Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will play for his second consecutive Wimbledon title after defeating seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals Friday.
Since being down two sets to one in the first round against Miomir Kecmanovic, Sinner has won 17 consecutive sets this fortnight. He joined Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only players to beat Djokovic three times in straight sets at majors, excluding retirements.
"At the beginning of the tournament it's always tough," Sinner said in his on-court interview.
"I feel like every round is different -- grass is changing a lot. I knew today I had to raise my level."
He added: "I'm happy where I am, happy to be back in the final."
It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature rising to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It was also breezy and a bit cloudier than in recent days.
Still, it felt nothing like the suffocating heat and humidity at the French Open in Paris, when Sinner wasted a big lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56, and had his 30-match winning streak ended in dramatically unexpected fashion.
If there were any lingering questions over Sinner's physical status after that shocking second-round defeat, they should be answered now. Sinner advances to his first major final in 2026 after playing all four last year.
Djokovic, the 39-year-old 24-time major champion, was coming off the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history, when he outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime after 5 hours, 15 minutes on Tuesday. He has now been eliminated at Wimbledon by either Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz each of the past four years. He is 1-4 vs. Sinner/Alcaraz and 20-0 against all others over that span.
"What he's still doing is amazing," Sinner said. "Incredible."
It was a measure of revenge for Sinner after Djokovic won their previous meeting in five sets in this year's Australian Open semifinals.
"I tried to make a couple of adjustments," Sinner said.
"I tried to stay quite aggressive, serving very well. In my opinion he's the best returner we have in this game, so I tried to mix up."
From the start, Sinner pushed Djokovic back with his powerful groundstrokes and came up with big serves in big moments.
When Sinner faced his only break point of the match early in the third set, he produced an ace. It was only the third completed major match in Djokovic's career where he failed to break serve once; two of those have now come against Sinner, the other being the 2024 Australian Open semifinals.
Sinner will face No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, coming off his first career major title at the French Open, in Sunday's final. Sinner holds a 10-4 edge against Zverev and has won their past nine meetings dating back to the 2024 Cincinnati tournament.
"It's not going to be easy no matter who it is against," Zverev said after beating British wild card Arthur Fery in straight sets earlier on Centre Court.. "But I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that's what I'm going to do."
In addition to playing for his fifth Grand Slam championship in his seventh major final appearance, Sinner will also be seeking his 100th major match win. Three players in the Open era have earned their 100th career major match in a Slam final -- Aryna Sabalenka (2025 US Open), Iga Swiatek (2025 Wimbledon) and Andy Murray (2012 US Open).
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.