This Isn't How Novak Djokovic Wanted to Face Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon

"Let's keep it short because I have no energy left, my friend," said an exhausted Novak Djokovic before the final question of his on-court interview. Djokovic had just narrowly defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Wimbledon quarterfinal: 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4).

The 39-year-old struck a similar brief tone in his post-match press conference. Usually, Djokovic's on-court interviews are good for at least one viral clip. His post-match pressers range from table-thumping to professorial, but never short-winded. He was not impolite or dismissive; just visibly exhausted. He had just outlasted Auger-Aliassime in a match that lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes.

The final tiebreak concluded the match just six minutes before the strict 11:00 p.m. curfew took effect at the All England Club. Still, there were plenty of disruptions along the way. A medical timeout and a 20-minute roof delay, the latter of which resulted in a tense on-court exchange between Djokovic and the tournament supervisor.

Djoovic's Wimbledon Campaign

In many ways, Djokovic should be happy with his level of play. He is 5-0 on grass this season (all at Wimbledon), and just eliminated the third seed. But this is not the form Djokovic wanted to be in ahead of his semifinal showdown against Jannik Sinner.

The top-ranked Sinner's first match went five sets, but he has not dropped a set since. Meanwhile, Djokovic has had only one straight-sets win (Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round). He won three of his matches in four sets, and now one in five sets. Plus, five tiebreaks along the way.

It could always be worse for Djokovic, as he does not appear to have any major injury issues. However, no player is completely fit this late in a Grand Slam. Can Djokovic's 25th Major title come at his favorite Grand Slam event? It would be unwise ever to count him out, but unrealistic to say this is how he wanted to get to the semifinal.

Djokovic's Semifinal Showdown With Sinner

As for the question that Djokovic wanted to speed along during his on-court interview, it was a reminder that his upcoming match against Sinner would be his 15th Wimbledon semifinal overall and a 55th Grand Slam semifinal.

"That's great," Djokovic said. "But it's just another semifinal for me. I'm going to look at all the numbers and everything when I finish my career. Right now it's all business. I still have to recover. I'm still in the tournament, and I have a best player in the world in few days time. Thank you."

Djokovic is the ATP World No. 8 with a singles record of 14-4 and zero singles titles. He will face Sinner in the semifinals on Friday, July 10. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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