Watch the best bits from day 11 of Wimbledon including men’s semi-final victories for Novak Djokovic and Matteo Berrettini, plus David Beckham turning on the style.
Andy Lapthorne wins a second Wimbledon quad wheelchair doubles title as he and David Wagner beat Dylan Alcott and Sam Schroder.
Watch highlights as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic books his place in the final at Wimbledon after beating Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in straight sets.
When Matteo Berrettini held aloft the solid silver cinch Championships trophy three weeks ago, BBC television presenter Sue Barker pointed out that he was the first debutant at The Queen’s Club to lift the trophy since Boris Becker in 1985. The Italian could only smile.
“Maybe he stepped into Wimbledon and he thought about making the final,” said Berrettini on Friday. “I didn’t think like that. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t think I [was] going to do it, because that is how I am. I took every step really careful and slowly. I guess it was the right thing to do.”
Today, Berrettini is riding an 11-match winning streak on grass and is one victory away from following in the footsteps of the 17-year-old German wunderkind, who went on to lift the Wimbledon title for the first time. “Obviously the job is not done yet,” said Berrettini. “I want to get the trophy now that I’m here. But it’s just [a] really unbelievable feeling.”
On Friday, the 25-year-old became the first Italian man to reach a Grand Slam final since Adriano Panatta won the 1976 Roland Garros crown, following a 6-3, 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 over Polish 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz.
“I’m just so happy for everything,” said Berrettini, who has been in regular contact with Panatta. “My year started in a good way, [by helping Italy reach] the ATP Cup final. Then I got injured again. I kind of saw those ghosts again of my body kind of struggling. Again, I came back stronger. I think I fully deserve to be here. I want to enjoy [it] like I did today.”
Berrettini is up to third position in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin for one of eight singles spots at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour from 14-21 November. Since returning from a hernia/groin injury in mid-April, Berrettini has compiled a 24-4 match record, including the Serbia Open title in Belgrade (d. Karatsev) and a runner-up finish in his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Zverev).
The charismatic World No. 9 is now hoping that it will be a ‘Super Sunday’ for Italy when he competes in the Wimbledon final and the football team challenges England for the European Championship title.
“Hopefully, whoever’s going to win, they’re going to support me — I hope,” said Berrettini, looking ahead to playing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere. My first final in Wimbledon. It’s just crazy to think about it.
“It’s [a] great day, [a] great sports day. I’m really happy that, together with football now, we are one of the biggest sports in Italy.”
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Berrettini, who with his brother, Jacopo, always dreamed of playing in a big final, has got his wish.
“When we were kids, we were going holiday, we were always bringing our racquets,” said Berrettini. “We played so many times, even without the ball, just pretending we were playing in our living room [in] a great final. We were pretending to be players that now I’m playing against.
“I couldn’t, unfortunately, for bubble reasons, meet them. I saw them from far away. My brother, I never saw him like that. He couldn’t believe it. That’s where we’re coming from. That’s my family. That’s our passion… Tennis is in my family. My grandparents are still playing. It’s something we have in DNA, and it makes me feel so good to have them here.”
In tennis, an opponent is sometimes simply too good on the day. According to Hubert Hurkacz, who fell short at Wimbledon against Matteo Berrettini in his first Grand Slam semi-final, that was the case on Friday.
“Matteo played [an] unbelievable match today. Huge congrats to him. Every single service game, he was serving bombs. I didn’t have many chances, basically zero,” Hurkacz said. “Huge congrats for him that he kept such a high level throughout the whole four sets. He played really well.”
The 24-year-old beat second seed Daniil Medvedev and eight-time champion Roger Federer earlier in the tournament, and in the second half of the match against Berrettini he found some of his best tennis again to put pressure on the Italian. But the seventh seed had too much firepower for the Pole to deal with.
“He was putting a lot of pressure on me. My first serve really wasn’t helping me, which usually [it] does and [it] gets me out of trouble. I was struggling with that,” Hurkacz said. “Plus he was putting a lot of pressure on me and he was playing really amazing without [making] any unforced errors. I wasn’t playing great at that time, but he was putting a lot of pressure.”
Berrettini crushed 60 winners to just 18 unforced errors, an incredible ratio, especially with a spot in the Wimbledon final on the line. Hurkacz had won 81 per cent of his first-serve points en route to the semi-finals at the All England Club. But on Friday, he only managed to claim 68 per cent of points behind his first delivery.
“I was trying to stay competitive,” Hurkacz said. “And fight for every single point, especially at the beginning of the third set to try to make a comeback.”
