"He was shouting quite long with the volume up" - Jannik Sinner on Novak Djokovic's hindrance penalty in Wimbledon SF

Jannik Sinner shared his view on the controversial point penalty that Novak Djokovic was handed during their clash at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

On Friday, July 14, World No. 2 Djokovic and World No. 8 Sinner were locked in a highly anticipated Wimbledon semifinal battle on Centre Court. The match concluded in the seven-time champion’s favor with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) scoreline, following two hours and 47 minutes of play.

While the match finished in straight sets, it had its fair share of drama and pressure points. Sinner was presented with a total of six break point opportunities on Djokovic’s serve, including two set points in the third set, but failed to capitalize on any of them. Meanwhile, the Serb was able to convert two break points out of nine in the match.

The high-intensity encounter also saw Djokovic being slapped with a time violation. He also received a controversial point penalty due to an extended grunt he let out after hitting a backhand shot during one of his service games in the second set.

Sinner revisited the incident in his post-match press conference and suggested that he agreed with the chair umpire’s decision since Djokovic was loud and the grunt was a prolonged one.

“Yeah, it's a call of the umpire, no? Obviously, he hit the ball already, and then after he was shouting quite long and with the volume up,” the Italian said.

Sinner managed to chase the ball and put it back in play, but the chair umpire refused to budge and argued that the former World No. 1's loud grunt came after he hit the shot, which classified it as a hindrance. The 21-year-old opponent opined that the penalty was given since the shot wasn’t an outright winner.

“I came there, obviously I was quite focused about the ball. But, yeah, players, we do this when we are quite sure we win the point with this shot,” he added.

He also recalled Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik’s Wimbledon fourth-round match, where the latter let out a similar grunt after a seeming backhand winner. Rublev, however, was able to put the ball back in play and won the point on a winner.

“Also, like, I don't know, Bublik against Andrey in the last game, it was similar, no?” he recalled.

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Novak Djokovic to face Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon 2023 final

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner at the 2023 Championships

Despite the drama, Novak Djokovic managed to pull through in straight sets against Jannik Sinner. This was the Serb’s second victory over the Italian at Wimbledon. The duo clashed in the quarterfinals last year, where the 23-time Slam champion had to fight his way from two sets down to win in five sets.

Djokovic will now gear up for his ninth final at SW19, and his fifth consecutive title match at the grass Major. The 36-year-old is bidding for an overall eighth trophy at the event, which will see him tie Roger Federer's men's record for the most Wimbledon titles. He is additionally in pursuit of a record 24th Grand Slam title and is also hoping to become the oldest Wimbledon champion in the Open Era.

The World No. 2 will face World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the summit clash on Sunday, July 16. The 20-year-old is through to his maiden Wimbledon final with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal.