In the semi-finals on Friday, Djokovic, who has already won the Australian Open and the French Open this year, will meet Denis Shapovalov, who is ranked tenth. The Canadian won a five-sentence thriller against the Russian Karen Khachanov (RUS-25) with 6: 4.3: 6.5: 7.6: 1.6: 4 for himself. If the 34-year-old Serb wins his sixth Wimbledon title, he will stay on course for a “real” Grand Slam. Winning all four major tournaments within one calendar year has only been achieved so far by Don Budge (USA / 1938) and Rod Laver (AUS / 1962, 1969). “Writing history is a great drive for me,” emphasized Djokovic.
For the world number one, the victory was an anniversary, after all, it was the 100th professional victory on grass. The defending champion succeeded in his 50th Grand Slam quarter-finals. “I’m aware of some numbers. Sometimes things look unreal, but I’m trying to live in the moment,” said Djokovic. He put in a “solid performance” against Fucsovics. “I didn’t do much wrong.”
As a reward, he is in the semifinals of one of the four major events for the 41st time, and this is the tenth time at Wimbledon. One advantage is that Djokovic was only 2:16 hours fighting for a place in the round of the last four on the Center Court, which was packed with 15,000 spectators. Shapovalov, on the other hand, needed 3:35 hours to bring Khachanov down.
Greater experience is also a trump card for the Serb. Shapovalov, who is twelfth in the ranking, will only make his debut in a Grand Slam semi-final. With a win over Djokovic on Friday, he could become only the second Canadian major finalist of all time. “He’s the best player in the world. But I think anything is possible. We’ll start at 0-0 on Friday,” said the 22-year-old left-hander.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer missed his 14th semifinal participation in the “Holy Lawn”, also because he could not use his chances against the Poland Hurkacz – especially in the second set. In the end, number six in the tournament had no chance a month before her 40th birthday. The long-time number one in the world has only played a few games this year after two knee operations.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
