Friday at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic pulled off his second consecutive comeback triumph, this time with a much smaller deficit and less dramatic circumstances.
The top-seeded Djokovic defeated Cam Norrie of Great Britain in the semifinals 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to extend his winning streak at the All England Club to 27 games as he seeks a fourth consecutive title there.
Djokovic started slowly and frequently showing displeasure, shaking his head or making gestures at his guest box on the hottest afternoon of the past two weeks, with a temperature of 85 degrees and calm air.
However, in contrast to the quarterfinals, where he lost the first two sets to No. 10 seed Jannik Sinner before winning in five, it didn’t take long for Djokovic to establish his superiority.
At the conclusion, Djokovic curved his lips as if sending a kiss to a spectator who had been cheering on Norrie throughout the match.
On Sunday, he’ll compete for the championship against Nick Kyrgios, a first-time major finalist. The 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal withdrew from their semifinal with a strained abdominal muscle, eliminating the need for the unseeded Kyrgios, an explosive 27-year-old Australian who garnered jeers at the mere mention of his name during Djokovic’s on-court interview.
Djokovic, 35, of Serbia will be playing in his 32nd Grand Slam final, breaking his tie with Roger Federer for the male record. He will have the opportunity to win his seventh Wimbledon championship and 20th major championship. Only Federer has more male ownership in the grass-court competition with eight.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the third seed, will compete against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 17th seed, in the women’s final on Saturday. It will be the first Wimbledon final featuring two women making their major final debuts since 1962.
Locals were hoping to see one of them reaches a men’s final, something only two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has done for Britain since the professional era began in 1968. Djokovic vs. Norrie got off to a good start.
There were cheers when Norrie, who is left-handed, got up from his seat first while Djokovic cooled off by pouring water on his hand and rubbing it in his hair. Norrie was going to receive services in the first game.
When Djokovic pushed a forehand long on the second point, when he missed a backhand to give up the opening point, and when Norrie’s volley winner finished the break to win that game, more came. Norrie skipped, hopped, and delivered an uppercut. In the grandstand, a few Union Jack flags were flying.
