Novak Djokovic has powered into his ninth Wimbledon final as the fiery defending champion feuded with the umpire and spectators before beating Jannik Sinner to reach a record 35th Grand Slam singles title match on Friday.
Djokovic was in combative mood during a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) semi-final victory that moved him closer to a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title.
The 36-year-old will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Alcaraz, just 20 years old, is the reigning US Open champion.
‘Absurd’ call
But his path to the final was marred by controversy when the umpire, Richard Haigh, penalised Djokovic for “hindrance”. The umpire felt Djokovic had grunted for too long, potentially distracting and disrupting Sinner.
It came a critical juncture with the match at 15-15 and the Serb leading 2-1 in the second set.
Djokovic could be heard loudly grunting a few seconds after hitting a backhand.
The umpire deemed this a hindrance to Sinner and docked Djokovic a point.
The stunned champ instantly sank to the floor of Centre Court before approaching the umpire demanding to know: “What are you doing?”
Former British tennis star Tim Henman, commenting on the BBC, said: “I’ve never seen that before”.
Former Australian star Todd Woodbridge replied: “I feel like (the umpire has) been waiting to make that call for a while.”
“That’s absurd,” John McEnroe said succinctly on ESPN.
After clinching the match, and his ticket to the final, Djokovic addressed the hindrance call on the BBC.
He said it “could have changed the course of the match” as he “felt really nervous after that call”.
But Djokovic said he managed to “regroup” after what he claimed was the first hindrance call he’d been subject to in his entire career.
“It’s never happened to me, I don’t normally have an extended grunt,” he said.
“Maybe it was an echo from the roof or something like this,” he added to laughs from the crowd.
“I don’t actually feel like I was causing any hindrance to my opponent, but OK. But it’s a call I have to respect”.
Ticket to final
The Serb will tie Roger Federer’s eight Wimbledon crowns if he wins on Sunday.
Djokovic’s latest milestone — his record 35th Grand Slam final — took him past American legend Chris Evert, but he has an even more significant feat in his sights.
With 23 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, the world number two is aiming to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
Djokovic has already won this season’s Australian Open and French Open as he chases an astonishing clean-sweep of all four Grand Slam events in a single year, with the US Open to come in August.
“I feel 36 is the new 26, it feels pretty good. I feel a lot of motivation,” he said of his longevity.
“This sport has given me and my family a lot. I will return a favour to this sport and play as much as I can.”
Italian eighth seed Sinner, 21, came close to a shock victory over Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year before the Serb came from two sets down to win.
This time it was Djokovic who held sway from the start as he took the first set with ease.
After breaking in the third game of the second set, Djokovic found himself in trouble with Haigh.
That was the moment at which the British official took a point from Djokovic in the fourth game, ruling he made a distracting noise after his shot and just before Sinner was about to hit the ball.
Clearly furious, Djokovic stormed over”.
Haigh irked Djokovic again moments later, warning him for taking too long to serve as the Serb shook his head in disbelief.
But Djokovic recovered his equilibrium to win the second set with ruthless efficiency.
After saving two set points in the third set, Djokovic responded to the crowd’s vocal support for Sinner by making a sarcastic crying gesture towards the stands.
Djokovic had the last laugh on his tormentors as he won the third set tie-break to clinch a victory that moved him to the brink of more history.
– with AFP