Hurkacz did well to win the third set in a tie-break and add tension to the clash. But Berrettini raised his level again to make his first major championship match, in which he will play World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or 10th seed Denis Shapovalov.
“If he continues to play like this, he has a really big chance in the final,” Hurkacz said.
The Miami champion leaves London without a trophy, but with an important experience to look back on in the future. Entering the tournament, he was on a six-match losing streak and had never advanced to the second week at a Grand Slam. Now the three-time ATP Tour titlist knows he is capable of making a deep run at this level.
“Obviously playing in front of this amazing crowd, this was such a pleasure,” Hurkacz said. “I enjoyed to play, especially playing [in the] semi-finals, playing a super big match. So [I am] super happy to [have] experienced that.”
Novak Djokovic reached his seventh Wimbledon final on Friday and moved within one victory of claiming a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title.
The World No. 1 defeated 10th seed Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 to set a championship showdown against seventh seed Matteo Berrettini, who eliminated 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz earlier in the day. Djokovic rallied from a break down in the first set and withstood a baseline barrage from Shapovalov to triumph after two hours and 44 minutes.
“I don’t think that the scoreline says enough about the performance and about the match. He was serving for the first set and he was probably the better player for most of the second set,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “He had many chances and I would like to give him a big round of applause for everything that he has done today and these two weeks.”
The Serbian superstar has not lost a set since his first set of the tournament against home favourite Jack Draper. He joins Roger Federer as the only two men to reach 30 Grand Slam finals (Federer has made 31). A win on Sunday will give the top seed his third major trophy of the season and move him to within a US Open crown of completing the Calendar-Year Grad Slam.
Most Grand Slam Finals (all-time)
| Player | Slam Finals |
| 1. Roger Federer | 31 |
| 2. Novak Djokovic | 30 |
| 3. Rafael Nadal | 28 |
| 4. Ivan Lendl | 19 |
| 5. Pete Sampras | 18 |
For much of his clash against Shapovalov — a first-time major semi-finalist — the action was not on Djokovic’s racquet. But the 34-year-old was outstanding under pressure, saving 10 of the 11 break points he faced, and that was the difference.
“In [the] important moments, I think I probably held my nerves better than he did and just made him play an extra shot, made him [make] an unforced error,” Djokovic said. “It’s tough to play Denis, particularly on grass and quicker surfaces with the lefty serve that he’s got. He can hit any spot. I think he’s one of the best servers on the tour, without a doubt. When he’s on, when he’s feeling that serve, it’s a weapon on any surface against anyone.”
The 19-time Grand Slam champion has now won six consecutive semi-finals at the All England Club, and is now 30-11 in major semi-finals overall, including 16 of his past 17.
Break Points Saved – Djokovic vs. Shapovalov
| Player | Break Points Saved |
| Novak Djokovic | 10/11 |
| Denis Shapovalov | 7/10 |
Shapovalov did not make it easy for the five-time Wimbledon winner, though. The dynamic lefty came out firing, going after his forehand and backhand without hesitation. The 10th seed broke Djokovic in his second return game of the match behind a baseline onslaught, and he got into an impressive serving rhythm to move into closing position in the opener.
But when the Canadian served for the first set at 5-4, he began to show cracks in his game. At 30/30, Shapovalov missed an easy forehand from the service line into a wide-open court. Although that miss did not immediately allow Djokovic back on serve, he missed a backhand long three points later to relinquish his advantage.
In the ensuing tie-break, Djokovic shook his head in disappointment after a poor drop shot. But Shapovalov hit one on the next point that did not reach the net, and he was never able to fully recover. The top seed dared the lefty to beat him with aggressive play, and the 22-year-old was unable to do so, hitting a double fault to end the set.
The Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus did well to shake that off in the second set, in which he continued going after his shots to put Djokovic under pressure. But the Serbian bent and never broke, escaping a 0/40 deficit at 1-2. And in crunch time at the end of the set, Djokovic played sensational defence to force Shapovalov to go for even more, and the World No. 12 double-faulted well long to give away the break.
#Wimbledon title No.6 is in reach.
Defending champion @DjokerNole is into his seventh final at The Championships with a straight sets victory over Denis Shapovalov pic.twitter.com/QpyX7Ho0eZ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2021
After closing out the second set, Djokovic was unable to immediately storm through the final set. But at 5-5, it was once again the Canadian who slipped. The 10th seed missed a forehand long on break point, eliciting a primal roar from Djokovic, who served out the match to love in the next game with his seventh ace.
