Wimbledon: Roger Federer backing Novak Djokovic to knockout young gun Jannik Sinner

Sinner and Djokovic will meet in a highly-anticipated second semi-final on Friday after Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz face off in the first matchup.

The head-to-head is 5-4 in Sinner's favour, while Djokovic won the pair's two previous encounters at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023.

Sinner, the world No 1, has won his last four clashes with the great Serbian, including a semi-final victory at the French Open last month.

The 23-year-old Italian is aiming to reach a Wimbledon final for the first time as he chases his fourth Grand Slam title.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is vying for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown and is trying to become the oldest major singles champion in history at 38. The 24-time Grand Slam winner has featured in the last six finals at the London major.

In a video shared on Instagram by Serbian outlet Sport Klub, a fan driving around the All England Club stopped when he saw Federer and asked the Swiss legend who he thinks will win the semi-final.

"Roger, who is going to win tomorrow? Is Novak going to win?" asked the fan.

Federer replied: "Erm⦠who's he playing? I don't even know."

After being told Sinner is Djokovic's opponent, Federer hesitated before backing his former rival.

"I think Novak," said Federer.

Federer attended Djokovic's four-set last 16 win against Alex de Minaur on Centre Court on Monday.

In his on-court interview, Djokovic joked: "Well, I mean it's probably the first time he's watching me and I won the match. The last couple I lost, so good to break the curse (laughs).

"It's great, obviously. Great to have Roger, huge champion and someone that I admired and respected. We shared the stage for so many years and it's great to have him back in his most successful and his favourite tournament, no doubt."

The world No 6 then revealed he had spoken to Federer after the match.

"We did catch up very shortly, yeah. We greeted each other. He congratulated me and said it was a great match. That's all. It was a very short greeting, but it was really nice to have him around," Djokovic said in his press conference.

"Obviously, he's one of the greatest legends of our game in the history of tennis. So it always is extra special when he's on the stands. I'm glad to break the curse and win in front of him. It's a big relief (smiling)."

Djokovic and Federer played 50 times during an epic rivalry spanning from 2006 to 2020, with the Serb holding a 27-23 advantage.

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