By Victor Kanayo
Tennis great Novak Djokovic will now battle Jannik Sinner in the semi-final stage of the ongoing 2023 Wimbledon championship.
This is after Djokovic, a Serbian came from a set down to beat Andrey Rublev in the quarter-final decider.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion dropped the first set against the seventh seed, but raced through the second and prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-3.
Sinner on the other overwhelmed Roman Safiullin in the last eight clash.
History-Chasing Djokovic
Djokovic, who is bidding for a fifth straight Wimbledon title and an eighth overall to equal Roger Federer’s record, has won both previous meetings against Sinner.
Djokovic will be contesting his 46th Grand Slam semi-final, which ties the record set by Federer.
Handshake Controversy
Meanwhile, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has told players that they are not required to shake hands with an opponent after a match.
This was disclosed in a statement after what they described as an “unfortunate circumstances and misunderstanding”.
Part of the statement reads, “Due to the ongoing reprehensible war, the WTA respects the position of the Ukrainian athletes in foregoing the tradition of shaking opponents’ hands [from Russia and Belarus] at the end of a match, as this is a personal decision.
“We have some of the best fans in the world and are grateful for their passion and dedication, and we thank them for their understanding and respect for the athletes.”
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, playing as a wild card, had called for an official statement to be made by tennis authorities on the question of handshakes.
Svitolina refused to shake hands with number 19 seed Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus after winning her fourth round match at Wimbledon 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Last year, Wimbledon had imposed a ban on players from Belarus and Russia taking part in the Championships.
Earlier this year at the French Open, Svitolina opted not to shake hands with Russians, Anna Blinkova and Daria Kasatkina, both playing as neutrals.