Djokovic will play another powerful foe on Sunday. He leads Berrettini 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series — the Serbian lost just three games against him at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals and needed four sets to beat the Italian in this year’s Roland Garros quarter-finals.
Berrettini, however, is playing the best tennis of his career, and is now 11-0 this season on grass. Djokovic owns a 20-match tour-level winning streak on grass.
“There is no holding back once you step out on the court, particularly in the later stages of an event that I always dreamt of winning. The dream keeps going,” Djokovic said. “I am trying to take out the maximum of my own abilities every single match and see what happens. Giving up is never an option.”
Did You Know?
This is the first time Djokovic has advanced to the Wimbledon final with the loss of just one set. The Serbian lost two sets en route to the championship match at the All England Club in 2013, 2015 and 2019.
Matteo Berrettini becomes the first Italian to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles final with a dominant victory over Hubert Hurkacz.
In a battle of first-time Wimbledon semi-finalists, it was seventh seed Matteo Berrettini who held his nerve and rose to the occasion against Hubert Hurkacz. The Italian became the first player – man or woman – from his country to reach the singles final at The Championships after an emphatic 6-3, 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 victory on Friday.
The seventh seed, who also reached the 2019 US Open semi-finals, did not lose his serve across four sets and saved both of the break points he faced on Centre Court. Berrettini blasted 60 winners, including 22 aces, as he powered his way to his first Grand Slam final.
“I have no words, really, just thanks. I need a couple of hours to understand what happened,” Berrettini said on court. “I played a great match. I enjoyed the crowd, my family and whole team are there. I think I never dreamed about this, because it was too much for a dream. I am so happy… Nothing [to say], grazie.”
He will next challenge the winner of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or 10th seeded lefty Denis Shapovalov as he seeks to keep making Italian history at Wimbledon. A victory at the end of the fortnight would make him the first Italian man to lift a Grand Slam trophy since Adriano Panatta’s 1976 triumph at Roland Garros.
Italian Men In Grand Slam Finals (all-time)
| Player | Finals Reached |
| Nicola Pietrangeli | (4) 1959-61, 1964 Roland Garros |
| Matteo Berrettini | (1) 2021 Wimbledon |
| Adriano Panatta | (1) 1976 Roland Garros |
| Giorgio de Stefani | (1) 1934 Roland Garros |
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a strong grass-court season, after claiming the Serbia Open title and reaching the Mutua Madrid Open final (l. to Zverev) on clay. The Italian didn’t miss a beat as he switched surfaces, building up an 11-match winning streak starting with his victory at the cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club, his first ATP 500 trophy.
Berrettini carried that momentum into the All England Club, where he raced into his second Grand Slam semi-final after taking down good friend and 16th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets.
Hurkacz, who had to score a career-best victory over World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and childhood idol Roger Federer, the sixth seed, en route to the last four, came out of the gate flat-footed and struggled to recover ground as Berrettini got going on Centre Court.
Anticipation level ?
Execution level ?Matteo Berrettini turned up with his very best ⭐#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/eKZAAAlgW3
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2021
The seventh seed regularly followed his booming serve with a deadly forehand, where he earned 30 of his winners. He kept the points short with his first strikes and did not allow Hurkacz to move up the court to close points at the net. Berrettini bossed the baseline exchanges, keeping the pressure on Hurkacz’s serve.
From 3-3, Berrettini reeled off four games in a row to clinch the first set, and another six went unanswered as Hurkacz quickly found himself down two sets to love after just 58 minutes. The Pole got back on the scoreboard in the third set, but struggled to find inroads into Berrettini’s service games.
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In the tie-beak, Berrettini netted a putaway volley having had the open court as Hurkacz went 4/0 ahead, opening the door for Pole’s comeback. But he didn’t let Hurkacz run away with the momentum, pouncing on second serves to start the fourth set with an early break. Berrettini kept his nose in front, and closed out the victory after two hours and 36 minutes.
“When you play at this level everything has to be… I am trying to be the best at everything, but after the third set I was feeling I deserved to win it but lost it,” Berrettini said. “I said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ I was feeling the stronger player and that’s what I said to myself, and eventually it paid off.”
Did You Know?
Berrettini is the eighth Italian player, man or woman, to reach a Grand Slam singles final – after Pietrangeli (4 appearances), Francesca Schiavone (2), and de Stefani, Sara Errani, Panatta, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci (all one).
Novak Djokovic is now just two matches away from a equalling Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s haul of twenty grand…
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