{"id":792344,"date":"2026-07-10T23:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/792344\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T23:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:24:09","slug":"tennis-wimbledon-2026-day-12-talking-points-novak-djokovic-determined-for-wimbledon-return-after-blowout-defeat-against-jannik-sinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/792344\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis | Wimbledon 2026 | Day 12 Talking Points: Novak Djokovic determined for Wimbledon return after \u2018blowout\u2019 defeat against Jannik Sinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tony Fairbairn, Britwatch Sports at Wimbledon<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic determined to return Wimbledon after semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner <\/p>\n

\u2022 Jannik Sinner is looking forward to final against Alexander Zverev after toppling Djokovic for second year in a row <\/p>\n

\u2022 Alexander Zverev has praised in improvement after reaching a second consecutive Grand Slam final. <\/p>\n

\u00a0LONDON, ENGLAND \u2013 Novak Djokovic is determined to return to Wimbledon despite being beaten by Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. <\/p>\n

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Novak Djokovic determined to return Wimbledon despite semi-final \u2018blowout\u2019<\/p>\n

Our day 12 talking points starts with Novak Djokovic\u00a0after the Serb was beaten in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. <\/p>\n

The Serb suffered a straight sets defeat to defending champion Jannik Sinner on Centre Court. <\/p>\n

After the match Djokovic said that it was a \u2018blowout\u2019 and didn\u2019t believe that it was more competitive then last year\u2019s semi-final defeat. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not really. Was a good old blowout. Nothing much I could do,\u201d Djokovic started his press conference by saying. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just said you\u2019re wrong. I don\u2019t agree with your opinion. I\u2019m always competitive. Always give my best. Under the circumstances sometimes it looks from outside more, sometimes less. Only I know what I go through internally and what it takes to be able to still play at this level. Of course, I\u2019m disappointed. Of course, I wanted to win Wimbledon. That\u2019s the reason why I\u2019m still pushing myself so hard. But I just lost to a better player. I have to accept it. Obviously tough one. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you get out of the court, it\u2019s tough one to kind of accept. But it is what it is. I\u2019m not upset with myself. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve done too much wrong. I was just a level or two worse than he is. I mean, he was playing so solid from all ends. I mean, serve, very difficult to read his serve, incredible weapon has become last couple years since he changed his technique. Of course, he\u2019s as solid as anyone really from back of the court. That\u2019s it.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was a bitterly disappointing defeat for Djokovic especially considering that the Serb beat Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals. <\/p>\n

However, Djokovic acknowledged that Sinner was the better player on the day. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, last year I was injured during that match,\u201d Djokovic explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cActually, I got injured in quarters. I didn\u2019t really expect much from myself in that match. But here I was okay, feeling physically fine. Maybe not the freshest, obviously, like at the beginning of the tournament, but I was physically all right. He was much better player on the court and was the dominant force. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou just have to hand it to him and say, Congrats, well done.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was a big effort for Djokovic to just make the semi-finals after his epic five set win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals. <\/p>\n

Djokovic reflected on how that match affected him and said that one of the positives to take from Wimbledon is that he is physically fine after the tournament. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019m proud of what I achieved three nights ago,\u201d Djokovic analysed. <\/p>\n

\u201cFelix is number, what, three, fourth player in the world. Proven to myself and others that I can still play at the highest level, and I have. I reached the last four of Wimbledon. Losing in straight sets against the best player in the world, okay. It is what it is. It\u2019s the reality you have to accept. But the tournament was positive in terms of the attitude on the court, the fighting spirit, the dedication. I mean, it\u2019s still there.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame-wise I wasn\u2019t extremely happy. Like in Australia, I felt like I played on a higher level overall throughout the tournament than here. Here, yeah, kind of struggled to find that A game. It was kind of appearing in some moments in matches that I had prior to semis. Today I was just unable. I didn\u2019t have time. I didn\u2019t have time to really regroup and reset. He was just at cruising speed and I couldn\u2019t catch him. I mean, great, great. That\u2019s one of the best takeaways, highlights for me, is the fact that I stayed healthy, no injuries, because that wasn\u2019t the case, as I said. Pretty much every big tournament, there was an injury in the last two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s a good thing. It means that the team has done a good job with me. We collectively prepared myself good, well for this tournament.<\/p>\n

Yeah, a little bitter taste stays, of course, that I wasn\u2019t at the desired level today. But yeah, we turn the next page and we move on.\u201d <\/p>\n

At 39 years of age Djokovic is still loving competing at the highest level as he still wants to compete for the biggest title in the sport. <\/p>\n

The Serb reflected on the current state of his career and stated that he wants to come back to Wimbledon for at least one more year. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. Last year I reached four semifinals. This year, out of three slams, I reached one final and one semifinal. I guess for 99% of the players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result,\u201d Djokovic observed. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s good but not good enough, because I\u2019m blessed and cursed to be used to something of a highest degree in terms of results and achievements. Yeah, I mean, that\u2019s a good question, because in some way, I\u2019m also dealing with myself in a sense that I\u2019m telling myself, Look, this is amazing that you\u2019re still able to, as people around me are telling me, able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles, which is true. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, it\u2019s kind of that internal battle really of what I\u2019ve been through for the 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be a little more humble in that sense. Of course, I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don\u2019t enjoy all the hard weeks that are leading up to big tournament, putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically mostly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad that this tournament, the body held pretty well. Pretty much every other tournament in the last two years it was always something.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the main thing. I feel when I\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level. I like it. I like this life. I mean, tennis has given me everything in my life and has allowed me an opportunity to become who I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, you know, of course there\u2019s always a question how far you want to go, what you want to play, how you want to play, et cetera, et cetera. I go through that process, but I try to take it, in a sense, a day at a time, see how I really feel. I don\u2019t have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to and because I still can. I still can play as a top-10, top-5 player.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, let\u2019s see what\u2019s future brings. I would like to, at least one more time. Let\u2019s see.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

