Wimbledon (United Kingdom) (AFP)

Faithful to the appointment of the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the 10th time, Novak Djokovic finds himself on Friday in the company of three novices at this stage determined to prevent him from winning his 20th Grand Slam title.

The 34-year-old Serb will first have to dismiss Canadian Denis Shapovalov (12th in the world) who, at 22, had never passed the second round (2018) on London turf.

Then, if he passes, he will have to face the ardor and the power of the Italian Matteo Berrettini (9th to 25 years old) or the discreet Pole Hubert Hurkacz (18th to 24 years old) who put an end to the career of Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. .

With Shapovalov, the world No. 1 expects to pass his "first real test" of the tournament, he who lost only one set to reach the last four, in the first round against the Briton Jack Draper (253rd ).

The Canadian "has performed consistently well on the circuit for the past two years, he is in the Top 20-15, although we expected him to enter the top 10 or even the top 5. But he doesn "did not win the big games needed. Today, he seems to have matured," said Djokovic.

- "Always beaten" -

According to him, Shapovalov is very difficult to play on fast surfaces especially because of his big serve.

That's good, Djokovic is certainly the best returner on the circuit.

Moreover, he has never lost against Shapovalov in six games, the last in the ATP Cup at the start of the season in Australia, on a hard and fast surface.

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"It's true that he has always beaten me, but the last two times it's been really, really tight," said the Canadian, ensuring he felt "very good, physically and tennis".

"Obviously, he's playing very well and it's going to be very difficult. I'm going to fight on every point. I really think I have the game to win this game," he said.

In terms of statistics, Nole is not quite on the same planet as the other three contenders.

He would even have something frankly extraterrestrial.

With 19 consecutive Grand Slam victories, a series in progress after his titles in Australia and Roland Garros, Djokovic is only preceded in the Open era (since 1968) by Björn Borg who had aligned 20 in 1978 and 1980 by chaining each time the titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon then by rallying the final of the US Open.

- "Write history" -

He plays his 10th semifinal at Wimbledon, his 41st in Major, when Shapovalov, Berrettini and Hurkacz only count one to four (Berrettini at the US Open 2019).

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And above all, he is aiming for a 6th coronation at the All England Lawn Tennis Court, a 20th major title that would allow him to equal the record held by Federer and Rafael Nadal and continue to aim for the Grand Slam by approaching the US Open.

Even the Golden Slam never succeeded in men's tennis (Steffi Graf achieved it in 1988) and which consists of winning the four major tournaments and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.

“It's good to write history. Let's continue!” He said on Wednesday.

If he passes the obstacle Shapovalov, Djokovic will still have to beat Berrettini or Hurkacz to put an end to a new chapter in the history of his sport.

A priori favorite of the second half, the colossus of Rome (1.96 m for 95 kg), winner of the Queen's just before Wimbledon, is wary of the Pole: "he subsequently beat Daniil (Medvedev, the world No. 2 ) and Roger (Federer), so he's in good shape. "

Hurkacz's career is all the more surprising given that since his title at the Masters 1000 in Miami in March, he had won only one match, in April at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo on clay, followed by a series of defeats. entry to Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros on clay, then Stuttgart and Halle on grass.

But on Friday, he will have a little extra soul: after having bowed, Master Federer "wished him good luck for the future".

© 2021 AFP