When Novak Djokovic won his seventh men’s singles championship at Wimbledon in 2022 — the fourth consecutive year he’d won the iconic grass-court tournament — it appeared only a matter of time before he would win again and match Roger Federer for the most titles in the tournament's history.
Instead, for three consecutive years, Djokovic, the Serbian superstar who owns the most Grand Slam titles in tennis history, has been denied that place atop Wimbledon's all-time leaderboard as his grip on Grand Slam tournaments has loosened.
Following losses in the 2023 and 2024 men’s singles finals at Wimbledon to Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic on Friday lost a semifinal to top-seeded Jannik Sinner in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. It will mark the first time since 2017 that the men's final will not include Djokovic, who had played for the Wimbledon title in 10 of the previous 12 years.
It followed what Djokovic called a "nasty fall" he suffered during the fourth set of his quarterfinal victory Wednesday. Djokovic reportedly canceled a practice session Thursday.
"I’m hoping the next 24-48 hours that the severity of what was happening on the court and what happened is not too bad, that I’ll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days," Djokovic said after finishing out his quarterfinal win.
The loss in Friday's semifinal to Sinner not only kept him short of Federer's mark at Wimbledon, it also extended his title drought across the four most prestigious tournaments in tennis, the Grand Slams. Since his last Slam victory at the 2023 U.S. Open, Djokovic has gone seven Slams without a win — his longest streak since 2016-18. If Djokovic does not win the season-ending Slam, the U.S. Open, he will have gone two calendar years without winning a Slam for the first time since 2009-10.
Sinner will face Alcaraz in Sunday's men's singles final. Alcaraz will attempt to win his third consecutive Wimbledon final. It is also a rematch of this year's French Open final, the first time since 2008 that the men's French and Wimbledon finals have repeated.
Their matchup represents a generational shift in the sport. Federer won his first Slam in 2003, with Rafael Nadal earning his first in 2005 and Djokovic joining them in 2008. Ever since, they had formed a "Big Three" that had dominated the sport. Yet while Federer and Nadal have both retired, and Djokovic is 38, Alcaraz is just 22 and Sinner 23.
Djokovic still owns a place among elite company in Wimbledon history. His semifinal appearance was his 14th, a record for the tournament. He also joins Federer, Pete Sampras and William Renshaw as the only men to win the singles title seven times. Renshaw dominated the tournament’s 19th-century era, before professionals were allowed to compete alongside amateurs, while Sampras collected his seven in an eight-year span, ending in 2000.
Djokovic also already owns the most Grand Slam tournament victories all-time, with 24, two more than Nadal and four more than Federer.
It is one of numerous accolades that Djokovic has earned, including the most weeks spent ranked as the world’s No. 1 player, the oldest player to hold the No. 1 ranking, and the only player to win all four Grand Slam events at least three times.
All, and many more superlatives, belong to Djokovic. One of the few eluding him is at Wimbledon. Still.