LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Novak Djokovic said the reality of his age is hitting him “like never before” after he was crushed by world number one Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday.

The Serbian seven-time champion was demolished 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court and will be missing from the final at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club for the first time since 2017.

The 38-year-old was aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title and an eighth Wimbledon crown, which would have pulled him level with Roger Federer’s record of eight men’s titles.

He appeared limited in his movements against his 23-year-old opponent, who will face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final, and admitted afterwards that he had struggled.

Djokovic fell awkwardly late in his quarter-final victory over Flavio Cobolli, sustaining a leg injury.

“It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court,” he said. “I don’t want to talk in details about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best.

“I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance — that’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.”

Djokovic was forced to pull out of the Australian Open after just one set of his semi-final against Alexander Zverev earlier this year, after suffering a muscle tear.

But he denied he was suffering bad fortune.

“It’s just age — the wear and tear of the body,” he said. “As much as I’m taking care of it the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest.

“It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year.

“But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reached the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz.

“These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half-empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”

Djokovic said he is planning to return to Wimbledon next year.

“I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams,” he said.

“Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.”

Djokovic said he does not know what he can do differently.

“The amount of hours that I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone who is out there on the tour to see if anybody takes care of themselves more than me,” he said.

“And I, unfortunately, don’t get rewarded for that right now, [what] with injuries at the later stages of Slams. But, I was rewarded for many, many years.”

He added: “I’m just trying to make, I guess, the maximum out of what I have left. Again, I just got off the court so of course I’m upset and disappointed — mostly not for the loss because, obviously, even if I was fit I wasn’t a favourite to win against Sinner, I know that. But I think I had good chances if I was fit.”

The Serb was asked who he feeels will win Sunday’s final.

“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he’s won here, and the way he’s playing, and the confidence he has right now,” he said.

“But it’s just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it’s going to be, again, a very close matchup like they had in Paris [where Alcaraz won in five sets].”