Novak Djokovic Admits Nothing Less Than Grand Slam Title Satisfies Him After Wimbledon Upset: “I Always Have Highest Expectations”

What many had expected happened on Friday (July 10). Novak Djokovic‘s 25th Grand Slam title dream was dashed by World No.1 Jannik Sinner as he clinched an easy 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Last year, the Serb made the semifinals of every Major. But this year, he has already played a Grand Slam final. After knocking out Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal, Djokovic lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Last year, I reached four semifinals. This year, out of three Slams, I reached one final and one semifinal. For 99% of players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result, for me, it’s not good enough. Because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of the highest degree in terms of results and achievements. […] But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself.

Before his defeat to the four-time Grand Slam champion, Djokovic, who now holds a 5-7 head-to-head record against Sinner, prevailed over Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-hour, 15-minute marathon quarterfinal.

It’s kind of that internal battle of what I’ve been through for 20+ years of my career, what the goals were, the expectations…and trying to also balance it out and trying to be a bit more humble in that sense. I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don’t enjoy all the hard weeks leading up to big tournaments, putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically mostly.

Novak Djokovic added

Had Djokovic reached the final and won the title, he would have tied the Wimbledon titles tally with his old foe Roger Federer. Djokovic, who lifted his seventh Wimbledon title in 2022 by beating Nick Kyrgios, last played a final in this Major in 2024, losing in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner has set up the Wimbledon final clash with Alexander Zverev

Jannik Sinner will face Alexander Zverev in the final. Sascha, who, before this season, had never made it past the fourth round of Wimbledon, breezed past home favorite Arthur Fery in the semifinals. The Italian ace holds a 10-4 head-to-head lead over Zverev, also defeating him in their last nine meetings. They have already met four times this season.

It feels good again being back in a Grand Slam final. It’s good for me. I’ll just try to do my best. Whatever happened in the past between me and him, it happened. In between, he won a slam in Paris, which gave him a lot of confidence. We can see the level he’s producing here. We all hope for a good match. Then we see how it goes.

Jannik Sinner said at the press conference

Zverev will be the new World No.2 on Monday. He will remove Carlos Alcaraz from the spot. The Spaniard, who made the Wimbledon final in the previous three seasons, winning in 2023 and 2024 (by defeating Novak Djokovic) and losing last year (to Sinner), is nursing a wrist injury. Sinner, win or lose in the final, will continue to sit atop the rankings table.

While Zverev is chasing his second title of the season, the 24-year-old has already lifted five trophies, all in Masters 1000s. After winning five back-to-back titles in the Masters 1000s, Sinner suffered a huge upset in the second round of the French Open due to cramps.

But Zverev, after defeats to Sinner and Djokovic and Alcaraz’s absence, seized the opportunity and reached the final, where he defeated Flavio Cobolli in five sets and finally ended his Grand Slam drought.

Also read: Linda Noskova Struggles to Describe her Feelings Heading into her First Wimbledon Final: “I Don’t Really Know”