Wimbledon 2022: 3 Factors that stood out in Novak Djokovic's QF win over Jannik Sinner

Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat 10th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday to move into the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships. The 35-year-old Serb has now won 26 consecutive matches at Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old Sinner exhibited great tennis to win the first two sets, but Djokovic fought back like a true champion to move into the last four. The encounter lasted for more than three and a half hours.

On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:

#1 Sinner played the angles wonderfully to win the first 2 sets

Sinner's angular groundstrokes caused Djokovic a lot of problems in the first two sets

Novak Djokovic started the match in fine fashion. He broke Jannik Sinner in the second game and then held his serve to race to a 3-0 lead. Djokovic had a break point opportunity in the sixth game to go 5-1 up, but Sinner saved it and went on to win the game.

Sinner then broke the Serb in the seventh game and held his serve to level the score. He broke Djokovic again to lead 6-5 and managed to serve out the first set. Djokovic, who committed only three unforced errors in the first six games, finished the first set with 12.

Sinner then raised his level further and broke Novak Djokovic twice in the second set to win it and assert his supremacy in the match. Sinner kept hitting his shots with great power before approaching the net to finish with a volley. He hit 11 winners in the second set against Djokovic’s two.

The Italian played the angles brilliantly with his forehand to repeatedly move Djokovic from side to side. The Serb played a few drop shots poorly off his backhand to make things easier for Sinner.

#2 Djokovic made a grand comeback by winning the next 2 sets

Novak Djokovic was much more clinical from the third set onwards. He committed far fewer errors and frequently played his backhand slice to take pace off the ball, which compelled Sinner to put more power behind his shots. The Italian started committing more errors as a result and Djokovic started to look like the better player.

Djokovic broke Sinner once and twice in the third and fourth sets, respectively, and never lost his serve. Djokovic’s first serve looked more lethal as the match progressed and never allowed Sinner any chance of getting a break. Sinner continued to win a few easy points off his big first serve in between, but it was not enough to trouble the Serb.

Djokovic’s first-serve ratio crossed the 80% mark in the third set and he committed only three unforced errors. Sinner, by comparison, committed 11 unforced errors to allow the Serb to bounce back in an emphatic manner.

#3 Djokovic walked away with the final set to register a memorable win

Novak Djokovic gained momentum by the start of the fifth set and did not offer Sinner any respite. He broke the Italian twice in the decider and never lost his serve. He played a lot of angular shots to Sinner’s forehand wing. Sinner came up with a few nice running forehands in response, but Djokovic’s game was more complete all around with a few wonderful lobs, passing shots and volleys.

Novak Djokovic served really well in the last three sets. Meanwhile, Sinner’s net game was often found wanting. The Serb has now won 11 of the 12 five-setters he has played at Wimbledon.

Djokovic won a whopping 82% of the points on his first serve in the match. Jannik Sinner hit 43 winners in the match against Novak Djokovic’s 41, but also ended up committing 41 unforced errors while the Serb committed 33.