Novak Djokovic reaches men's record 32nd major final after Wimbledon semifinal win over Cameron Norrie
The three-time defending champion turned up the heat to advance in four sets on Friday, setting a blockbuster showdown with Nick Kyrgios.
Six-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has advanced to a men’s record 32nd major final at Wimbledon after dashing Cameron Norrie’s hopes early Friday evening.
Djokovic defeated the No. 9 seed, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, to reach his eighth title match at SW19. With it comes a mouthwatering final-round showdown with Nick Kyrgios, who moved into Sunday’s championship clash the night prior when Rafael Nadal withdrew with an abdominal tear.
"Well one thing is for sure: there's going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both of us," Djokovic said with a laugh on court.
The two haven’t met since 2017, when Kyrgios ousted Djokovic in back-to-back tournaments at Acapulco and Indian Wells (both straight sets). Djokovic has since added eight major trophies to his career haul—including three in a row at the All England Club—and now looks to move within one triumph of Nadal’s men’s benchmark of 22.
Who would have predicted Norrie to break the top seed three times in striking first? Though the returner won the opening two games, it was Djokovic who initially struggled to find a rhythm. Of the Serbian’s 12 unforced errors in the first set, eight were produced across the three games he dropped serve. With a 5-2 advantage, Norrie twice shook off a double fault by responding with an ace to secure an ideal start to his maiden major semifinal.
Djokovic quickly picked up his level, particularly on serve, to loosen up from the baseline. At 2-1, his break point was wiped away by Norrie’s aggressive forehand blows. Two more chances came and went at 3-2, as the lefty leaned into his slice serve out wide. But Djokovic continued applying pressure, contributing to a duo of sloppy errors from the other side in the eighth game: a flubbed forehand volley at 15-15 and an overcooked forehand at 15-40. Djokovic ended the set by closing from 0-30.
A backhand dive, hard slip and strange sequence of bounces couldn’t prevent Djokovic from taking the lead on the scoreboard. The wind flew out of Norrie’s sails with the forehand he shanked long on Djokovic’s third break point chance at the start of the third set, and from there, the match shifted into a one-sided affair.
Chants of, “Let’s go Norrie!” in the fourth set weren’t enough to help the 26-year-old surmount a formidable foe displaying an ability to serve with conviction, move with precision and hit with intention. Norrie made one impressive stand in saving four break points at 1-3, but Djokovic remained untouchable at the line in a masterclass of how to hit spots—and keep the opposition on its toes. Throughout the final three sets, he won 55 of 65 service points to firmly shut the door.
Stay tuned for a full reaction from Joel Drucker.