Novak Djokovic survives Flavio Cobolli challenge to set up semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner
's pursuit of yet more career milestones continued unabated as he reached a record 14th
Wimbledon
semi-final and a showdown with world number one
Jannik Sinner
.
The 38-year-old Serb recovered from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 6-7(6) 6-2 7-5 6-4 and is now only two victories away from an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title.
Blocking his path next is a rather more formidable Italian in the form of Sinner who eased any worries about an elbow injury to beat American powerhouse Ben Shelton 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4.
By reaching a record-extending 52nd Grand Slam semi, Djokovic also kept alive his hopes of equalling Roger Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon singles titles.
READ MORE
It remains a tall order even for a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time, especially with top seed Sinner and Spain's holder Carlos Alcaraz, the two new powers in men's tennis, most people's bet to contest the final on July 13th.
But no one should be writing off Djokovic who has won 44 of his last 46 matches at the All England Club and seems to know every single blade of grass on the historic Centre Court.
'It means the world to me that at 38 I am able to play in the final stages of Wimbledon,' said Djokovic, who suffered a nasty slip on match point but appeared unscathed.
'Competing with youngsters makes me feel young, like Cobolli today. I enjoy running and sliding around the court. Speaking of the young guys, I will have Sinner in the next round so I look forward to that. That is going to be a great matchup.'
Sinner may well have been back home in Italy had Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov not damaged his right pectoral muscle and retired with a two-set lead in the fourth round on Monday.
The three-times Grand Slam champion also sustained an elbow injury early on in that match and there was some doubt about his physical state ahead of his clash with 10th seed Shelton.
But he produced a clinical performance, reeling off seven successive points to win the first-set tie-break and then pouncing in the 10th game of the next two sets to match his run to the semi-final two years ago when he lost to Djokovic.
Sinner, bidding to become the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title, wore a protective sleeve on his right arm but was rock solid against the big-serving Shelton.
'I had quite good feelings in the warm-up today,' Sinner, who dropped only six points on his first serve, said.
'I put into my mind that I'm going to play today. So the concerns were not that big if I would play or not.
'It was just a matter of what my percentage is. Today was very high, so I'm happy.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Golf stars return to Portrush for Open, but it's a different set-up to 1951's £300 prize and pick of parking spaces
I would pay good money to see how my late granny, a former Portrush bed and breakfast landlady, would react to the idea of paying up to £50,000 (€58,000) to stay for a week in her beloved Co Antrim seaside town. When the Open first casually rolled into Portrush in 1951, many of the top players found lodgings in boarding houses around the town. More than seven decades later the difference in the price of accommodation, prize money, spectator numbers and media coverage is inconceivable. In 1951, the total purse amounted to £1,700 (€1,970) with the winner receiving £300 (€350). Royal Portrush Golf club proudly announced the installation of 16 new telephones for the use of the press covering the event and the post office installed a mobile facility so that, over the three days of the tournament, the 7,000 spectators could send postcards from the course. They say home favourite, 1947 Open champion Fred Daly, slung his clubs over his shoulder and strolled each day from the family home on Causeway Street the short distance to the first tee on the Dunluce course. READ MORE As a 16-year-old, my father Maurice, now 89, gladly accepted a lift with a commercial traveller who was a guest in his mother's B&B in one of the few cars to be seen in the town in the early 1950s. They drove nonchalantly straight through the entrance gates and had their pick of parking spaces. Many years later, he confessed that on another day he and his friends sneaked in under the ropes without a ticket between them. Anne Marie and her father Maurice McAleese at Royal Portrush This year, as in 2019 when the Open last came to Portrush, we are taking no chances, and, much to his amusement, our tickets have been secured via the QR code on the app on my phone. I suspect that he also thinks that, as one of the few people who will have been to all three Opens held in Portrush, he shouldn't really need a ticket at all. In his debut professional tournament that summer of 1951 in Portrush, the late, great Peter Alliss recalled dancing at Barry's ballroom and swaying, not only to the music, but to the gentle swells of the Atlantic Ocean, merely a hop, skip and a twirl away. In 1951, Portrush was a bustling, fashionable holiday destination, which could already boast a long and successful relationship with the game of golf. More than five decades earlier, on a summer's evening in 1899, unsuspecting visitors to the popular resort would have noticed the centre of the town was unusually busy. Hundreds of people had gathered around the railway station to give a rapturous welcome to a teenage golfing sensation. As 17-year-old May Hezlett and her mother made their way towards the jubilant crowds, the sky above the resort's West Strand beach dazzled in a blaze of colour and the air was filled with the loud, crackling sound of fireworks, a celebration befitting the champion golfer that young Hezlett had, unassailably, just become. In back-to-back triumphs, she won the British Ladies Open Championship just two weeks after winning the Irish Ladies Open Championship. Both prestigious tournaments were played at the links course at Royal County Down. 