Tennis: Djokovic Overcomes Shapovalov To Reach Wimbledon final
Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame Canadian Denis Shapovalov to reach his seventh Wimbledon final after a 7-6(3) 7-5 7-5 victory, keeping him on track for a record equaling Grand Slam title.
Shapovalov had vowed to unleash his naturally attacking game on Djokovic in a bid to claim a first win against the Serb in seven meetings.
Djokovic won the opening set despite Shapovalov serving for it at 5-4, then saved several break points in the second set as his opponent threw the kitchen sink at the five-time champion.
Even in the third set Shapovalov continued shooting from the hip but eventually his fire blew out as Djokovic claimed one of the toughest straight sets wins of his Wimbledon career.
Tenth seed Shapovalov was bidding to become only the second Canadian man to reach the Wimbledon final and despite producing some scintillating tennis, was left pondering what might have been after failing to crack the toughest nut in the business.
Djokovic is now one win away for a third successive Wimbledon title, but there is an even bigger incentive that his fuelling the Serb’s insatiable appetite for victory.
“I don’t think the scoreline says enough about the performance or the match,” Djokovic said in an interview after the match.
“He was serving for the first set and was probably the better player in the second set as well, had many chances. We are going to see a lot of him in the future, he is a great player.”
Djokovic set up a Sunday showdown with 9th seed Matteo Berrettini after the Italian defeated Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the Wimbledon final.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.
