Novak Djokovic reaches a record 14th Wimbledon semifinal and faces No. 1 Jannik Sinner next

LONDON (AP) — At least Novak Djokovic could laugh about it immediately afterward.

Yes, he took what he called a “nasty” and “awkward” fall on his second match point at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Yes, he slid into the splits and ended up face-down on the Centre Court grass. And, yes, those sorts of things aren't ideal for a 38-year-old seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title.

Still, Djokovic dusted himself off and took the next two points, reaching the semifinals at the All England Club for a men's-record 14th time with a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli to set up a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

“Obviously, (my) body is not the same today like it was before,” Djokovic said at his news conference, “so I guess the real impact or effect of what happened, I will feel tomorrow. So let's see. I'm hoping in the next 24, 48 hours, that the severity of ... what happened is not too bad, that I'll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days."

That's when he will take on three-time major champion Sinner, who didn’t play like someone dealing with an injured right elbow while using terrific serving and his usual booming forehand to beat 10th-seeded Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.

“It's going to take the best of me at the moment to beat Jannik. I mean, I know that,” said Djokovic, who has lost his last four meetings with Sinner, including in the French Open semifinals last month.

Djokovic is 2-0 against Sinner at Wimbledon, eliminating him in the 2023 semifinals and 2022 quarterfinals.

Against Cobolli — like Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy — the late-match tumble was not the only thing that was far from smooth for Djokovic. He served for the opening set at 5-3 but got broken at love. He later was a point from owning that set before first-time major quarterfinalist Cobolli came through.

Djokovic did stretches and breathing exercises at changeovers. He whacked his shoe with his racket after one miss in the fourth set. He seemed bothered at times by the bright sun above Centre Court.

He also showed off all of his considerable skills, accumulating 13 aces, holding in 19 of 21 service games, using a drop-shot-lob-drop-shot combination to take one point and limiting his unforced errors to 22 — half as many as Cobolli.

On Friday, Djokovic will try to reach his seventh consecutive final at the All England Club and get closer to equaling Roger Federer's men's mark of eight trophies there. The other men's semifinal is two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, against Taylor Fritz.

The women's semifinals Thursday are Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova, and Iga Swiatek vs. Belinda Bencic.

Against Shelton at No. 1 Court, Sinner wore a white sleeve on his right arm with strips of tape visible underneath — one above the elbow, one below it — after he was hurt when he fell in the opening game of his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday.

Sinner, the runner-up to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, had an MRI exam on Tuesday and initially canceled a practice session that day but did hit some balls in a 20-minute session at an indoor court later.

“When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it,” Sinner said. “It has improved a lot from yesterday to today.”

He played as though nothing were amiss, grabbing 27 of 29 service points in the first set while accumulating a total of 15 winners to just one unforced error.

“You can’t go into a match thinking that the guy’s not going to be at 100%,” Shelton said. “His ball was coming off pretty big today, so I didn’t see any difference.”

Shelton stayed right with him until 2-all in the tiebreaker. That's when Sinner surged in front, helped by a double-fault and four consecutive forehand errors by Shelton.

At the outset of the second set, Shelton finally made some headway in a return game, getting a pair of break points at 15-40.

On one, Sinner produced a forehand winner. On the other, he pounded a 132 mph serve — his fastest of the match — and rushed forward, getting to deuce when Shelton’s backhand pass attempt found the net. That was followed by a 118 mph ace and a 125 mph service winner.

Those were Shelton's only break chances.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Stefan and Tara, the children of Serbia's Novak Djokovic smile after their father beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli in a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Italy's Flavio Cobolli returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Stefan and Tara, the children of Serbia's Novak Djokovic smiles after their father beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli in a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after slipping and falling when attempting a return to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Italy's Flavio Cobolli returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Ben Shelton of the U.S. leaves court after losing the men's singles quarter final match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning the men's singles quarter final match against Ben Shelton of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jannik Sinner of Italy serves the ball to Ben Shelton of the U.S. during the men's singles quarter final match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Ben Shelton of the U.S. reacts during the men's singles quarter final match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a return to Ben Shelton of the U.S. during the men's singles quarter final match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Ben Shelton of the U.S. reacts during the men's singles quarter final match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during the men's singles quarter final match against Ben Shelton of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)