Wimbledon Picks: Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic – Men’s Semifinals

The women’s semifinals took place today at Wimbledon, but we still have two fantastic semifinal matchups on the men’s side set to take place on Friday. Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz will go head to head in the first match, and Jannik Sinner will battle Novak Djokovic in the second semifinal. All four players are more than capable of winning this year’s Grand Slam, and there are plenty of storylines attached to each of them.

Alcaraz and Sinner are the favorites to advance to Sunday’s final, but that doesn’t mean Fritz or Djokovic can’t pull off the upset. The 38-year-old and seven-time Wimbledon champion will have his hands full with the world No. 1, and I’m expecting one of the best matches of 2025 when these two face off tomorrow!

Jannik Sinner Wimbledon Recap

Sinner enters Friday’s semifinal as the world No. 1, but he’s had a few scares at this year’s Wimbledon. The Italian won the first three rounds against Luca Nardi, Aleksandar Vukic and Pedro Martinez in straight sets before running into trouble against Grigor Dimitrov. Sinner was down 2 sets to none, but the Bulgarian was forced to retire in the 3rd set due to suffering a torn pec. It was extremely unlucky for Dimitrov, but Sinner advanced and didn’t need any extra luck in the quarterfinals. The Italian dominated Ben Shelton, winning in straight sets.

Sinner looked like an improved version of himself against Shelton, as he was using the grass surface to his advantage. Multiple balls were hit extremely low and hard at the Italian, but he seamlessly sent them back at the American, often turning defense into offense. He looked much better on grass than he did two years ago when he lost to Djokovic in the semifinals, and I expect him to be at his best when he goes up against the Serbian on Friday.

Novak Djokovic Wimbledon Recap

Novak is in his record-breaking 14th Wimbledon semifinal after eliminating Flavio Cobolli in four sets in the quarterfinals, and he’s gone about this tournament without too many bumps in the road. He started with a 3-1 win over Alexandre Muller before taking down Daniel Evans and Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets. He dropped the first set against Alex De Minaur in the 4th Round but quickly rebounded by winning the next three sets 6-4, 6-4 and 6-4. Sinner marks his biggest test of the tournament, but he’s playing his best tennis at the right time.

The Joker took a spill in the final game against Cobolli, but he said he’s feeling fine and should be ready to roll against Sinner. He will aim to break a four-match losing streak against the world No. 1, and only Rafael Nadal has beaten Novak in five straight meetings during the Serbian’s storied career. He most recently lost to Sinner at Rolland Garros in straight sets, but facing the Italian on grass gives him more of a chance of winning than on any other surface.

Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic Prediction

This game will all come down to serving. Sinner can struggle with his first seven at times, and he produced a 51% serve percentage when these two met at the French Open. Although his defense gave him an advantage in that meeting, he won’t be able to serve at such a low rate due to this match being on grass. However, there’s no doubt that Sinner has the mental advantage after beating the Serb in straight sets in France and four straight meetings. The only way I can see Novak pulling off the upset is if he doesn’t let Sinner save any break points.

Overall, I believe Novak can scare Sinner, but it will all come down to his serving. Specifically, he will have to nail his first serve, which he’s done thus far at this tournament. In his 3 matches where he won 3-1, Djokovic recorded 59, 59 and 61 1st serve points. I expect this game to go at least 4 sets, which is why I’m backing the Serb to record at least 59 1st serve points against the World No. 1.

Our Pick: Novak Djokovic to Record 59+ 1st Serve Points