Djokovic sets up semifinal clash with Sinner at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic hits a return during the men's singles quarterfinal against Flavio Cobolli at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, on July 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

LONDON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic battled past Italy's Flavio Cobolli in a hard-fought match on Wednesday, securing his place in the Wimbledon semifinals, where he will face Jannik Sinner in a highly anticipated showdown.

The Serbian star, chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title, rallied from a set down to defeat Cobolli 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

Djokovic converted six of his 12 break points, while Cobolli's 44 unforced errors - double Djokovic's 22 - proved costly.

Top seed Sinner overcame lingering discomfort from an elbow injury to defeat American Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.

Jannik Sinner hits a return during the men's singles quarterfinal against Ben Shelton on July 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

The 23-year-old Italian had injured his right elbow after slipping during his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. Wearing a protective sleeve, Sinner showed little sign of trouble as he controlled the match against Shelton.

After the match, he admitted trying to ignore the injury during play. "When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try not to think about it."

"It has improved a lot from yesterday to today. Yesterday my day was very short on the practice court," he added.

Friday's semifinal will be a rematch of their 2023 encounter, which Djokovic won in straight sets.

The other men's semifinal will feature world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz against fifth seed Taylor Fritz.

Belinda Bencic hits a return during the women's singles quarterfinal against Mirra Andreeva on July 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

In the women's draw, 18-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva's impressive run came to an end with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) loss to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic.

The 35th-ranked Swiss, a former Olympic champion, will now face eighth seed Iga Swiatek, who booked her semifinal place with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Russia's Liudmila Samsonova.

The other semifinal will see world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka take on American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova. ■

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