Both players head into the semi-final showdown with injury concerns.
Novak Djokovic has raised concerns amongst tennis fans after cancelling a scheduled practice session before his Wimbledon semi-final against Jannik Sinner. The seven-time champion suffered a nasty fall during his win over Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals, but managed to shake it off.
However, alarm bells were ringing when Djokovic was a no-show on the practice court at the All England Club on Thursday. Djokovic was originally scheduled to practice on Wimbledon’s Aorangi Park courts between 1pm and 3pm, but the All England Club confirmed the session had been cancelled.
The 24-time major winner had the option to re-schedule the practice session for later on Thursday, but there were no reports he’d done so on either the indoor or outdoor facilities. Sinner also cancelled a practice session before his quarter-final on Wednesday, but it was moved to one of the indoor courts and he later took the court against Ben Shelton.
The cancelled practice session had fans fearing the worst for Djokovic on Thursday, after he slipped on the Wimbledon grass and effectively did the splits on Wednesday. He managed to continue and win the match, after the incident occurred deep in the fourth set.
The 38-year-old said afterward the quarter-final that he would take medical advice and hoped to be right for a blockbuster showdown with World No.1 Sinner. “Obviously, 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.
“So let’s see. 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.”
Novak Djokovic eyes record 25th major title after injury scare
Djokovic has a history of overcoming injuries to reach major finals in the past. The Serb had to withdraw before the quarter-finals of the 2024 French Open because of a knee injury that required surgery but he still went on to reach the Wimbledon final weeks later, despite going down to two-time defending champ, Carlos Alcaraz in the decider.
The 24-time major winner had to retire from this year’s Australian Open semi-final with a hamstring injury though, after losing a first-set tiebreaker against Alexander Zverev. He ultimately succumbed to the issue after battling through the injury in a courageous quarter-final victory against Alcaraz at Melbourne Park, where Djokovic came back from a set down to win in four.
Djokovic has only twice had to pull out of a Wimbledon match, with an elbow problem seeing him withdraw from the quarter-final against Tomas Berdych in 2017 and a foot injury ending his run in the semi-finals against Rafael Nadal 10 years earlier. The Serb has a chance to clinch a record 25th major title if he can go all the way at Wimbledon this year, with fans hopeful that his cancelled practice was more about preserving his body rather than anything more serious.
