LONDON - The victories for Novak Djokovic have been on the rise: 20 in a row at Wimbledon since the start of the 2018 tournament, 20 in a row in all Grand Slam matches since the start of this season.
Take both of those streaks to 21 on Sunday, and Djokovic will achieve something he's been chasing for years: He'll tie his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the 20th major championship by a man in tennis history. is the most.
Top seed Djokovic worked his way up against a much younger, much less experienced opponent on Friday to beat No. 10 Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 to reach the final . All England Club.
"At this stage of my career, Grand Slams are everything, really. Those are the four events that matter most in our sport. I've had the great privilege of making the history of a sport that I really love It breaks my heart every time I hear that there is something on the line that is historical. Certainly it inspires me, it inspires me," said Djokovic, 34, from Serbia. "But at the same time, I have to balance it with trying to be present and just win the next match."
Each set of their semi-finals was tough and intense. Each was within Shapovalov's grasp—until Djokovic had it.
"I don't think the scoreline says enough about the performance and the match," said Djokovic, who saved 5 of 5 break points in the second set, then 3 of 3 in the third.
Talking about Shapovalov, 22, Canada, Djokovic told the capacity crowd on Center Court: "We're going to see a lot of him in the future, for sure."
Djokovic certainly dominates the game at the moment.
If he can beat another new stage foe, Italy's No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini, in Sunday's final, Djokovic will secure a sixth championship at Wimbledon - his third straight.
And then there is this: He's already won the Australian Open in February and the French Open in June, so a Wimbledon win puts him three-quarters of the way to a calendar-year Grand Slam, with only the US Open remaining. No one has done this since Rod Laver in 1969.
first things first. It will be Djokovic's 30th major final, Berrettini's first. As much as it was Djokovic's 41st major semi-final, Shapovalov's first.
"why!" The cry of (go!), "Forza!" (Let's go!) and even "Andiamo, amore mio!" (Come on, my love!) previously played in the main stadium of the All England club, supporting Berrettini in his mother tongue on his way to becoming Italy's first Grand Slam male finalist in 45 years.
With a fast-moving 22 aces and powerful forehand helping to compile a total of 60 winners, Berrettini used an 11-game run to take a big lead and then beat No. 14 Hubert Hercáz 6–3, 6–0. , defeated by 6. -7(3), 6-4 in the first semi-final.
"Obviously, the job isn't done yet. I want to get the trophy now, because I'm here," said 25-year-old Berrettini, who lost his only previous Slam semifinal at the 2019 US Open. "But, simply, it's a really incredible feeling."
He is now on an 11-match winning streak on the grass court, including a title at the Queen's Club tuneup last month, when he became the first man since Boris Becker in 1985 to win the trophy on his debut at that event. Baker won that year at Wimbledon.
A crucial moment in the semi-finals, oddly enough, came in less than 20 minutes, when Harkasz was 3-2 ahead and had a break point. It was wiped out by Berrettini - no wonder - at 130 mph thanks to a service winner, "C!" punctuated by one of his many shouts.
From there, Harkaz hit the biggest win of his career – tumbling out against his idol, eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer, and number 2 Daniil Medvedev – who reached England in a six-match losing streak. .
Berrettini (almost) couldn't remember. Hurkacz (almost) could not connect.
By the end, Berrettini had 24 winners from his forehand alone, and only 18 unforced errors. Harkas's Yoga? Just 27 winners - four on the forehand - and 26 unforced errors.
When Harkaz first broke, the 24-year-old from Poland sat down for the upcoming change and, in the midst of a banana bite, prompted his American coach, Craig Boynton, to adjust the seating arrangement in his guest box.
As if that was the issue.
His girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic, and his parents and brother - mom captured in their on-court interview with their cellphones - who made this week's quarter-finals - Berrettini were two points away from victory in the third set.
But Harkaz outgrew the competition, before Berrettini reasserted himself.
Shapovalov kept pushing Djokovic to the brink, but couldn't get the job done.
Djokovic dropped his first set this fortnight at the hands of British teenager Jack Draper - and has won all 18 since then.
Djokovic's 6-0 record, which entered Friday, did not portray a fair fight. But Shapovalov is a lively, sometimes violent, swinging leftist, including his one-handed backhand talk. There's hardly any hint of subtlety, no trace of playing it safe.
That backhand forced Djokovic's error to end a 15-stroke exchange that gave Shapovalov a break and a 2-1 lead. He extended it to 5-3 and was two points off the set in the next game, but could not get close.
Working for the set at 5-4, Shapovalov stumbled first - pushed by Djokovic's relentless defense.
Djokovic breaks, then stays in tiebreaker Better not perfect, but better.
Mostly playing it safe and letting Shapovalov make mistakes works just fine. Shapovalov made a double fault to end that set. He did it again and broke in the second to trail 6-5. And again in the game that left him 6-5 in the third.
By then, Djokovic was punching and screaming in the air, knowing the match was over, and another final was near.