Novak Djokovic lost his cool with umpire Richard Haigh and the Centre Court crowd but saw off Jannik Sinner in straight sets to reach a fifth consecutive Wimbledon final.
The Serbian is making history with virtually every victory and a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (4) win in his record-equalling 46th grand slam semi-final earned him a record-breaking 35th final, taking him past American great Chris Evert.
He had to save two set points in the third set but is now only one victory away from matching Roger Federer by winning an eighth Wimbledon title and Margaret Court with a 24th grand slam crown.
This was not entirely smooth sailing, though, and he was clearly annoyed by the decision of British umpire Haigh to call a hindrance against him at 15-15 in the fourth game of the second set.
Djokovic had suddenly let out a loud and late grunt after hitting a backhand down the line that he probably expected to be a winner only for Sinner to reach it.
It is unusual for a grunt to elicit a hindrance ruling and Djokovic reacted with disbelief, saying to Haigh: “You must be joking. Calling that in the semi-final of Wimbledon? What are you doing?”
To compound the situation, Haigh then gave Djokovic a time violation for taking too long on his serve in the same game but the reigning champion managed to keep his cool and chose not to initiate another confrontation.
It was a different story with the crowd, who were willing Sinner to make a contest of it, when the 21-year-old created two set points at 4-5 in the third set.
Djokovic clapped sarcastically and gave a thumbs up when noise delayed his second serve, with a man shouting ‘Vamos Rafa’, and was then booed for taunting the crowd when Sinner missed both chances.
When Djokovic held serve, he turned to the fans closest to him and mimed crying, but it was he, once again, who had the last laugh, extending his winning streak of tie-breaks to 15 at grand slams.
Sinner and Djokovic had met in the quarter-finals here last year, where the 21-year-old Italian opened up a two-set lead only for his opponent to win in five.
Both looked a little edgy at the start, with Sinner contesting his first slam semi-final after the sort of draw that players dream of.
The eighth seed could not convert two break points, though, and in the second game Djokovic took his chance.
Sinner, who struggled with his footwork throughout the contest on the slippery grass, had another break point in the fifth game only to miss with a forehand, and three aces in a row helped Djokovic clinch the set.
Sinner is one of the biggest ball-strikers in the game and he elicited oohs and aahs from the crowd at the sound made by the slap of strings on ball under the Centre Court roof.
There were too many errors to go with the winners, though, and an over-cooked forehand on break point at 1-1 in the second set put Djokovic firmly in control.
Sinner had a chance in the contentious fourth game to retrieve the deficit immediately only to net another forehand and, although Djokovic showed signs of stress, gesticulating towards his box, he found his first serve again just when he needed it most to serve out a two-set lead.
Djokovic’s biggest weapon is arguably his ability to lock in at the most important moments and that – helped by 15 years extra experience – was the main difference between the two players.
Sinner produced his own clutch serving to recover from 0-40 at 1-1 in the third set and looked the better player for much of the remainder of it but he could not capitalise on an early lead in the tie-break as Djokovic claimed a 21st win from his last 22 slam semi-finals.
Alcaraz withdraws from Italian Open, Rublev to meet Auger Aliassime in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from next week's Italian Open due to the arm injury that troubled him at the Madrid Open, where Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger Aliassime will face off in Sunday's final.
Alcaraz saw his bid for a third successive Madrid Open crown halted by Rublev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, the Spaniard being pegged back after taking the opening set in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss.
The two-time grand slam champion – who had won his previous 24 matches at Spanish clay-court events – looked tired throughout that match and has now withdrawn from next week's ATP 1000 Masters event in Rome.
In a post to X, Alcaraz wrote: "I felt pain after playing in Madrid, discomfort in my arm.
"Today I had some tests and I have muscle edema in the pronator teres, a consequence of my last injury. Unfortunately I won't be able to play in Rome. I need rest to recover and be able to play 100 per cent pain-free."
Alcaraz only has limited time to recover if he is to feature at the year's second major, with the French Open due to begin on May 20.
Alcaraz's conqueror Rublev advanced to the final of the Madrid event on Friday, producing a commanding performance to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-3 in the last four.
Rublev entered the Madrid Open on a run of four straight losses, but he is now into his third ATP Masters 1000 final since the start of 2023 – a tally only bettered by Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev (four apiece).
His opponent in Sunday's showpiece match will be Auger Aliassime, who progressed by virtue of a walkover on Friday after semi-final opponent Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire through injury.
Lehecka left the court for treatment on a back injury after just six games, with Auger Aliassime having held serve for 3-3. He only managed to play three further points on his return before calling the match to a halt in a disappointing ending to the night session.
Data Debrief: Lucky Auger Aliassime
Auger Aliassime would surely have preferred to win his semi-final the traditional way, but the Canadian should be fresh for Sunday's final after spending very limited time on court.
He has progressed through three rounds at this year's Madrid Open courtesy of a retirement or walkover, with Jakub Mensik and Jannik Sinner also stricken.
He is the first player since 1990 to progress through three rounds via retirement or walkover at a single ATP Masters event.
Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final for the second year running after beating Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a semi-final classic on Thursday.
Fourth seed Rybakina made a flying start and took the opener within just 25 minutes, but Sabalenka hit back in a topsy-turvy second set featuring five breaks of serve to force a decider.
Both players were imperious on their own serve from there, with a tie-break required to split them. Sabalenka's power looked likely to overwhelm Rybakina as she raced into a 5-1 lead, but the former Wimbledon champion clung on by saving two match points on her own serve.
Sabalenka would not be denied third time around, though, a huge serve giving Rybakina no chance as the defending champion teed up a rematch with Swiatek, who she beat in the Spanish capital in last year's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka's unwanted record
Sabalenka has dropped 60 games at this year's Madrid Open. That makes her the player with the most games dropped en route to reaching the final since the tournament's inception in 2009.
The world number two had to dig deep in a match which saw Rybakina win more total points (99 to 95), but she will not mind one bit if she goes on to capture a third Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Lehecka into maiden Masters semi-final after Medvedev retires hurt
Jiri Lehecka progressed to the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of his career as Daniil Medvedev retired hurt on Thursday at the Madrid Open.
Lehecka, who beat the great Rafael Nadal in the last 16, had just taken the first set 6-4 when Medvedev threw in the towel.
Medvedev had earlier received treatment from the physio, having seemingly struggled when moving to his right side.
"It's never easy in a match like this," Lehecka said. "If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"So of course, it's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Lehecka will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who progressed thanks to a walkover following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Czech mates
Lehecka is the third Czech player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid, following Jiri Vovak and Tomas Berdych.
Should Lehecka reach the final, he will move into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
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