Novak Djokovic overcomes Shapovalov, storms into his seventh Wimbledon final
World number one Novak Djokovic sailed into the final of 2021 Wimbledon after overcoming Denis Shapovalov. The Serbian earned a straight-set victory, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5, in what turned out to be a high-octane semi-final. Djokovic has entered his seventh final of the prestigious grass-court tournament. He will face Matteo Berrettini in the championship clash on Sunday. Here are further details.
Djokovic was off to an ideal start in the first set, but Shapovalov won three back-to-back games thereafter. The opening set was finally decided by tie-break, with Djokovic acing it. He was once again trailing in the second set as Shapovalov regained momentum. However, Djokovic raised his game to restore parity, and win eventually. Although Shapovalov made another comeback, Djokovic sailed through.
Djokovic has moved into his seventh final at Wimbledon. He has lost just one Wimbledon final, having won the championship a record six times. The Serbian secured his 78th match-win in the tournament. He now has a 7-0 lead over Shapovalov in the ATP head-to-head series. Notably, Djokovic has won 16 of the last 17 semi-finals he has contested at Grand Slams.
In 2021, Djokovic has won 20 successive Grand Slam matches to maintain a 100% record (20-0). Meanwhile, the Serbian ace has also secured 18 successive set wins at Wimbledon this year since dropping the first against Jack Draper in the first round.
Djokovic will play a record 30th Grand Slam final, where he will face Berrettini. The latter reached his first major final after defeating Hubert Hurkacz in the first semi-final. Djokovic is chasing a third consecutive Grand Slam title this year, having won the Australian Open and Roland Garros. He could become the first man since Rod Laver (1969) to win a Calendar-Year Grand Slam.
Djokovic is in pursuit of winning a third consecutive Wimbledon title. He was crowned champion in 2018 and 2019. Djokovic could be the fourth man in the Open Era to achieve this after Federer, Bjorn Borg, and Pete Sampras. The Serbian could record a streak of three consecutive major titles, having done so at the Australian Open in 2013-2015 and 2019-2021.
