Novak Djokovic defeats Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon to reach the final and near an eighth title

Novak Djokovic has closed in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon

This was the moment. If Novak Djokovic was going to be stopped in the Wimbledon semifinals, if his much younger and harder-hitting opponent, Jannik Sinner, was going to turn things around Friday, the monumental comeback required would need to start immediately.

Djokovic knew it. Sinner knew it. The 15,000 or so Centre Court spectators knew it.

After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third, and a flubbed forehand made the game score 15-40 as he served. Two chances for Sinner to finally break. Two chances for him to actually take a set. Djokovic hit a fault, which drew some sounds of approval from the stands. Djokovic sarcastically used his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, then flashed a thumbs up.

He can back up any such bravado. Djokovic simply does not lose at the All England Club lately. Or at any Grand Slam tournament, for that matter. So he calmly collected the next four points to claim that game, looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear. Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.

“The third set could have gone his way,” said Djokovic, who will meet No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or No. 3 Daniil Medvedev for the trophy on Sunday. “It was really, really, just a lot of pressure.”

Djokovic repeatedly served himself out of potential trouble, saving all six break points he faced, to reach his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.

As great as he is as a returner, as superb as his defense is — over and over, he would sprint and lean and stretch to reach a ball that extended a point until Sinner made a mistake — Djokovic possesses a serve that might be the part of his game he's improved the most over his career.