Novak Djokovic cruises past Canada's rising star Denis Shapovalov

Novak Djokovic takes one step closer to securing his 20th Grand Slam after cruising past Canada’s rising star Denis Shapovalov to reach the Wimbledon final

  • Novak Djokovic beat Canada’s rising star Denis Shapovalov on Friday afternoon 
  • He defeated 10th seed Shapovalov 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 44 minutes 
  • He will look to claim his 20th Grand Slam and fourth Wimbledon title in a row
  • The 34-year-old is also looking to achieve the famous calendar Grand Slam
  • Djokovic will face Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s men’s singles final on Sunday  

Novak Djokovic is just one Wimbledon win away from reaching Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer’s all-time Grand Slam record after reaching this year’s Wimbledon final.  

The 34-year-old beat Canada’s rising star Denis Shapovalov in their semi-final clash on Friday afternoon to reach his 30th Grand Slam final. 

As a result, he will now look to claim his 20th Grand Slam and fourth consecutive Wimbledon title by overcoming Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s men’s singles final. 

Novak Djokovic (above) beat Canada’s rising star Denis Shapovalov on Friday afternoon

Djokovic defeated 10th seed Shapovalov 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 44 minutes on Friday night. 

He was a break down in the first two sets but bounced back to win them both thanks to some big points and several unforced errors from his opponent.

The result marks Shapovalov’s seventh straight loss to Djokovic but did represent his best run at a Grand Slam.

While Djokovic has now become the favourite to win this summer’s Championship and should he do the business, he will pick up his third Grand Slam title of 2021. 

Djokovic defeated 10th seed Shapovalov 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 44 minutes

Djokovic will look to claim his 20th Grand Slam and fourth Wimbledon title in a row

That will see him become just the third male player to ever achieve the calendar Grand Slam. 

Speaking about his victory over Shapovalov, Djokovic said: ‘I don’t think the scoreline says enough about the performance or the match. He was serving for the first set and was probably the better player, had many chances.

‘I would like to give him a big round of applause for everything he has done today and also this two weeks. We are going to see a lot of him in the future, he is a great player.’

The 34-year-old is also looking to achieve the famous calendar Grand Slam this year

Victory on Sunday would see Djokovic draw level with long-time rivals Federer and Nadal on 20 major titles.

‘I am trying to take out the maximum of my own abilities in each match and see what happens,’ he added.

‘At this stage of my career grand slams are everything and I’ve been very privileged to make history in the sport I truly love.

‘Every time I hear there is something on the line that is historic it inspires me – but at the same time I have to balance it and win only the next match.’ 




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