Novak Djokovic was left cursing the frailties of age after a one-sided loss to Jannik Sinner – but insisted he is not bidding his farewells to Wimbledon just yet.

Sinner will go for revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final after ruthlessly ending an ailing Djokovic’s title dreams.

It had seemed like Centre Court, where he has lifted the trophy seven times, would be Djokovic’s best hope of one final blow for the old guard against tennis’ remarkable new kings.

But Sinner took just an hour and 55 minutes to squash that theory flat, with Djokovic taking a medical timeout for treatment to his left thigh after the second set of a 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat.

Djokovic has reached the semi-finals at each of the grand slams this year but has not made a final, while this is the second time he has been physically compromised after he retired injured at the Australian Open.

The 38-year-old, who suffered a nasty fall late in his quarter-final, said: “It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. 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. I do feel disappointed that I just wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would.

“I don’t think it’s bad fortune. It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. 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 reach 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 gave a wave to all sides of Centre Court as he walked off, but he hopes his final act on one of his most successful stages can be something more uplifting.

“I would be sad, but hopefully it’s not my last match on the Centre Court,” he said. “I’m not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today. So I’m planning to come back definitely at least one more time.”

Even Djokovic in peak condition may have struggled to deal with the barrage of power coming his way from Sinner, who now has an immediate chance to bury the memory of the French Open final only five weeks later.

How superbly the Italian has rebounded from letting three match points slip in that Paris thriller, a wound that might have remained open for months or even years in players lacking his mental fortitude.

Instead, Sinner has put it behind him to reach a fourth consecutive grand slam final – only the sixth man in the open era to do so – and make his own piece of history.

The 23-year-old’s first slam final was only 18 months ago in Australia, and by completing his set in just six tournaments, he has set a new record.

Sinner said: “I cannot believe (it). It’s a tournament I always watched when I was young and I would have never imagined I could play here in the final.

“I served very well today, I felt great on court. I think we all saw, especially in the third set, that he was a bit injured. I tried to stay calm.”

For Djokovic, meanwhile, the defeat means the end of a proud run of having made the final here in every edition since 2017, while it is his first semi-final loss since Roger Federer beat him way back in 2012.

Sinner put aside concerns over an elbow problem he suffered in his fourth-round near miss against Grigor Dimitrov by dispatching Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals and, although he still wore a sleeve on his right arm, he was at his best from the start.

The hundreds of players who have found Djokovic more a wall than an opponent might have enjoyed seeing the Serbian given the same treatment as Sinner secured his first break of serve in just the third game.

The world number one lost just six points on serve in the opening two sets, with his only moments of concern coming at the start of the third after Djokovic sought help for his physical state.

But 0-3 quickly became 5-3, and Sinner cantered across the finish line.