Sinner storms into Wimbledon final with 3-set rout of Djokovic

LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner overwhelmed a not-fully-fit Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semifinals on Friday to set up a showdown for the championship against Carlos Alcaraz.

The No. 1-ranked Sinner's victory at Centre Court put him in his first final at the All England Club.

No. 2 Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) earlier Friday to move within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon title.

Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, and Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, now head into a rematch of their epic final at the French Open four weeks ago. Alcaraz won that one after fending off a trio of match points.

"Hopefully it's going to be a good match, like the last one," Sinner said. "I don't know if it'll get better, because I don't think it's possible."

Alcaraz is 5-0 so far in Grand Slam title matches. Sinner owns three major trophies.

They are far and away the leaders of men's tennis — and are at the height of their games right now. This will be the seventh straight major tournament won by one or the other.

"The things we are doing right now are great for tennis," Alcaraz said.

For the 38-year-old Djokovic, his lopsided loss brought an end to his latest bid for an eighth Wimbledon title — which would tie the men's mark held by Roger Federer — and for an unprecedented 25th major trophy in all.

Djokovic was diminished two days after slipping and doing the splits on what he called a "nasty" and "awkward" fall in the last game of his quarterfinal victory. He canceled a practice session Thursday, had his upper left leg checked by a trainer during a medical timeout after the second set against Sinner and was simply unable to move the way the world is so used to seeing.

Right after that treatment, Djokovic grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third set and was a point from going up 4-0. But Sinner took six of the remaining seven games.

"We all saw, especially in the third set, that he was a bit injured," Sinner said. "He's been in a very difficult situation."

When it ended, Djokovic picked up his equipment bags and was given a standing ovation as he headed toward the locker room. He paused to smile, wave and give a thumbs-up to the crowd.

Djokovic exited in the semifinals at all three Slams this season, including quitting after a set against Alexander Zverev because of an injured hamstring at the Australian Open, then losing to Sinner at Roland-Garros.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis