LONDON: Novak Djokovic recovered from a shaky start to beat Cameron Norrie in four sets at Wimbledon on Friday and reach a record 32nd Grand Slam final, where he will play Nick Kyrgios.
The Serbian top seed was broken three times in the first set but turned the tables dramatically on his British opponent to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the Center Court sunshine to reach his eighth final at the All England Club.
The six-time Wimbledon champion’s new mark of 32 finals at the majors is a record for men’s tennis.
It puts him one ahead of Roger Federer and two clear of Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the tournament injured on Thursday.
“He was the better player in the first set,” said Djokovic.
“Semis of a Slam, I played them a lot, but there is always pressure, from yourself and from the outside.”
Djokovic and Norrie both dropped serve at the first time of asking, with the crowd offering vocal backing to the ninth seed.
But while Norrie quickly found his rhythm, Djokovic — apart from a stunning “tweener” lob — was strangely off-key, losing his serve twice more in the set, which Norrie sealed with an ace.
The Serb landed just 55 percent of his first serves and made 12 unforced errors against his left-handed opponent in the opening set.
Djokovic looked more composed at the start of the second set, finding more rhythm on his serve and cutting out the errors.
A single break for the 35-year-old in the eighth game changed the complexion of the match, putting him 5-3 up.
That was part of a run of eight games out of nine for the 35-year-old, who took the second set and then rocketed into a 5-1 lead in the third, giving Norrie a mountain to climb.
Djokovic again broke early in the fourth set and did not concede a single break point as he cantered to victory.
Djokovic is now on a 27-match winning streak at Wimbledon as he seeks to draw level with Pete Sampras on seven titles at the All England Club — just one behind Federer’s men’s record.
If he wins the title he would reach 21 Grand Slam titles, moving past Federer and just one behind Nadal in the race to be crowned the greatest of all time.
Djokovic already knows he will be playing 40th-ranked Kyrgios after Nadal quit the tournament ahead of his semifinal against the Australian because of an abdominal injury.
Kyrgios, 27, will be playing in his first Grand Slam final but has a 2-0 winning record against Djokovic.
“The job is not finished,” said Djokovic, chasing his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.
“One thing is for sure, there will be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both sides.
“He is playing freely, has a big game and a lot of power in his shots. I’ve never won a set off him — hopefully it can be different this time. He doesn’t have much to lose.”
Djokovic into eighth Wimbledon final and clash with Kyrgios
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Djokovic into eighth Wimbledon final and clash with Kyrgios
- The Serbian top seed was broken three times in the first set but turned the tables dramatically on his British opponent
- "Semis of a Slam, I played them a lot, but there is always pressure, from yourself and from the outside," said Djokovic
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
