Wimbledon Lookahead: Djokovic, 3 newcomers in semifinals

Posted July 08, 2021 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Serbia's Novak Djokovic plays a return to Hungary's Marton Fucsovics during the men's singles quarterfinals match on day nine of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 7, 2021.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY

With Roger Federer already out, the only familiar face in the men's semifinals at Wimbledon is top-ranked Novak Djokovic. The other three players left - No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy, No. 10 Denis Shapovalov of Canada and No. 14 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland - had never even reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club before. Only Berrettini had reached the last four at any Grand Slam tournament, doing so at the 2019 U.S. Open. That makes Djokovic the big favorite to add a sixth Wimbledon crown - and third in a row - and equal the men's record of 20 total Grand Slam titles shared by Federer and Rafael Nadal. First, Djokovic needs to get past Shapovalov in the semifinals. The 22-year-old Shapovalov is only the third Canadian man to reach the Wimbledon semis. He has an 0-6 record against Djokovic. Hurkacz beat Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals and will try to follow that up by beating Berrettini. Hurkacz won their only previous matchup.

FRIDAY'S FORECAST

Rain. High of 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 Celsius).

THURSDAY'S WEATHER

Cloudy. High of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius).

THURSDAY'S KEY RESULTS

Women's Semifinals: No. 1 Ash Barty beat No. 25 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-6 (3); No. 8 Karolina Pliskova beat No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

STAT OF THE DAY

32 - Total aces in the semifinal between Pliskova (14) and Sabalenka (18), the most in a women's match at Wimbledon since at least 1977.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

'œThis is close to as good a tennis match as I'll ever play.'ť - Barty, who had 38 winners and 16 unforced errors against Kerber.

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Canada's Denis Shapovalov celebrates after defeating Russia's Karen Khachanov during the men's singles quarterfinals match on day nine of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) The Associated Press

Poland's Hubert Hurkacz celebrates after defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer during the men's singles quarterfinals match on day nine of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

Italy's Matteo Berrettini celebrates after defeating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime during the men's singles quarterfinals match on day nine of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) The Associated Press

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