Playing in his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal, Novak Djokovic recorded a century of tour-level wins on grass as he suffocated the challenge of Marton Fucsovics with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win to reach the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday, July 7.
While such numbers might sound impressive, for Djokovic the only statistic that matters is that his dream of joining Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on a record 20 Grand Slam titles was still very much alive as was the chance of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the calendar slam.
“I am aware of certain stats, I love this sport with all my heart, body and soul have been devoted to it since I was four,” said the world No. 1, who is bidding to win his third consecutive Wimbledon title, and sixth overall.
“Sometimes things do look surreal for me but I try to live in the moment and take every opportunity I have on the court. Going for history is a huge inspiration for me, let’s keep it going.”
Fucsovics produced some gutsy shots to stay alive in the first set when Djokovic stood at 5-0 up with two set points and hung in with the top seed till 4-4 in the second.
But once Djokovic broke for a 5-4 lead in the second set, it was clear that this would not be his day.
In his 10th Wimbledon semifinal, and 41st across all four majors, the Serbian will meet Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who produced a storming finish to beat Karen Khachanov in five sets and reach the semifinals, his deepest run at a Grand Slam tournament.
The quarterfinal seemed to be slipping away from the stylish 22-year-old left-hander when he trailed by two sets to one but he hit back to win 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
Shapovalov, who put out twice winner Andy Murray in the third round, will bid to become only the second Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam final.
“Obviously, he is the best player in the world (Djokovic) but I think anything is possible and when the match starts on Friday the scoreboard will show zero zero,” the popular Shapovalov, who will be guaranteed strong support, said on court. – Rappler.com
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