Preview: Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Three days after his titanic five-hour, 15-minute quarter-final thriller against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic returns to the Wimbledon semi-final on Friday, aiming to take down top seed Jannik Sinner.

The Serbian outlasted his Canadian opponent to set up a rematch of last year's semi-final, albeit he enters in significantly better shape having been encumbered by a hip injury 12 months ago, as he seeks consecutive wins over the Italian star to follow his success in January's Australian Open.

Match preview

Is there anything Djokovic cannot do? When you think the GOAT cannot break new ground, he keeps pushing physical limits, and Tuesday night was no different as he defeated Auger-Aliassime in a Wimbledon classic.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion earned a thrilling 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(10-4) victory over the Canadian No. 1 in five hours and 15 minutes to prevail in the longest quarter-final match in the history of the Championships, closing out the triumph just six minutes before the 11pm curfew.

The victory means that the 39-year-old has surged into a record-extending 15th semi-final at the All England Club, bringing him face to face with the man who dispatched him in straight sets 12 months ago.

However, the obvious caveat is that Djokovic was not at his physical best in the 2025 semi-final, having sustained a hip injury at the end of his quarter-final success over Flavio Cobolli.

Although the seven-time Wimbledon champion has crossed the three-hour mark in all but one match — his second-round victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas — having two days to recuperate stands the sport's greatest in good stead ahead of what should be a titanic semi-final against Sinner.

There may be 15 years between them, but the top seed will be wary of facing the Serbian superstar at SW19 on Friday, less than six months after the 24-time Slam champion rolled back the years to stun the Italian down under.

Sinner's slow start to the year was followed by a stunning run during the North American hard-court swing and a winning European clay run; however, the 24-year-old has not looked at his best since a shock second-round loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open.

Most observers may scoff at this claim, owing to the world No. 1 winning 12 consecutive sets across the second round through to the quarter-finals, but a first-round scare against Miomir Kecmanovic and issues in his execution, especially on his forehand wing, have been evident at the All England Club.

Bailed out by serving 97 aces, Sinner must execute impeccably on his deliveries to avoid hitting another Djokovic brick wall at the Championships, as he seeks to reach a first Grand Slam final in nearly a year since the 2025 US Open.

It will be easier said than done, though, especially if the man on the opposite side of the net is playing as motivated and dogged as he has throughout the fortnight.

Tournament so far

Jannik Sinner:

First round: vs. Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6 6-3 6-7[6] 6-2 6-3

Second round: vs. Nuno Borges 7-6[4] 7-6[2] 6-4

Third round: vs. Jensen Brooksby 6-4 6-3 6-4

Fourth round: vs. Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3 7-6[0] 6-3

Quarter-final: vs. Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5 7-6(4) 6-3

Novak Djokovic:

First round: vs. Wu Yibing 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4

Second round: vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 6-2

Third round: Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4)

Fourth round: vs. Roman Safiullin 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3

Quarter-final: vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(10-4)

Head To Head

Australian Open (2026) - Semi-final: Djokovic 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4

Wimbledon (2025) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-3 6-3 6-4

French Open (2025) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-4 7-5 7-6(3)

Shanghai Masters (2024) - Final: Sinner 7-6(4) 6-3

Australian Open (2024) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3

Davis Cup Finals (2023) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-2 2-6 7-5

ATP Finals (2023) - Final: Djokovic 6-3 6-3

ATP Finals (2023) - Round Robin: Sinner 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2)

Wimbledon (2023) - Semi-final: Djokovic 6-3 6-4 7-6(4)

Wimbledon (2022) - Quarter-final: Djokovic 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

Monte-Carlo Masters (2021) - Round of 32: Djokovic 6-4 6-2

Sinner may lead Djokovic 6-5 in their head-to-head, but it will be interesting to see how much scar tissue remains for the Italian after their last encounter in January.

The four-time Grand Slam champion entered that encounter carrying a five-match winning run into the Aussie Open semi-final, only for Djokovic to stun him in five sets, winning the last two to claim an epic triumph.

The success also ended Djokovic's losing run to Sinner at the Majors, following defeats in Australia (2024), Roland Garros (2025) and Wimbledon (2025), even if the Serbian's physical issues limited his performance 12 months ago at SW19.

Previously, the seven-time Championships winner got the better of the player 15 years his junior at the All England Club, securing a comeback win from two sets down in their first encounter in 2022 before sealing a far more comfortable three-set win a year later in the 2023 semi-final.

Those wins saw Djokovic establish a 3-0 lead over the Italian on the ATP Tour, but Sinner has since won six of the next eight to lead 6-5 entering their 12th tour-level encounter.

We say: Djokovic to win in five sets

Even though it ostensibly will be asking too much of Djokovic to go the distance again after his exertions against Auger-Aliassime, having two days off will be to the Serbian's benefit.

Even though Sinner heads into Friday's semi-final as the top seed and slight favourite, the world No. 1 has been intermittently ropey on his forehand wing and has not executed at his typically machine-like level, often needing his serve to bail him out.

This undoubtedly gives Djokovic a real shot at extending his 2-1 lead in Wimbledon matchups, and we are backing the 24-time Slam winner to secure back-to-back wins over Sinner for the first time in three years to compete in Sunday's title match.