In the Wimbledon quarterfinals, Karen Khachanov turned out to be the only Russian tennis player, although recently there were two more compatriots with him in the net.

However, neither Andrei Rublev nor Daniil Medvedev were able to win their five-set fights of the fourth round, in which they even managed to lead with a score of 2: 1.

According to exactly the same scenario, Khachanov's match against 22-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov took place.

Previously, the two athletes met only once in the Davis Cup.

But that match, which ended in a three-set victory for the Tel Aviv native, took place back in 2019.

Since then, the rivals have changed a lot.

Khachanov dropped out of the top ten of the world rankings in two years and did not achieve high-profile success until he arrived at Wimbledon this season.

Shapovalov, on the other hand, turned from the leader of the younger generation of tennis players into a player who is already ready for great achievements.

At the beginning of the match, both tennis players experienced great difficulties in receiving the ball.

Each time they managed, at best, to hook only one point on someone else's serve.

This trend was interrupted in the sixth game, which Shapovalov started with three mistakes in a row.

But Khachanov did not realize any of his chances to come out ahead, and even when the Canadian made a double mistake again, he managed to recoup.

After the seventh game, a curious episode took place with Khachanov.

At the change of sides, the umpire Richard Haye asked him to show the cap.

He noticed that the seamy tape was black, which is a violation of the Wimbledon dress code - tennis players are required to play only in white clothes.

The Russian asked not to change the wardrobe until the end of the set, and still played it out in this cap.

Khachanov had to get a new headdress pretty soon. The exchange of serves ended with the score 4: 4. The Russian tennis player was leading with a score of 40:15, when he suddenly began to make mistakes on the forehand. He lost four points in a row, and Shapovalov made the first break of the match. The Canadian confidently took his serve under zero, having already made the sixth ace. Khachanov lost the first set, in which he shot right through only three times, while his opponent got half of his 32 points with his active play.

Khachanov managed to tune in to the next set and realize the opportunities that he missed earlier. He immediately won four games in a row, both times earning break points after Shapovalov's unsuccessful exits to the net. Khachanov played especially well at the reception for the second time, when he bounced back from the score 0:40. The Canadian athlete immediately made one reverse break, but could not turn the tide of the whole game. To play as aggressively as before, he could no longer succeed, and the score in the parties became equal.

In the third set, for a long time, no one managed to win more than two points at the reception. The fight began only in the eighth game, in which Khachanov's forehand, which seemed to be his weak side, unexpectedly turned out to be his trump card. He played a double break point, and when the score was 5: 5, he waited for mistakes from Shapovalov, which were enough to then be able to successfully apply for the set. Khachanov won the game with a score of 7: 5, although according to many important statistical indicators - the percentage of points won in serving and receiving, actively won rallies, unforced errors, points at the net - the Russian lost, and in terms of the total number of points he was on an equal footing with his opponent.

Before reaching the first ever semi-final of the Grand Slam tournament, Khachanov had one set to win. The beginning of the next game did not bode well that big problems could arise with this. But in the fourth game, he again missed the thread of the game and, with his mistakes, presented Shapovalov with a triple break point. The Canadian immediately realized his chance, and after a game under zero on his serve, he again waited for a portion of misfires from his opponent. Shapovalov only had to serve successfully, and with his 17th ace in a game, he evened the score in the games.

In the decisive set, it immediately became obvious that it would be extremely difficult for Khachanov to regain the initiative again.

In the first four games at the reception, he won only three points, while Shapovalov each time tried to squeeze the maximum out of someone else's serve.

In the ninth game, the Canadian achieved his goal - he still realized his seventh break point for the set.

And he won the last game on his serve as confidently as all the previous ones, giving Khachanov only one point.

Five years after the victory at the junior Wimbledon, Shapovalov reached the semifinals of the adult tournament, although he had never gone beyond the second round in the grass major before.

His next opponent will be the first racket of the world, Novak Djokovic.

The Serb, in turn, confidently beat the Hungarian Marton Fuchovic in three sets and made his way to the semifinals of the Grand Slam tournament for the 41st time in his career.