Manhandled during the first round by Cameron Norrie, Novak Djokovic was able to recover to deploy his game and validate his place for the Wimbledon final against Nick Kyrgios.
For the 32nd time in his career, Novak Djokovic will be in the final of a Grand Slam tournament! While Rafael Nadal could not defend his chances against Nick Kyrgios, the world number 3 held his rank against Cameron Norrie, who was able to take advantage of the support of the public massed in the bays of the Center Court. Cheers that turned into roars when the Briton took his opponent’s serve from the first game… but Novak Djokovic was able to immediately come back up to par. However, not well into this semi-final, the Serb lost his footing.
Conceding the break twice on the two opportunities obtained by Cameron Norrie, the six-time Wimbledon winner saw five games escape him in a row. As a result, it was the 12th player in the world who took the lead after a first round that did not reach the heights in terms of quality of play. Not wanting to completely lose the thread of this meeting, Novak Djokovic put his opponent under pressure very early in the second set but, on three occasions, Cameron Norrie knew how to dismiss the break points he had to face. But, by dint of insisting, the world number 3 ended up having the last word. Taking the service of the Briton at the best moment, the Serb was able to equalize with one set everywhere in stride on his own engagement.
One step away from a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.@DjokerNole defeats Cameron Norrie 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach his eighth final at The Championships#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/wVXnsfKrIN
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2022
Djokovic did not let Norrie float
An ascendancy that the triple title holder did not hesitate to consolidate as soon as the third set started. Indeed, from the first game, Novak Djokovic banged his fist on the table, taking the service of Cameron Norrie to wear. Absolutely not worried about his own face-off, the Serb did not flinch when it came to making the bill worse. The first double break chance was the right one and allowed Novak Djokovic to lead five games to one. Without forcing his talent, the Serb was able to take the lead on the scoreboard for the first time in this semi-final and did not let go of the rein imposed on the Briton.
Indeed, the start of the fourth inning was almost a carbon copy of that of the third. The first game saw Novak Djokovic authoritatively take on his opponent’s serve in order to race in the lead. Except this time Cameron Norrie held on when, in game five, his opponent had four double break opportunities. However, to hope to revive, the 12th player in the world had to undermine the Serb on his face-off. However, that never happened. In his hand, Novak Djokovic waited to serve for the win of the match before concluding (2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in 2h37 ‘). Facing a novice in the final of a Grand Slam tournament, the world number 3 will have the opportunity to win his 21st major title and close the gap on Rafael Nadal.
