French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic ‘motivated’ for Jannik Sinner showdown in semi-finals – ‘There is no bigger occasion for me’
Updated 05/06/2025 at 16:55 GMT+1
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Three of Novak Djokovic's 24 Grand Slam titles have come at Roland-Garros, and he is just two wins in Paris away from creating more history, as he seeks the outright record for major triumphs. Standing in his way of a place in the French Open final is world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who is yet to drop a set in the competition. Stream the 2025 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.
'I thrive on these occasions' - Djokovic 'locked in' ahead of Sinner semi-final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Novak Djokovic says taking on the best players in the world is what continues to motivate him as he prepares to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner for a place in the final of the French Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is two wins away from moving clear of Margaret Court and setting the outright record for number of major triumphs.
However, Djokovic - who got past Alexander Zverev in four sets to reach the last four - knows he faces a huge challenge if he is to progress at Roland-Garros.
"Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years, deservedly," Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.
"He's been playing some terrific tennis, attacking tennis, and just super strong from every aspect of his game.
"There is no bigger occasion for me, so I'll try to do my best to step it up and perform as well as I did [against Zverev]."
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Highlights: Djokovic beats Zverev in four sets to book semi-final spot
Video credit: TNT Sports
Sinner has been irrepressible on the Paris clay, sweeping aside Arthur Rinderknech, Richard Gasquet, Jiri Lehecka, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik without dropping a set.
With no other player yet to come close to breaking Sinner down, how will Djokovic approach the task?
"It really depends on the given day and how you feel on the court. I know what to expect from Jannik," the Serbian icon said.
"He's going to play on a very high level, as he did basically every tournament that he played in the last year and a half. I don't expect anything less from him.
"How am I going to stop him? I don't think about that. I think about how am I going to execute what I want on the court and feel how I want to feel."
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Djokovic constantly faces questions about how much longer he will play professional tennis for, but the 38-year-old has no desire to stop while he can continue competing at the very highest level.
"These kind of match-ups and challenges in a way extract the best out of me," he added.
"You know, playing best-of-five, you know, late stages of a Grand Slam against No. 1 in the world is... you can't get more motivated than that for me at this age. That's how I see it now."
Stream the 2025 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
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