'Miss May', as she was known, was the most accomplished of the four talented golfing Hezlett sisters. She was introduced to the game at the age of nine by her mother, also a skilled exponent of the relatively new sport. At just 11 years of age, she won her first competition using only a cleek, mashie and putter. Hezlett became the inaugural president of Royal Portrush Ladies in 1922, having been lady captain in 1905. She remained president until the Open was held for the first time at Royal Portrush in 1951. A portrait of her by artist Harry Douglas, commissioned by the club to celebrate her success, still hangs in the Portrush Ladies clubhouse. Seventeen-year-old May Hezlett caused a sensation in Portrush in 1899 when she arrived just won the British Ladies Open Championship and the Irish Ladies Open Championship back to back She died in the winter of 1978 at the age of 95. Little could she have known when she arrived on the platform of Portrush train station eight decades earlier that she would go on to carve her name in the annals of golfing history. As the Open returns for the third time to Royal Portrush, it's entirely fitting that the club recently unveiled an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque in her honour, cementing her illustrious place in the history of the women's game. And how she would have relished the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament in the world returning to the scene of so many of her victories. She watched the Open when it was first played in Royal Portrush 74 years ago and, no doubt, in 2025 as in 2019, her spirit will be felt keenly by Royal Portrush Ladies watching proudly as the world's best golfers try to tame this mighty links. More than a century ago, behind many great golfing men, there was at least one even greater golfing woman. And so, it will be with a great sense of pride that I, along with my father, the three-time Portrush Open champion spectator, will find a place near the first tee on the first day of the 153rd Open on Thursday to cheer on the finest 21st century exponents of the game. As in 2019, there will be a collective hope among locals that a home-grown hero might just do it again. That smiling Shane Lowry, who has his own mural in Portrush now, might regain the claret jug and thrill the crowds as he did so magnificently six years ago on that rain-sodden Sunday when nothing could dampen his sprits or conquer his sheer talent. Rory McIlroy at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick this week during a pro-am before the Scottish Open. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Or could it be written in the stars that his great friend Rory McIlroy will see his name carved in silver for a second time and banish the ghosts of the missed cut in 2019 ? Darren Clarke is also sure of a euphoric reception as he strides down Hughie's 420-yard first fairway. Always popular with the crowd, he became the oldest Open champion since 1967 when he won by three shots at Royal St George's at the age of 42 in 2011. Darren Clarke, who is from Co Tyrone, won the Open in 2011. Photograph: Phil Inglis/Getty Absent from the field will be pride of the parish Graeme McDowell. With a total of 11 tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one Major championship, the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, the affection in which he is held in his hometown is undiminished . These days there's nothing casual about how the Open arrives at any venue. Preparations begin months in advance, the attendant infrastructure is vast and the impact on and off the course is felt long before and after the event. No matter the outcome, no matter the weather, for golfers and non-golfers, the fervent hope is that Open will once again triumph and for at least four days in July all amateurs will feel a bit triumphant as a result. Just don't take any chances on a car parking space. Anne Marie McAleese is a former BBC Radio Ulster presenter of Your Place And Mine and a keen golfer
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Advice for massive GAA crowds heading for Croke Park in heat wave this weekend
The heat is on at Croke Park this weekend with close to 150,000 fans expected to attend the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals and Tailteann Cup final in scorching conditions. According to Met Éireann, air temperatures are forecast to peak at around 28 or 29 degrees on Saturday afternoon and will reach 26 or 27 degrees on Sunday. The Wimbledon men's singles semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz was stopped twice in one game due to spectators falling unwell in the 31- degree heat on Friday. The previous day, women's world number one Arnya Sabalenka rushed to the aid of two stricken fans in 30-degree heat during her semi-final. Supporters heading to Croker are advised to stay hydrated with a Saturday double-header of the Tailteann Cup final between Kildare and Limerick preceding the All-Ireland SFC semi-final that pits Kerry against Tyrone. On Sunday, an 82,300 sell-out is expected for Meath's first All-Ireland semi-final appearance in 19 years, with the Royals facing back to back Ulster champions Donegal. Over 140,000 spectators attended the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals last week and similar figures are predicted for this weekend. A GAA source said: "Advice is for patrons to take the usual precautions in terms of hydration and sun cream - especially those in seats that will be in the