Novak Djokovic looks to hold off new generation on men’s semi-final day

Novak Djokovic’s 33-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon will be tested against Italian eighth seed Jannik Sinner on men’s semi-final day in SW19.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz comes up against Russia’s third seed Daniil Medvedev in the other last-four clash on Centre Court.

Henry Searle carries the British flag in the juniors with a semi-final appearance and Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid are in wheelchair action.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day 12 of the Championships.

Djokovic closes in on Federer record

PA Media

It was 2017 when Novak Djokovic last lost at Wimbledon and even then it was because he retired injured in a quarter-final against Tomas Berdych.
Since then it has been total domination and he is just two wins away from a fifth successive title and eighth overall.

Standing in his path of a ninth final is 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, who is Wimbledon’s poster boy for the future having featured prominently in an official pre-tournament picture.

He was two sets up against Djokovic in last year’s quarter-final before the Serbian hit back and it is going to be a huge challenge for him to even repeat winning two sets never mind stopping a 33-match unbeaten run.

Russian roulette for finals weekend

Following Aryna Sabalenka’s semi-final defeat to Ons Jabeur on Thursday, men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev is the last remaining Russian or Belarusian in the tournament.

That still leaves the possibility of an awkward presentation for the Princess of Wales on Sunday as tensions over the optics surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to simmer.

For that to happen, though, Medvedev has to beat 20-year-old world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who has shown over the last fortnight that he is the likely heir to Djokovic’s throne.

The Spaniard has looked assured on grass and his versatility and athleticism means he is probably the most likely to stop Djokovic should he get past the Russian.

Searle carrying British flag

Henry Searle is making a name for himself in the boys’ singles as he is through to the semi-final and is the only home player left in the tournament.

Searle, who took out the top seed earlier in the first round, dispatched eighth seed Joao Fonseca in the quarter-finals and now comes up against American Cooper Williams.

The meeting gets a Court 12 showing as he becomes the first British boy to make the last four since Jack Draper in 2018.

Order of play

Centre Court
Jannik Sinner v Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz v Daniil Medvedev

Court One
Caroline Dolehide/Shuai Zhang v Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens
Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova v Marie Bouzkova/Sara Sorribes Tormo

Weather

Strong winds with risk of rain.

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