He’s a fine shot-maker, Denis Shapovalov. His backhand, struck with a loose-limbed arc of the racket and full extension of the arm, is the product of extraordinary, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it racket-head acceleration. Likewise his whippy firecracker of a forehand. His ball toss can be a bit wayward at times, but his southpaw serve is otherwise beautifully crafted, with a deep knee bend and lovely torque and elongation. He has touch, power, athleticism, speed and is the kind of player who always looks to dictate.
The problem for the young Canadian is that Novak Djokovic is an even finer tennis player. Not as flashy, certainly. He can trade baseline blows like no one else in the world, but there is nothing in his repertoire that offers the aesthetic pleasure of the Shapovalov backhand. He doesn’t have the Canadian’s swashbuckling charisma or his restless desire to play breathless, first-strike tennis. Djokovic has other virtues. Technical and tactical brilliance. Metronomic consistency off the ground. A serve that picks opponents off with its relentless precision and depth. Breath-taking court coverage. An unbreakable spirit. Shot selection that is second to none.
These are qualities that win tennis matches – something else that Djokovic does better than anyone else in the world right now. And these are the reasons why the Serb is through to his seventh Wimbledon final at the expense of Shapovalov, who left Centre Court in tears after a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5 defeat in his first grand slam semi-final. Djokovic now stands, as he so often does, on the brink of history. Victory on Sunday against Matteo Berrettini, who beat Hubert Hurkacz in four sets in the other semi-final, would give him the 20th major he needs to draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time list. It would also mark the third leg of a potential grand slam, something only Donald Budge and Rod Laver have achieved.
“It would mean everything, and that’s why I’m playing,” said Djokovic, who is bidding for a third successive Wimbledon title and sixth in all. “I imagined myself being in a position to fight for another grand slam trophy prior to coming to London and I put myself in a very good position. Anything is possible in the finals. Obviously, experience is on my side, but Berrettini has been winning a lot of matches on grass courts this year, winning Queen’s. He’s in great form form, serving big, playing big, so it’s going to be a very tough match for both of us. I’m looking forward to a great battle.”
For Shapovalov, it was match of missed opportunities. There was the sitter of a forehand in the 10th game of the match that would have brought up a set point, had he not ballooned it beyond the baseline. There were the backhands he sent long and wide after bringing the score back to deuce with a courageous drive volley. There was the first-set tiebreak, in which a horror of a drop shot failed even to reach the net. Shapovalov failed to convert 10 break points in all, five of which came early in the second set, just when he needed a salve to ease his first-set disappointment. A further three opportunities went begging at the start of the third set, Djokovic serving his way out of trouble either side of an errant topspin lob. These are the moments he must learn to seize if he is to reap the rewards his talent demands.
“I had chances in every set, it just went his way,” said Shapovalov. “He’s No 1 in the world. He’s there for a reason and he’s obviously played a lot of these matches and has a little bit more experience. He just played probably better – maybe a little bit lucky, luckier than me today – in the bigger moments, and that was it. I had a lot of chances, I was dictating my game a lot, and I thought he felt it. I did everything I could today and it just didn’t go my way, but I thought all three sets I had plenty of chances, plenty of break points, it just wasn’t going my way.”
There will surely be plenty more opportunities to come for Shapovalov. Wimbledon marked a coming of age for the 22-year-old, whose growing maturity was as evident in his five-set victories over Philipp Kohlschreiber and Karen Khachanov as in his more eye-catching straight-sets dismissals of Andy Murray, the former champion, and Roberto Bautista Agut, a semi-finalist in 2019. Yet his repeated insistence that things simply didn’t go his way seemed wide of the mark. Djokovic may have been outplayed at times, but he was the better player on the points that mattered, drawing on his experience and resilience to retain control of the match. It was left to the Serb, who was generous in his praise of Shapovalov, to offer a more accurate appraisal of the contest.
“In important moments, I think I probably held my nerves better than he did and just made him play an extra shot, made him [make] an unforced error,” said Djokovic. “It’s tough to play Denis, particularly on grass and quicker surfaces, with the lefty serve that he’s got. He can hit any spot. I think he’s one of the best servers on the tour, without a doubt. When he’s on, when he’s feeling that serve, it’s a weapon on any surface against anyone.”
The same might be said of Berrettini. Yet Djokovic came through a tough four-setter against the Italian in the French Open quarter-finals, and while Berrettini’s power may make him a sterner proposition on grass, particularly after compiling a run of 11 consecutive wins on the surface, the world No 1 will doubtless hope that he can once again make experience tell.