Denis Shapovalov on Friday left Centre Court at Wimbledon to a standing ovation, but in tears due to what he felt was a missed opportunity to beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and reach the men’s final.
The 22-year-old Canadian, who said that he was mentally exhausted owing largely to having to live in a bubble due to COVID-19 restrictions, had good reason to rue his missed chances.
Djokovic saved 10 of 11 break points to go through to defend his title after running out a 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5 winner.
Photo: AP
Shapovalov had become an “adopted Briton” due to his engaging personality and expressive behavior on court.
Children at a London school had recorded a song in his honor — a revised version of MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This, as their teacher Adam Kohlbeck knows Shapovalov from his days as a tennis coach.
Shapovalov, though, could not hold back the emotion at the end of his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I think what hurt so much this time was just that I felt like the game is there and it’s possible to go and play for the trophy,” Shapovalov said. “It’s a feeling I’ve never had before, so that’s why it just hurt so much. I felt like I was outplaying Novak in parts of the match. If you’re outplaying Novak, you can beat anyone. It just hurt a lot.”
He said the intensity of his campaign had taken a toll.
“It’s been a long two weeks,” Shapovalov said. “It’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of mental fatigue. Like, it all kind of spilled out on the court before I could control myself.”
Photo: Reuters
Djokovic said he expects a “great battle” against Italian powerhouse Matteo Berrettini in today’s final.
Seventh seed Berrettini is to contest his first Grand Slam final, but Djokovic is fully aware that the 25-year-old who bangs down serves at close to 225kph is credible threat to his hopes of drawing level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles.
“Anything is possible in the finals,” Djokovic said. “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. He’s serving big, playing big.”
“So it’s going to be a very tough match I think for both of us, but I’m looking forward to a great battle,” he said.
Berrettini became the first Italian man to reach the Wimbledon final after beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 with his big serve and powerful forehand.
Berrettini won 11 straight games from 3-2 down in the first set, taking full advantage of a shaky performance from the 14th-seeded Hurkacz.
The Polish player beat Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarter-finals, but did not hit a single groundstroke winner against Berrettini until midway through the third set.
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