Wimbledon 2025 Men's Semi-Finals Highlights: Alcaraz Survives Fritz Scare; Sinner Dismantles Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz outclassed Taylor Fritz to reach a third consecutive Wimbledon final, while Jannik Sinner humbled Novak Djokovic — setting up a rematch of the French Open final. <strong>Harsh Pareek</strong> writes.

Jannik Sinner clinches his place in the Wimbledon 2025 final, where he will face off against Carlos Alcaraz.

Writer-editor Harsh Pareek brings you all the courtside drama, flair and finesse from Wimbledon 2025, in #ServeAndVolley.

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IT WAS ANOTHER HOT AFTERNOON at Wimbledon as we headed into the second round of semi-finals after a thrilling day (at least the first half) that saw Amanda Anisimova and Iga Świątek make it to the final on the women's side of the draw.

The day showcased familiar faces, new and old, some trying to break new ground, others to maintain their grip on the oldest tennis tournament.

Up first on the Centre Court was twice defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against the last American standing on the men's side of the singles, the fifth-seeded Taylor Fritz. While for the Spaniard, who recently won the French Open, it was a chance to extend his run to a possible third title in a row, Fritz was bidding to become the first American man to reach the SW19 final since Andy Roddick back in 2009.

Even before the buzzing around the court had quite stopped, Fritz immediately lost his serve, giving Alcaraz an early opportunity to capitalise, and the world number two didn't need a second invite. While the American tried to keep up, Alcaraz closed the set 6-3 without any trouble.

But things would get trickier for the Spaniard in the second, as a cool-headed Fritz would break his opponent on the only occasion in the match to take control, winning 7-5. In fact, there was little the 6'5" (with an incredible wingspan) American did or was doing wrong. Unfazed by the onslaught, he used his big serve and big forehand to go toe-to-toe with Alcaraz. Unfortunately for him, he just happened to be up against an otherworldly force that is the 22-year-old Spaniard, who stepped up immediately in the third set.

Annoyed and seemingly angry that Fritz took a set from him, Alcaraz shifted gears in the next few games, unleashing a blistering attack. With near-perfect serves of his own, the Spaniard had an answer for everything the American could throw at him, and so much more, whether from the baseline or coming to the net.

Credit where due, even after losing the third 6-3 (like most of the match, in fact), Fritz stood his ground, but the outcome looked inevitable with Alcaraz stamping his dominance on the proceedings. The fourth set was pushed into a tie-break, but the defending champion managed to close it 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6), extending his winning streak to a remarkable 24 matches in a row.

It was a brilliant performance from the duo, but Alcaraz just looked on a different level altogether whenever he turned the screw. "Right now I don't want to think about Sunday," said the Spaniard. "I just want to enjoy this moment and that I've got to a third final in a row."

Next up was a match-up that was expected to be an even better contest -- the world number one Jannik Sinner against the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. While Sinner has never made it to the final at the All England Club, Djokovic was in the hunt for a record eighth Wimbledon title. The two had met 10 times before, with the Italian Sinner coming out on top on six of those occasions, most recently in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros.

Coming into the semis, both players had injury scares and while Sinner seemed to have mostly recovered by his last match, Djokovic's status was anyone's guess. The question also remained if the Serb, who had lost his edge in recent times, could still keep up with the best of this new generation of players.

The answer, at least on this sunny Friday, was a resounding, and gutting, no. If Alcaraz looked strong in the last few hours, Sinner's surgical efficiency and skills looked even better at times. And the 38-year-old Djokovic looked every bit his age.

And while the Italian put on a masterclass, playing his sublime game to outclass his opponent, it was the Serb and his struggles that increasingly became the centre of attention. A shadow of his former self here, Djokovic not only lost the first two sets 6-3 each, but he never looked up for a fight. Not entirely fit, and struggling to move, even as he tried, Sinner was beating him at his own game, drifting and sliding across the court effortlessly.

At the beginning of the third set, in a rare blip in the Italian's game, Djokovic broke Sinner's serve and the crowd, which had little to cheer about so far, got behind him. But the respite would last only a few minutes and by the time Sinner made it level again at 3-3, Djokovic had, for all intents and purposes, given up, barely chasing after a ball.

Clearly out of it, both physically and mentally, he was going through the motions, just wanting the match to end. Sinner obliged, closing the match at 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, humbling one of the best to ever play the sport. Fittingly, perhaps too, after being pushed to the side covering a shot, Djokovic left the court open for the young man to play his winner.

If not the end, it was difficult not to see this as the beginning of it. For the first time since 2017, Djokovic will be absent from a Wimbledon final.

While there were cheers as the Serb walked out, the atmosphere was also sombre. Sinner seemed a little lost for words. He will now play Alcaraz in the final, a repeat of this year's French Open Final, hoping to become his country's first champion at the Slam. "It's a huge honour to share the court with Carlos, we try to push ourselves to the limit," he said in the post-match interview. "Hopefully it will be a good match like the last one."

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