South African-born Cameron Norrie to face Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon 2022 semi-finals. Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon with injury, granting Nick Kyrgios a free path into his first grand slam final.
Novak Djokovic (1) (1/20) vs Cameron Norrie (9) (17/2) – Wimbledon 2022 semi-finals
Serbian legend Novak Djokovic will be up against a nation on Friday. It has been quite a surreal year for 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. 2021 was arguably one of the biggest years of his career. He won five titles (three of which were slams).
He actually fell one match short of winning that coveted calendar slam. But this year obviously started with the ignominy of the Aussie Open vaccine saga. He only started the tour proper in Dubai and he has only won one title this year.
But he still looks to be the man to beat on grass. His marvellous come-from-behind victory against Jannik Sinner extended his grass-court winning streak to 26 matches.
This will actually be the 11th Aussie Open semi-final of the Serb’s illustrious career. Djokovic is used to playing the spoiler role and won’t give a fig that the partisan crowd will be rooting for Cameron Norrie.
SA-born Brit Cameron Norrie has become the first British man since Andy Murray in 2016 to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
The lefty had to show his renowned grit to overcome David Goffin in a five-set epic duel. That was the 2nd time in this tournament that the baseliner had to claw his way back from two sets to one down. Norrie betters Djokovic in the title stakes this year (he won titles in Delray Beach and Lyon).
But to be fair to Djokovic, Norrie was seeded first for both of those lesser-grade events. Norrie did win in Indian Wells last year (highlighting his ability to win in glorified company). But this is completely new Grand Slam territory for the pugnacious Norrie.
Prior to his exploits this year, Norrie had never progressed past the 3rd round of a Slam. Norrie is going to need all of that home-crowd fanaticism to overcome the Grand Slam intelligence of Djokovic.
The Verdict Wimbledon 2022 semi-finals:
Djokovic to win in straight sets at 46/100- Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Norrie 1-0, beating the Brit in straight sets at last year’s ATP Nitto Finals. Take a look at Norrie’s path to the semi-finals. He is yet to play a true top-class contender for this year’s title. The highest seeded player he has faced is 30th seed Tommy Paul.
Norrie will obviously enjoy fanatical home support and his groundstrokes have looked powerful all fortnight. But his serve is probably the weakest aspect of his game. And Djokovic is probably the greatest ever returner in the history of tennis. I expect virtually every Norrie service game to be a struggle.
Bet on Wimbledon 2022 semi-finals at www.hollywoodbets.co.uk or www.hollywoodbets.ie
