Agency :
Defending champion Novak Djokovic absorbed a barrage of powerful hitting from Canadian Denis Shapovalov to reach his seventh Wimbledon final on Friday with a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 victory that kept the indefatigable Serb on course to write history.
The 34-year-old was eclipsed at times by a 22-year-old opponent who lit up overcast Centre Court.
But as he almost always does, he responded to adversity with his usual mix of dogged defence and clinical precision to set up a today showdown with Italian Matteo Berrettini.
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.
He struck 40 winners but whenever Djokovic found himself in peril, he manned the barricades, saving 10 of the 11 break points he faced and making only 15 unforced errors as he simply refused to be knocked off course in his steely pursuit of equalling Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal’s men’s record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic won the opening set despite Shapovalov serving for it at 5-4, then saved several break points in the second 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.
