The end to a storied career is nigh for Novak Djokovic, who fell in straight sets (3–6, 3–6, 4–6) to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the men's semifinal at Wimbledon on Friday afternoon.
This year marks the first men's Wimbledon final to not feature Djokovic since 2017, a testament to the Serbian's dominance over the last several years. However, the 38-year-old looked hampered by an injury he may have suffered in Wednesday's quarterfinal, and despite going up 3–0 in the third set, he proved no match for Sinner, who easily cruised to a win and booked his spot in the final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic took a medical timeout between the second and third sets but didn't look to be at full strength throughout the match, as it seemed like he was limping at times and had difficulty moving side to side.
In Djokovic's postgame press conference, he was asked how physically compromised he felt during the match. Djokovic admitted he felt limited on the court but brushed the question aside to congratulate Sinner for his impressive performance.
"Quite a bit. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling on the court," Djokovic said of his ailments, via The Tennis Letter. "But I don’t want to talk about in details of my injury and whine about not managing to play my best. I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals, he was too strong. I feel disappointed I wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped I would."
Nothing but class from an all-time great who may not have many Wimbledon matches left in his career.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Novak Djokovic Had Classy Message for Jannik Sinner After Wimbledon Loss.
