Novak Djokovic has mocked a hostile Wimbledon as he cruised to a record 35th Grand Slam final with a whirlwind victory under the Centre Court roof on Friday.
The Serb swept past Italian eighth seed Jannik Sinner in the semi-final at the All England Club – setting up a blockbuster final against top seed and rising star, Carlos Alcaraz.
As the 36-year-old repeatedly served his way out of potential trouble, he baited the rowdy south west London spectators.
After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third. As Djokovic served to save the set, a fault drew some sounds of approval from the stands – prompting the Serb to sarcastically use his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, and then flash a thumbs up.
After calmly collecting the next four points to claim that game, Djokovic looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear.
Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.
While Djokovic is pursuing a 24th Grand Slam singles championship, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, seeks his second after winning the US Open last September.
“He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry too, so let’s have a feast,” Djokovic said on facing Alcaraz.