Jannik Sinner Hentikan Novak Djokovic di Semifinal Wimbledon 2026

Petenis nomor satu dunia Jannik Sinner menghentikan rekor Novak Djokovic di semifinal Wimbledon 2026 dengan kemenangan tiga set langsung 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 pada Jumat (10/7/2026) di Lapangan Utama All England Lawn Tennis Club, London.

Hasil ini membawa Sinner lolos ke final Wimbledon keduanya secara beruntun untuk menghadapi juara Prancis Terbuka Alexander Zverev. Sementara bagi Djokovic, kekalahan ini menunda ambisinya meraih gelar Grand Slam ke-25 sepanjang kariernya.

Sinner tampil dominan sepanjang laga berdurasi dua jam 20 menit tersebut dengan mencatatkan 40 winner dan hanya menghadapi satu peluang break point. Sebaliknya, Djokovic yang baru saja melewati laga perempat final selama lima jam 15 menit melawan Felix Auger-Aliassime, tampak kehabisan tenaga dan kesulitan mengembalikan servis akurat sang lawan.

Meskipun gagal menembus babak final, Djokovic tetap mengapresiasi pencapaiannya yang mampu menembus empat besar di usia 39 tahun.

"For me, it's good but not good enough," kata Novak Djokovic, petenis asal Serbia.

Djokovic merasa beruntung sekaligus tertantang karena sudah terbiasa dengan standar pencapaian tertinggi di dunia tenis.

"I'm blessed and cursed to be used to something of a highest degree in terms of results and achievements," kata Djokovic.

Ia terus memotivasi dirinya untuk tampil kompetitif di tingkat teratas.

"I'm telling myself, 'this is amazing that you're still able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit,'" kata Djokovic.

Namun, petenis berjuluk Nole itu mengakui bahwa ia selalu mematok standar yang sangat tinggi bagi dirinya sendiri.

"But I always have the highest expectations for myself," kata Djokovic.

Seusai laga, Djokovic memuji penampilan Sinner yang tampil konsisten dan mendominasi jalannya pertandingan.

"Here I was feeling fine. Maybe not the freshest, like at the beginning of the tournament, but I was physically all right," kata Djokovic.

Ia menegaskan lawan bermain jauh lebih baik di atas lapangan.

"He was the much better player and was the dominant force. You just have to hand it to him and say: 'Congrats, well done,'" kata Djokovic.

Mengenai masa depannya di dunia tenis, Djokovic menyatakan belum berniat untuk pensiun dalam waktu dekat.

"I don't have any pressure or no-one is forcing me to play," kata Djokovic.

Ia menegaskan alasannya bertanding murni karena keinginan pribadi dan merasa masih mampu bersaing dengan pemain papan atas.

"I do it because I really want to and because I still can play as a top-five player," kata Djokovic.

Ia pun menyerahkan kelanjutan kariernya pada masa depan.

"Let's see what's the future brings," kata Djokovic.

Mantan petenis nomor satu dunia Andre Agassi memberikan pandangannya terkait perjuangan Djokovic di usianya saat ini.

"In this sport, as in life, hope is fragile but hard to kill," kata Andre Agassi, mantan petenis nomor satu dunia.

Agassi mengapresiasi dukungan besar penonton Centre Court yang terus mengelu-elukan nama Djokovic sepanjang pertandingan.

"We've watched this guy for well over two decades, and how many times have we heard the whole entire crowd [chant] 'Nole, Nole'?" kata Agassi.

Menurutnya, Djokovic kini mendapatkan penghormatan penuh atas dedikasinya selama ini.

"He's now getting the respect he deserves. I love it. What these guys are doing now is because of all that he has shown is possible," kata Agassi.

Sementara itu, mantan juara Wimbledon 1987 Pat Cash menilai peluang Djokovic untuk meraih gelar Grand Slam berikutnya terbilang sangat berat.

"I don't think realistically he has got another Grand Slam in him, unfortunately. I think this was the one," kata Pat Cash, mantan juara Wimbledon 1987.

Cash menyebut faktor undian dan kondisi fisik menjadi tantangan utama bagi Djokovic.

"Novak had some tough matches, but everything has got to go right and he has to have a good draw," kata Cash.

Ia menambahkan agar publik tidak sepenuhnya mencoret nama Djokovic dari persaingan.

"Don't write him off coming back and being a threat at some stage, but not going all the way," kata Cash.

Di partai puncak Wimbledon 2026, Sinner diprediksi menjadi unggulan setelah memenangi sembilan pertemuan terakhirnya melawan Alexander Zverev.