Novak Djokovic labels Sinner ‘challenge’ ahead of Wimbledon semi-final

Novak Djokovic called world number one Jannik Sinner a ‘challenge’ ahead of their semi-final at Wimbledon, international media reported on Friday.

Sinner and Djokovic are set to face each other in a titanic battle in Wimbledon semi-final on Friday. Serbian has reached the final four after triumphing over Italian Flavio Cobolli, while the top seed Italian secured a quarter-final win over America's Ben Shelton.

As Djokovic said, his previous performance in the Roland Garros semis was not bad, but Sinner was better when it mattered.

The Serb also called the Italian a bigger challenge for himself.

"I lost straight sets to Jannik in the semis of Roland Garros. I think I played a solid match,” Djokovic said.

"I could have played better, but he was just better player when the moments were important. So I get another opportunity. Yeah, couldn't ask for a bigger challenge, for sure, for myself. I look forward to it. I'll do my best to get ready and perform my best there."

While reflecting on his experiences with Djokovic, Sinner, who has never played the Serb at All England Club, said that beating him in the Wimbledon will be a challenge.

"Me and Novak, we know us better because we played quite a lot. So we understand what's working and what's not. But yeah, I've never won against him here in Wimbledon, so it's going to be a very, very tough challenge," Sinner said.

Djokovic has reached the Wimbledon semifinals for a record 14th time, surpassing Roger Federer for the most appearances at this stage in the tournament’s history.

Sinner has made it to the semis for the second time in his career.