With the unfortunate withdrawal of Rafael Nadal due to an abdominal injury, Nick Kyrgios has received a walkover into his first Major final. That leaves only one gentlemen’s semifinal to played on Friday, with three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic facing Britain’s Cam Norrie, who is making his debut at this stage of a Slam.
Also on Friday, the ladies’ doubles semifinals will be played on Centre Court.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Cameron Norrie (9) – Not Before 2:30pm on Centre Court
It has not been the easiest of roads for Djokovic to his 10th semifinal at The Championships, and his 43rd at a Major. After dropping sets to both Soon-woo Kwon and Tim van Rijthoven in previous rounds, Novak was forced to come back from two-sets-down against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. And yet, Djokovic made that comeback look quite comfortable, losing only seven games across the last three sets.
Norrie overcame two five-setters of his own to reach this stage: one against Jaume Munar, and another in the quarterfinals against David Goffin. Norrie has made a huge surge in the rankings since the start of last year, when he was No.74 in the world. He’s won 86 matches across the past 18 months, and recently debuted inside the top 10. Cam has reached seven finals and claimed four titles during that time, including last October’s edition of Indian Wells. Yet prior to this fortnight, Norrie had never advanced beyond the third round of a Major.
Their only previous meeting was rather lopsided. At last November’s ATP Finals, Djokovic prevailed 6-2, 6-1. Considering his huge advantage in experience, and the fact that Novak hasn’t lost a match on grass in over four years, another comfortable victory over Norrie on Friday feels likely. And facing the new pressure of being a British man in the semifinals of Wimbledon will surely weigh on Cam, with a nervy performance understandable given the circumstances.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (2) vs. Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko (4) – Krejcikova and Siniakova are four-time Major champions as a team, which includes winning this event in 2019. Ostapenko and Kichenok are vying for a third consecutive grass court final, with their last two finals being walkovers: one they received and one they gave.
Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang (1) vs. Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk – Mertens won the ladies’ doubles event a year ago alongside Su-wei Hsieh. Her and Shuai are 8-0 on grass this season, and have not dropped a set. This is only Collins and Krawczyk’s second event as a team, and they’ve already defeated three seeded teams in this tournament.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
