Djokovic: The Wimbledon Favorite: Novak Djokovic appeared somewhat taken aback by the question posed to him, and perhaps he had a reason to be. The essence of the query was whether he was the frontrunner to claim the Wimbledon championship. Granted, there is still work to be done before he can lay his hands on the trophy.
Firstly, in their upcoming semifinal match on Friday, Djokovic and eighth seed Jannik Sinner, both 36, must prevail past Sinner’s challenge. It’s interesting to note that, since the commencement of the professional era in 1968, this represents the biggest age difference between two male semifinalists in All England Club history.
Djokovic would then need to overcome the winner of the other match that day, either top seed Carlos Alcaraz or third seed Daniil Medvedev, in order to advance to the championship round on Sunday.
Djokovic answered, “I mean, I don’t want to sound arrogant, but of course I would consider myself the favorite.”
If he had been less polite, Djokovic could have simply said, “Come on, my friend. Do you really want to know that, or what? Naturally, I anticipate winning the competition. And you must anticipate it as well. In actuality, everyone should anticipate it.
To comprehend his dominance compared to the other three remaining men in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, let’s examine his achievements:
- Djokovic has triumphed in Wimbledon a staggering seven times, while the combined count of the other three men is zero.
- This marks Djokovic’s 12th Wimbledon semifinal, an accomplishment none of the other three have ever reached.
- With 23 Grand Slam titles to his name, including both events held this year, Djokovic holds the men’s record. In contrast, the other three men have a combined total of two titles: Medvedev’s victory at the 2021 U.S. Open and Alcaraz’s win at the 2022 U.S. Open.
- On Friday, Djokovic will participate in his 46th major semifinal, tying Roger Federer’s record. In contrast, the other three men have collectively managed only ten: Medvedev has reached his sixth, Alcaraz his third, and Sinner his first.
Djokovic has a commanding head-to-head record versus the other three participants, leading by a total score of 12-5. He has a 2-0 lead over Sinner, including a triumph in the Wimbledon quarterfinals of the previous year. In the match, Sinner took an early two-set lead but ultimately blew it, going down in five sets.
Having dispatched seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Djokovic was asked in his on-court interview about constantly being the player targeted by others in their quest to defeat him.
“I know they want… to win,” he responded. “But it ain’t happening. Not yet, at least.”
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