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\u2018We all hope for a good match, and then we see how it goes.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now time to hear from Sinner who is into a second consecutive Wimbledon final after a dominant performance over Djokovic. <\/p>\n

The Italian\u2019s title defence goes on as he looks for a fifth Grand Slam title to add to his collection. <\/p>\n

After losing in Australia this was sweet revenge for Sinner over Djokovic and the Italian knew he had to step up his level and loves the pressure of playing the seven-time Wimbledon champion. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think mentally I knew that I need to level up. I\u2019ve done it today. It helped me, for sure,\u201d Sinner claimed during his press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cI worked very hard in the past couple of days having a good rhythm. Also, thanks to my team to put also the body and the mind in the position to be as competitive as possible. Against Novak, if you want to play even, you need to play your best tennis. I came out, was serving very well today, which helped me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings could have gone in a very tough way if he breaks me in the third set, because that\u2019s how tennis is. But I\u2019m happy that I handled the situations as good as I could. Yeah, Novak is so, so tough to play against because you always feel the pressure. You know it\u2019s not easy. But yeah, I\u2019m happy about today\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, even when I had this small winning streak from last year, you always feel pressure before playing against Novak. But I like it. This is why I practice for. I like challenges. Playing against Novak in Grand Slams, they are very different than playing in maybe Masters events or smaller tournaments, I would say.\u201d <\/p>\n

Elaborating on one of the greatest players of all time, Sinner said that Djokovic is a true inspiration for everyone in the sport. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut yeah, it\u2019s so amazing to see him still producing this kind of level. The match he has played with Felix, I was watching. The level was so high. It\u2019s a true inspiration for all of us and also the younger generation, how much a good mindset can do to your body and mind as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, he\u2019s a true inspiration. Seeing him around and having the honor to play against him, feeling the pressure against him, these matches, they hopefully can help me and also in the future. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery match is different, in a way, has its own story. Depends where we play and how we feel physically. I would not look a lot on head-to-heads. I think every match is different. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very lucky to play against Novak.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the final Sinner will play Alexander Zverev and is expecting a completely different match against the German on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, less exchanges, less rhythm. This we know because of the surface being that fast. Being also quite warm, it\u2019s going to be good for big server. He is definitely a big server,\u201d Zverev explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut in any case, look, I try to do my best on Sunday. It feels good again being back in a Grand Slam final. It\u2019s good for me. I just try to do my best.<\/p>\n

Whatever happened in the past between me and him, it happened. In between, he won a Grand Slam in Paris, which gave him a lot of confidence. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can see the level he\u2019s producing here. We all hope for a good match, and then we see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexander Zverev praises improvement after semi-final win<\/p>\n

Finally, it\u2019s time to hear from Zverev who is into his second Grand Slam final in the space of the month after ending Arthur Fery\u2019s Wimbledon dream. <\/p>\n

After the match Zverev said he played the complete match and was happy with his performance. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think today was a bit of a mix of everything,\u201d Zverev detailed in his press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first set wasn\u2019t that particularly great. I think the second and third set were really good. But he was a very, very different type of opponent than I had in the fourth round and in the quarterfinals where I had two massive servers, massive hitters. So it took some adjustments.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I found my rhythm, I thought it was a good match. I felt the ball quite well. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m in a Wimbledon final. I\u2019m just happy about that. I think you have to be playing well to be here.\u201d <\/p>\n

There used to be doubts over Zverev could win a Grand Slam but the German silenced those doubts after winning Roland Garros last month. <\/p>\n

Zverev said everyone\u2019s journey to the top is different and praised his recent improvement as he has taken his game to the next level. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very individual,\u201d Zverev confessed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think different people, I think Dominic Thiem, in particular, he put his whole life and soul into winning that slam. He came back from two sets to love down against me in the US Open. I think it was such a relief for him that it was maybe a bit too much of a relief mentally. For me, I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the best level and continue winning. I hope I\u2019m able to do that, and again on Sunday I have another big chance. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s two things to it. I think, yes, one thing, for sure, once you win a major you know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you. The second thing, I feel like I worked on my game a lot. I feel like my game has improved. Sometimes in sports it\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you improve your forehand, when you improve your backhand, when you improve your serve, when you improve your return, you\u2019re going to win more matches. It\u2019s sometimes as simple as that. You can talk about mental stuff, you can talk about, I don\u2019t know, certain situations, coaching changes, whatever. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you improve as a player and you make the decision as a player to improve, you\u2019re going to do better in tournaments.\u201d <\/p>\n

Now, a blockbuster final against Sinner now awaits. <\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I think the serve-return patterns are going to be very, very important. Jannik has won Wimbledon last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How to Watch\/Follow Wimbledon 2026 \u00a0<\/p>\n

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