Novak’s bid for seventh Wimbledon title remains on track, but he was made to work hard for victory over Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n
Top seed Novak Djokovic was given a stern examination by the Italian before he progressed into the semi-finals of Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
Novak fought back to win in five sets 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Centre Court. The match lasted three hours and 35 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Serbian star started off in blistering fashion, winning 12 of the first 15 points and cruising to a 3-0 lead in 10 minutes. He went 4-1 up and had a break point in the sixth game, but his opponent fended it off to avoid going a double break down, and that proved a turning point. Sinner broke twice to claim the first set.<\/p>\n The 10th seed continued to put the defending champion under pressure in the second set. He converted his break point chances in the third and seventh games to race to a two-set lead.<\/p>\n Novak showed his superiority in the third, fourth and fifth sets. He used all of his experience to overturn the deficit and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the 11th time.<\/p>\n “The first two sets, we had two different matches compared to the last three. He was the better player for the first two sets. I went out and had a refresh, had a toilet break, I had a little pep talk to myself in the mirror, it’s the truth. Sometimes in these circumstances when not much is happening positively for you, sometimes these things are necessary. A little break to try and regather the thoughts and reassemble,”<\/strong> Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I was fortunate to start the third set very well. I broke his serve very early. That gave me a confidence boost. I saw a doubt in his game. My experience helped me deal and cope with the pressure.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Match statistics: aces (8-8), double faults (5-7), winners (41-43), unforced errors (33-41), total points won (140-121).<\/p>\n