Entering his ninth Wimbledon final and 35th overall at Slams, Djokovic

The fiery defending champion got into a fight with the referee and the crowd before Novak Djokovic defeated Jannik Sinner to advance to a record-setting 35th Grand Slam singles title match on Friday.

 

A 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) semi-final victory by Djokovic put him one step closer to a record-tying eighth Wimbledon title. He was in a combative mood during the match.

In his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final on Sunday, the 36-year-old takes on either world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev.

Semi-finals are inevitably very tense. Perhaps the final score doesn't accurately reflect what actually occurred on the court. It was really close, according to Djokovic.

Regarding his argument with umpire Richard Haigh, who docked him a point for shouting loudly during a rally, Djokovic said: "The interference could have altered the outcome of the match. After that call, I felt anxious, but I was able to collect myself.

"I don't typically have extended grunts, so this is probably the first time it has happened to me. It might have been an echo in the roof.

If the Serb wins a fifth straight match on the All England Club grass, he will match Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon victories.

Djokovic recently passed American legend Chris Evert with his record-breaking 35th Grand Slam final, but on Sunday, he has an even bigger accomplishment in mind.

The No. 2 player in the world currently holds 23 Grand Slam singles titles and is aiming to surpass Margaret Court's 24 all-time mark.

great motivation

With the US Open coming up in August, Djokovic hopes to complete an incredible clean sweep of all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year. He has already won the Australian Open and the French Open this season.

"36 feels like the new 26 to me; it feels really good. Regarding his longevity, he said, "I feel a lot of motivation.

My family and I have benefited greatly from this sport. I'll do this sport a favor by participating as much as I can.

The eighth-seeded Italian, 21-year-old Sinner, nearly upset Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year before the Serb rallied from a set and a break down to win.

This time, Djokovic took control right away, easily winning the opening set.

Djokovic ran into trouble with Haigh after breaking in the second set's third game.

In the fourth game, the British official awarded Djokovic a point after determining that he made a distracting noise after his shot and just as Sinner was about to strike the ball.

Djokovic approached the official and demanded, "What are you doing?" with obvious rage.

A few seconds later, Haigh infuriated Djokovic once more when he warned the Serb for taking too long to serve as the latter shook his head in disbelief.

However, Djokovic regained his composure to ruthlessly and effectively win the second set.

In response to the crowd's enthusiastic support for Sinner after he had saved two set points in the third set, Djokovic made a sarcastic crying gesture in the direction of the spectators.

As he won the third set tie-break to secure a victory that propelled him to the verge of more history, Djokovic had the last laugh on his tormentors.