sun." The GAA has also confirmed that there will be no additional water breaks in place for players despite the conditions, but there will be no limit on the intake of water during natural breaks in play and no restrictions on maor uisce delivering drinks onto the pitch. The association has promised to make sure there is an "ample supply" of water for players. Meath boss Robbie Brennan has named an unchanged side for the clash with Donegal. Brennan has kept faith with the line-up that started against Galway in the last eight championship encounter that the Royals won 2-16 to 2-15. Mathew Costello, who scored four points against the Tribesmen, has been named at full-forward but is likely to switch to wing-forward, with Keith Curtis reverting to the edge of the Meath boss confirmed last week that Ronan Jones, James Conlon, Jack Kinlough and Jack Flynn, who all missed the Galway game, won't feature in the county's first All-Ireland semi-final in 16 years. Jones and Conlon miss out with hamstring injuries while Kinlough (cruciate ligament) and Jack Flynn (torn pec) are also unavailable. "What we have is, I know I heard a few people saying, 'oh you could have this guy back,' but they definitely won't be," said Brennan. "They're all in rehab for next season."We have certainly said all year, next man up. It's just about the next man up and that's what we've installed and luckily we have some really good players there and still more that haven't even been used yet. So, we'd be quite happy with the squad we have." Donegal have recalled Caolan McGonagle to their squad but Jim McGuinness has named an unchanged side Tyrone are also unchanged for their encounter with Kerry, with Michael McKernan named among the reserves having been injured since the All-Ireland group game against Cavan. Meath (v Donegal): B Hogan; S Lavin, S Rafferty, R Ryan; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, A O'Neill; C Duke, R Kinsella, K Curtis; J Morris, M Costello, E Frayne. Donegal (v Meath): S Patton; F Roarty, B McCole, P Mogan; R McHugh, EB Gallagher, C McColgan; H McFadden, M Langan; S O'Donnell, C Thompson, C Moore; C O'Donnell, M Murphy, O Gallen. Tyrone (v Kerry): N Morgan; C Quinn, P Hampsey, N Devlin; P Teague, R Brennan, K McGeary; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; S O'Donnell, P Harte, C Daly; D McCurry, M Donnelly, D Canavan.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
What to watch on TV and streaming today: Wimbledon, One Night in Idaho and Lakeview Terrace
Wimbledon 2025 BBC One, 12.15pm It's the penultimate day of the championships, which means the women's singles final is due to take place, with two players battling it out to succeed Barbora Krejčíková as champion. The men's final takes place on Sunday afternoon. Ireland Summer Tests Virgin Media One, 6.30pm Head coach Andy Farrell – not to mention many of his best players – may be absent due to their inclusion in the British & Irish Lions' tour of Australia, but Ireland are still expected to beat Portugal when the two nations clash at Estádio Nacional do Jamor in Oeiras. Live Aid at 40: The Concert BBC Two, 7pm To celebrate the fundraising spectacular's 40th anniversary, we're being treated to an epic highlights programme featuring the best moments from the gigs in London and Philadelphia, including performances by U2, David Bowie and Queen. Watch out for interviews with Bob Geldof and Bono too. Fast & Furious 9 RTÉ One, 9.50pm He may want to live a quiet life with his wife and son, but trouble follows Dom Toretto wherever he goes. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to see him and his crew back in action, hunting down a superb driver who also happens to be an assassin. Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and John Cena star. Lakeview Terrace RTÉ2, 10.20pm Gripping thriller with Samuel L Jackson as a bigoted cop who disapproves of the mixed-race couple living next door (played by Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) so strongly, he sets out to make their lives a misery. ADVERTISEMENT One Night In Idaho Prime Video, streaming now In late 2022, a fatal stabbing attack involving four university students rocked a small Idaho town, drawing national attention. An explosion of social media sleuthing, a cross-country manhunt, a dramatic arrest, and a looming trial made this crime one of the most high-profile stories of the last decade. Foundation AppleTV+, streaming now Season 3 returns to Apple, with new episodes dropping every Friday through to September 12. Inspired by Isaac Asimov's celebrated books, the saga follows exiles fighting to restore civilisation as an empire collapses. The Crossbow Cannibal Prime Video, streaming now Keeping things super light on Prime Video this week, we also have a profile of Stephen Griffiths, who created his own deadly persona in the hope of following in the footsteps of his idol — serial killer Peter Sutcliffe. Fifteen years after Griffiths's arrest, this documentary revisits one of Britain's darkest criminal cases. Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story Disney+, streaming now National Geographic dives into (apologies) the legacy of a legendary film with this Laurent Bouzereau documentary, tracing its journey from book to enduring pop culture phenomenon. If the tween in your life has been counting down the days, they'll probably already know that Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is also now available (be warned, it's a musical). Oppenheimer Netflix, streaming now Finally, the wait is over. Anyone who failed to catch it in the cinema back in the heady summer of 2023 can now view it on whatever device they please. Speaking of German-related drama, Brick, an atmospheric number with Danny Boyle vibes, is also available. Building The Band Netflix, streaming now
