Djokovic's astonishing run
Let’s go back to the summer of 2012, when Fred Perry was still the last British man to have won Wimbledon and TikTok was something the Rolex clock on Centre Court did. That was the summer that Novak Djokovic last lost a semi-final at the All England Club.
Thirteen years is an age in tennis. As Boris Becker, a three-time gentlemen’s singles champion, once said, tennis years are like dog years – meaning that so much happens in one season on tour that it can feel as though you have lived another seven years. Thirteen years is more than half of Jannik Sinner’s life so far. Carlos Alcaraz’s too.
On Friday, Djokovic will be making a record 14th appearance in the semi-finals of the gentlemen’s singles, and he hasn’t lost at this stage since he was beaten by Roger Federer in 2012. That’s an astonishing record that Djokovic brings to this meeting with Sinner, whose only previous Wimbledon semi-final, two years ago, was a straight sets loss to the Serbian.
Perhaps the world No.1 can draw on some other, more recent, Grand Slam semi-final
history as he beat Djokovic in straight sets on the clay of Roland-Garros last month.
These two could have been lost to skiing – as boys, both were fast on the slopes – but luckily they committed to tennis as this could be a classic. Anticipation has been building about the possibility of Djokovic and Sinner playing on the second Friday of The Championships.
Their progress hasn’t always been smooth, as Sinner was trailing by two sets to love in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov when the Bulgarian damaged his pectoral muscle and had to retire, and the Italian played his quarter-final with a white sleeve because of an elbow injury he sustained against Dimitrov.
Sinner and Djokovic sliding their way to the semis
Djokovic, meanwhile, fell flat on his face on the grass after slipping in his quarter-final against Flavio Cobolli. So it hasn’t always felt inevitable, but here they are, with Djokovic looking to go on to win an eighth Wimbledon title and to extend his Grand Slam collection to 25.
Sinner vs Djokovic is scheduled second on Centre Court
King of smiles
We don’t need IBM’s team of statisticians to record mid-match grins, teeth shown per match and even occasional laughter on Centre Court because we already know who is the smiliest of them all (and with Arsenal footballers Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber, below). Two more victories, in Friday’s semi-final against Taylor Fritz and then in Sunday’s final, and Carlos Alcaraz will become only the fifth man in the Open era – after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Federer and Djokovic – to land three successive titles here.
But actually he’s trying to do something that we haven’t seen before: winning a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles while looking so happy out there on the grass that you forget that this is supposed to be stressful.
It’s no wonder the most joyful champion in Wimbledon’s history has been looking so happy recently as he is undefeated in 23 matches on the tour, which is the longest winning streak of his career, as well in his last 19 appearances at the All England Club.
Fritz is on a streak of his own, as the American has won his last nine matches after taking the title in Eastbourne and reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time.
Fritz vs Alcaraz is scheduled first on Centre Court
Return mission
Taylor Townsend doesn’t think of herself as a defending champion; with her coach John Wiliams’ encouragement, she prefers to call herself a returning champion, back at Wimbledon to win another title.
Last summer, the American and her Czech partner Katerina Siniakova took the ladies’ doubles title and now they are close to lifting the trophy again as they are into the semi-finals, where they play Su-Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko.
Siniakova/Townsend vs Hsieh/Ostapenko is scheduled third on No.1 Court
Mertens marches on
One of the highest quality matches of the Fortnight was Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth round victory over her former doubles partner Elise Mertens in the ladies’ singles.
That defeat didn’t end the Belgian’s Wimbledon, though, as she and Veronika Kudermetova have reached the last four of the ladies’ doubles, where they play Olivia Gadecki and Desirae Krawczyk.
Gadecki/Krawczyk vs Kudermetova/Mertens is scheduled first on No.1 Court
Britain's long wait
Laura Robson, who was the champion here in 2008, remains the last Briton to win the girls' singles title at the All England Club. But that could be about to change. Mimi Xu is into the semi-finals, where she plays American Julieta Pareja.
If the name sounds familiar, Xu played Emma Raducanu on No.1 Court in the first round of the main draw and put up a highly creditable performance in a 6-3, 6-3 defeat.
Xu vs Parjea is scheduled second on Court 12