By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Novak Djokovic dispatched Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 scoring his 19th straight major and Wimbledon win to reach his 10th semifinal at SW19.
Photo credit: Getty
Wimbledon welcomed back full-capacity crowds.
Novak Djokovic embraced the occasion exuding masterful multi-tasking and major achievement on the Centre Court lawn.
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Unleashing snarling shots and all-court answers, Djokovic dispatched Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 rolling to his 19th consecutive major and Wimbledon win and into his 41st career Grand Slam semifinal.
In his 16th SW19 appearance, Djokovic stepped into his 10th Wimbledon semifinal—third place on the all-time men's singles semifinals list—with his 100th career grass-court win.
"I think it was a solid performance," said Djokovic, who improved to 32-3 on the season. "I started off extremely well didn't make too many things wrong in my game in the first six games of the match.
"I guess one break of serve in the second and third sets was enough to clinch the victory today. Credit Marton for fighting, for his hanging in there. He had a great tournament so well done to him."
Playing for his sixth Wimbledon title, Djokovic will face maiden major semifinalist Denis Shapovalov for a spot in Sunday's final.
The 10th-seeded Shapovalov edged Karen Khachanov 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 hitting 17 aces against 10 double faults. Djokovic has won all six prior encounters against Shapovalov, including a four-set win at the 2019 Australian Open.
The world No. 1 is successfully mastering two roles as both hunter and hunted continuing his quest for a 20th career Grand Slam title to match the men's mark shared by rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and take another step toward the Golden Slam while staving off the challengers nipping at his heels trying to dethrone the two-time defending champion.
Pursuing history inspires the passion in Djokovic, who now stands two wins from winning his sixth Wimbledon crown and becoming the first man since legendary Rod Laver in 1969 to rule the first three legs of the Grand Slam.
"I'm aware of certain stats, obviously I love this sport with all my heart, body and soul," Djokovic said. "I've been devoted to this sport since I was four. Sometimes things do look surreal to me.
"I try to live in the moment, don't take anything for granted, be grateful for every opportunity I have on court. Obviously going for history is a huge inspiration for me. You know, let's keep it going."
Bursting out to a 5-0 start today, Djokovic had a slight stumble dropping three games in a row, but never trailed in this match raising his Grand Slam record to an eye-popping 315-45. Djokovic was directing traffic much of the match. Though he's typically sharper on break-point conversions—the top seed was four of 14 on break-point chances today—Djokovic showed the entire shot spectrum winning 22 of 29 net points.
Consider the enormity of Fucsovics challenge. Contesting his 17th major, he was trying to beat the 19-time Grand Slam champion for the first time on the Centre Court he's commanded. Degree of difficulty struck in Fucsovic's first service game as an unerring Djokovic drained errors for the break.
It was an ominous sign as a razor-sharp Djokovic shredded a rattled Fucsovics tearing out to a 5-0 lead after 18 minutes. The 48th-ranked Fucsovics knocked off 19th-seeded Jannik Sinner, ninth-seeded Diego Schwartzman and fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev en route to this major breakthrough, but was struggling to put points together against the reigning champion. Fucsovics fought off a pair of set points holding to break the bagel in the sixth game.
Serving for the set, Djokovic hit his first problem patch as two more set points slipped from grip and he knocked a couple of off-balance backhands into net to give back one break. Finding his range, Fucsovics fought off a fifth set point turning his two-hander into the corner holding for 3-5.
On his sixth set point, Djokovic poked a forehand behind his opponent taking a one-set lead after 42 minutes.
The late-set stand lifted Fucsovics' spirits as he fought off four break points in a pressure-packed hold to start the second set.
Though he's not known as a massive server, Fucsovics capped successive holds sliding aces down the middle for a 3-2 second-set edge.
On the stretch, Djokovic used his elasticity, flicking back a forehand return for break point in the ninth game. When Fucsovics floated a backhand, Djokovic had his third break of the day for a 5-4 advantage. A disguised drop shot and damaging serve out wide closed the champion's two-set lead after 90 minutes.
The top seed showed more gears to his game and the tactical acumen to know when to shift. Djokovic broke to start the third set then locked down the baseline roaring back from a love-40 hole and saving four break points in all to go up 2-0 in the third. Djokovic drilled his third ace wide extending his lead to 4-2.
Djokovic will try to extend his winning Wimbledon streak to 20 straight in Friday's semifinals. Since dropping his opening set of the tournament, Djokovic has reeled off 15 consecutive sets finding his comfort zone.
"I'm pleased with the way I've been feeling and hitting the ball, as I said, I'm confident," Djokvic said. "I don't need any extra time on the court, to be honest. Actually, in contrary, I want to stay as less as possible and conserve energy for the most important matches."