John McEnroe has explained why Novak Djokovic has a ‘slight edge’ over Jannik Sinner ahead of their tantalising Wimbledon semi-final.
The number one player in the world faces one of the greatest players in history for a place in Sunday’s final at the All England Club.
Djokovic came from a set behind for the second match in a row to beat Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-final, shortly after Sinner beat Ben Shelton in straight sets.
Serbian legend Djokovic is bidding to win a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam at the age of 38.
Sinner, meanwhile, is looking to lift his first Wimbledon title, having won three Grand Slams so far in his career.
The Italian beat Djokovic in straight sets on route to the French Open final last month – which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz, who plays Taylor Fritz in the other Wimbledon semi-final – but McEnroe still believes the veteran is the narrow favourite ahead of their rematch in SW19.
‘Wimbledon is Novak’s best chance to win another slam, absolutely,’ seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe said on BBC One. ‘He understands the nuances of this court better than anyone.
‘It’s only Alcaraz with his A-game that has figured out a way to dismantle him and show everything that he’s human.
‘There’s a bit of uncertainty with Djokovic’s body and his stomach ‘ I’m not sure what’s going on there but I’ve never seen a player ice their stomach during a match before.
‘He thinks his best shot [at another Grand Slam] is here so maybe he’s putting extra pressure on himself because he wants to break every record that exists and get to 25.
Novak Djokovic reacts to reaching Wimbledon semi-final
‘Wimbledon will always be the most special tournament we have in our sport, in my opinion and many other players’ opinions.
‘It means the world to me that at 38 I am able to play in the final stages of Wimbledon. Competing with youngsters makes me feel young, like Flavio Cobolli today.
‘I enjoy running and sliding around the court. Speaking of the young guys, I will have [Jannik] Sinner in the next round so I look forward to that. That is going to be a great match-up.’
‘Even he knows he doesn’t have loads more chances to win majors. He’s had a great looking draw so far but Sinner beat him in the French and started outplaying him.
‘But on this court, you would say this is Sinner’s least favourite and Novak’s best at this point so that makes it a real toss-up, maybe even a slight edge in Novak’s favour.’
Former British number one Tim Henman disagrees with McEnroe and believes Sinner is the ‘favourite’ to advance to the final.
Sinner won his first three matches without dropping a set but looked on course for a shock exit at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov before the Bulgarian was forced to retire through injury.
The 23-year-old was also struggling with an injury to his elbow during that match but the issue did not hinder him in a hugely impressive straight-sets win over Shelton.
‘I think Sinner goes into that match as the favourite,’ said Henman, a four-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon.
‘There were concerns over Sinner’s elbow but he was able to raise his level. He’s looked very, very comfortable apart from that match against Dimitrov.
‘They know each other’s games so well. It’s going to boil down to those details and moments. It’s a mouth-watering semi-final. It’s such an exciting match to look forward to.
‘You only have to be better than one player on a given day and Novak Djokovic was a little bit better than Flavio Cobolli today, but I think when you analyse the performance Djokovic will know as well as anyone he’s going to have to raise his levels.
‘When you go into a big semi-final that Djokovic has played on so many occasions, he is the type of player who really can turn it up and I think he needs to if he’s going to come out on top against Jannik Sinner.’
On the other side of the draw, two-time defending champion Alcaraz continues his quest for a third successive Wimbledon title against world number five Fritz.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
