Day 12 at Wimbledon: Djokovic and Norrie battle for final, with Kyrgios already waiting

Novak Djokovic (3rd) – Cameron Norrie (12.) | Centre Court (16:00 SELČ)
Novak Djokovic will continue his assault on a fourth consecutive Wimbledon triumph and seventh overall, as well as a 21st Grand Slam trophy, which would cut Rafael Nadal’s lead to just one piece against Cameron Norrie. He only faced the last domestic representative, who is playing in the second week of the majors for the first time, in last year’s Tournament of Champions and allowed him only three games.

The 35-year-old Djokovic has a great record of 31-11 in the semi-finals of Grand Slams, even 22-3 since the start of 2013, and has managed 12 out of 14 against opponents outside the Top 10. Specifically, at Wimbledon at this stage, he has succeeded in seven out of ten cases and has not lost six times in a row. With a seventh triumph, he would catch up with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, with only Roger Federer ahead of them with eight trophies. Only these gentlemen managed to dominate the All England Club four years in a row. The native of Belgrade is undefeated in 26 matches at Wimbledon.

Twenty-six-year-old Norrie owns four laurels from the highest circuit, one of them by a South African native from the Masters, and was in the Top 10, but it was not until this year’s Wimbledon that he reached the second week of the majors for the first time. The first domestic Wimbledon semi-finalist since Andy Murray’s triumph in 2016 has won his last nine semi-finals (10-6 overall), with two wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrei Rublev, who were ranked in the Top 5 at the time.

Djokovic is expected to dominate this matchup. The former leader of the rankings has been the best player on grass in recent years and with Norrie, who is 4-23 against the elite ten and 0-5 on grass, he had a very easy semi-final draw on paper and has no experience at this stage of the Grand Slams, he should advise without major problems. Additionally, Norrie has never defeated a member of the Big Four (0-9).

Tip for the winner: Novak Djokovic

Current form
Due to the refusal of the Covid-19 vaccine, Djokovic played only six tournaments this year. However, he was able to complete the entire clay spring and gradually improved during it. After the final in Belgrade, he played a great semi-final battle with Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid. He hasn’t played since.

The journey through the tournament
He started with a four-set win over Soonwoo Kwon at Wimbledon and became the first in history to have 80 wins at all four majors. In the next matches, he improved significantly and outclassed Thanasi Kokkinakis and his compatriot Miomir Kecmanović, and in the round of 16 he dominated, except for one lost set, against Tim van Rijthoven, an undefeated sensation on grass this year. However, in the quarter-finals with the hot Jannik Sinner, he got into a tight spot, even losing 0-2 in sets, but he dominated in the next three and turned such an unfavorable situation around for the seventh time at the Grand Slams.

History at Wimbledon
After Roger Federer, William Renshaw and Pete Sampras, he is the most successful player of the most famous tournament with six triumphs. The winner of the last three years is making his 17th start, only three times he did not make it to the second week.

Novak Djokovic – This season
Best results: Rome (T); Belgrade (F); Madrid (SF)
Greatest achievements on grass: first tournament
Balance: 21-5
Balance from the last 10 matches: 9-1
Balance on grass: 5-0
Record against Top 20 players: 6-3 (career 351-134)
Balance in the Grand Slam semifinals: 0-0 (career 31-11)
Balance in the semi-finals: 2-1 (career 124-46)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (-), French Open (ČF)

Novak Djokovic – Wimbledon
Career record: 84-10
Best result: triumph (2011, 2014-15, 2018-19, 2021)
Last year’s result: triumph
Balance in the semi-finals: 7-3
Dress rehearsal: none
Journey through the tournament: Soonwoo Kwon (6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4), Kokkinakis (6-1 6-4 6-2), (25) Kecmanovic (6-0 6-3 6-4), van Rijthoven (6 -2 4-6 6-1 6-2), (10) Sinner (5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2)

Current form
Norrie entered the season with four straight losses, but took off in February. This year he triumphed in Delray Beach and on clay in Lyon, he also reached for the title in Acapulco. He probably expected much more from himself at the generals, in London’s Queen’s Club he crashed in the opening round on Grigor Dimitrov’s racket and in Eastbourne he was not enough against Maxim Cressy in the quarter-finals.

The journey through the tournament
At Wimbledon, he won the canary in the opening three matches, while he did not lose a set with Pablo Andújar or Steve Johnson, and played all five possible with Jaume Munar. In the round of 16, he did not win a set without losing a game, but he stopped the hot Tommy Paul in three sets. In the quarterfinals, he had another five-set battle, this time with David Goffin.

History at Wimbledon
He is gradually improving at the domestic major, in his first two starts he lost in the first round, three years ago in the second and last year in the third.

Cameron Norrie – This season
Best results: Lyon, Delray Beach (T); Acapulko (F)
Greatest achievements on grass: Wimbledon (SF)
Balance: 32-15
Balance from the last 10 matches: 7-3
Balance on grass: 6-2
Record against Top 10 players: 1-5 (career 4-23)
Balance in the Grand Slam semifinals: 0-0 (career 0-0)
Balance in the semi-finals: 3-0 (career 10-6)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (1K), French Open (3K)

Cameron Norrie – Wimbledon
Career record: 8-4
Best result: semi-final (2022)
Last year’s result: 3rd round
Balance in the semi-finals: 0-0
Dress rehearsal: Queens (1K), Eastbourne (ČF)
Journey through the tournament: Andújar (6-0 7-6 6-3), Munar (6-4 3-6 5-7 6-0 6-2), Johnson (6-4 6-1 6-0), (30) Paul ( 6-4 7-5 6-4), Goffin (3-6 7-5 2-6 6-3 7-5)