In the second men’s semifinal, on Centre Court, under an overcast sky, 22-year-old Lorenzo Musetti tried everything to unravel 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, but to no avail.

The Serbian defeated the Italian in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4, to reach his tenth Wimbledon final.

The Italian, who was in his first Grand Slam semifinal, has excellent feel.

“He’s an awkward player to play against because he has that slice, defense slice,” Djokovic said. “His drop shots. He can serve and volley. He’s so crafty with his tennis. He has all-around game. He can play any shot.

“He’s so talented. You don’t know what to expect in a way. Each shot could be different.

AFP-JIJI
 

“So, yeah, I mean, he was playing well particularly in that second set and we went toe-to-toe. It could have been maybe different outcome if he would win that second set. But again, I think in the important moments in all three sets, I probably played a little bit better than him, and it was enough.”

In the second set, if Musetti had gotten the break at 5-all, when Djokovic was down love-30 on his serve, maybe things could have changed. But the Serbian was just too strong.

Musetti served well, hitting 74% of first serves in, but Djokovic returned well, hitting 79% of his returns in.

Djokovic played particularly well at the net, winning 16 of 17 serve & volley points and winning a total of 43 of 56 net points.

Djokovic said he was aware that Federer holds eight Wimbledon titles, and he holds seven.

“History is on the line,” he said.

“Also, the 25th potential Grand Slam. Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time it’s also a lot of pressure and expectations. Every time I step out on the court now, even though I’m 37 and competing with the 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win, whatever, 99% of the matches that I play.

“I always have to come out on the court and perform my best in order to still be at the level with Carlos or Jannik or Sascha or any of those guys, Daniil.

“This year hasn’t been that successful for me. It’s probably the weakest results the first six months I’ve had in many years. That’s okay. I had to adapt and accept that and really try to find also way out from the injury that I had and kind of regroup.

“Wimbledon historically there’s been seasons where I wasn’t maybe playing at a desired level, but then I would win a Wimbledon title and then things would change.

“For example, that was the case in 2018 when I had elbow surgery earlier in the year, dropped my rankings out of top 20, losing in fourth round of Australian Open, I think it was quarters of Roland Garros, and just not playing the tennis that I want to play. Then I won Wimbledon and then won US Open and then later on became No. 1 very soon.

“Yeah, Wimbledon just extracts the best of me and motivates me to really always show up and perform the best I can.

“Of course, I’m aware of what’s on the line. It always is really. Any Grand Slam that I play, there’s always history now on the line. I will try to use that as a fuel to, yeah, play my best tennis.”

Next up for Djokovic is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, which will be a rematch of last year’s sensational final.