-to-backhand rallies. Ferry tried to adjust the situation by flattening and slicing his shots to make Zverev uncomfortable, hoping that Zverev could withstand one of the best serve-return combinations in tennis.
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It worked to a certain extent. Zverev got a break early in the first set, but Ferry then broke back, making it seem like it wasn’t going to be easy for the heavy favorite.
After that, things got pretty easy for the heavy favorites. They held serve for the rest of the set, with Zverev setting Bagel Ferry in the tiebreak. The second set was a close battle, with Zverev winning 16 of 19 service points and 15 of 28 return points. The third set was just a little bit better.
That single break in the first set was Ferry’s only break point of the entire match.
Wimbledon matches, more than any other Grand Slam, are determined by how easily points can be won on a power-packed surface. Zverev was always going to have the advantage there, but Ferry was nowhere near what he needed in a long rally to nullify it.
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Zverev hit 44 winners compared to Ferry’s 16, but made only slightly more unforced errors (31 to 25). Zverev has gotten into trouble in the past by playing too passively, but he was clearly aggressive throughout the match and took maximum advantage.
Zverev is currently competing in his first Wimbledon final and is thriving on the worst surface of his career. After a career defined by poor performances at Grand Slams, he suddenly felt free and easy to play after mowing the desolate grounds in Paris last month.
With one more win, the 29-year-old will become the first man in the Open era to follow up his first career Grand Slam title with another Grand Slam title. Just being able to reach all four major finals is already in rare territory.
Check out the latest updates on the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Semi-Finals on Yahoo Sports.
After Sinner’s masterclass performance against the all-time great Djokovic, the Wimbledon final will pit Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev.
Again, this wasn’t the smoothest hold for Djokovic, but he still held on to Sinner.
The Sinners remain in love and are one game away from solving this. What a performance!
Sinner forced another break point, but that would have effectively ended the match. It may still be over, but Djokovic reacted enough to ensure Sinner got this serve.
Sinner holds on, two games left to re-enter Wimbledon final
Djokovic held easily, but still needed a break to force a fourth set.
Sinner quickly saved that break point with an ace, closed out the next point with an overhead winner, and hit another ace.
Djokovic gets a break point! Djokovic gets a break point!
Djokovic stands on the board with another difficult hold. He saved 9 of 12 break points today, but only won 9 of 30 on second serve points. Sinner, who can turn half of his serves into neutral rallies, is very difficult to beat.
Sinners strengthen the break. He won 31 of 35 first serve points. Go ahead.
Sinners will not wait for a break this time. He continued to push Djokovic and grabbed the advantage after hitting his leg on a serve-and-volley attempt. The Serbian player is still trying to find ways to embarrass him, but the word “untouchable” was just used on the ESPN broadcast.
After the French Open disaster, with no tournament played since, and the tournament’s shaky (and bloody) start, this has been a masterclass by Sinner so far.
Leading 40-0, Sinner hit his first serve out of bounds, but Djokovic couldn’t get it over the net. The Italian has not saved a break point so far and is one set away from returning to the Wimbledon final.
Djokovic got his easiest hold in a while, but now needs a break to avoid losing 2-0 in a set. It won’t be easy as he is still looking for the first break point of the match.
It really needs to be said again and again. Djokovic is probably the best returner in the history of tennis, and Sinner has a huge lead over Djokovic on serve and has never had a break point.
Forehand winner, ace, ace, ace. Sinner secured the break with the best serving performance of the match.
Sinner went into the break and converted the second of two break points with a dropshot winner. Djokovic currently faces quite a tough battle.
Djokovic threatens again by winning the first two points, but Sinner fights back with four straight to stay on serve. He hasn’t had to save a break point yet.
Sinner had a double break point, but Djokovic responded by saving both and winning after a second deuce. It was so big.
Djokovic sliced Sinner over and over and left his backhand long to make it 15-30, the best start to a return game of the match. Sinner responded with an ace, taking two unforced errors from Djokovic and forcing him into another hold.
Djokovic is still living on that first serve, but he’s getting enough there to hold serve.
