Norrie to face Djokovic in Wimbledon semi-finals

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates defeating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in their Wimbledon quarter-final in London yesterday. (AFP)

• Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to meet Germany’s Tatjana Maria in semi-finals

Britain’s Cameron Norrie will take on six-time champion Novak Djokovic for a place in the Wimbledon final after seeing off David Goffin in a five-set quarter-final yesterday. Ninth seed Norrie came back to defeat the 58th-ranked Belgian, 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to make the last four of a Slam for the first time. Djokovic reached the semi-finals for the 11th time with a 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner. Norrie said he was struggling at the start of the match, admitting he was forced to dig deep. “It was all just adrenaline, using my legs and trying to put the ball in the court, and it’s great to get over the line,” said the left-hander. Norrie, who is the first British man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since Andy Murray in 2016, said he was going to “take it” to top seed Djokovic. “I think just winning a match like this, I’m in shock. I have flashbacks of all the hard work and all the sacrifices I have had to make and it’s definitely paid off - and it feels pretty good.” The result was tough on Goffin, who made the quarter-finals on his last appearance at Wimbledon in 2019. It was the seventh time in Djokovic career that he had battled from two sets to love down at the Slams.  “I always believed that I could come back. I know the experience I have could eventually prevail in these kind of situations,” said six-time champion Djokovic. “It was just a matter of momentum shift. I felt that the beginning of the third set is crucial to start well, try to break his serve early. That’s what happened.” Djokovic had also come back from two sets down as recently as the 2021 French Open against Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round and then Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. Crucially, yesterday’s affair was his 47th five-set match. For Sinner, it was just his fifth. “I feel like Sinner, coming into the match didn’t have much to lose, but he had a lot to lose when he was two sets to love up,” said 20-time major winner Djokovic. “I could feel that mentally with him. He didn’t have too many five-set matches in his life and this was his first quarter-final in a Slam, not too many matches on the Centre Court. “So all these things play a role. It does definitely help knowing that you have been in these particular situations and you had success in the past.” Tunisian third seed Ons Jabeur, the highest surviving seed in the women’s draw, recovered from losing her first set at this year’s Wimbledon to beat Czech Marie Bouzkova 3-6 6-1 6-1 yesterday and reach her maiden Grand Slam semi-final. Since going down in the opening round at this year’s Roland Garros in a shock defeat, Jabeur has won 10 straight matches on grass, having arrived at the All England Club with a title in Berlin in the lead-up. Currently playing at her highest career ranking of second, Jabeur will meet the 103rd-ranked Tatjana Maria, who earlier beat fellow German Jule Niemeier, for a place in final. Playing in her second straight Wimbledon quarter-final, Jabeur in the first set failed to find a way past the stoic defence of the 66th-ranked Bouzkova, who never made it past the second round of a Grand Slam before this year’s championships. The 23-year-old Bouzkova broke twice to take the opening set but Jabeur, bidding to become the first African woman to win a major, came roaring back to level the match with three breaks in the second. Riding on the momentum, Jabeur again broke twice to rack up a 4-0 lead and win eight straight games before the Czech halted the juggernaut by getting a break back. It proved to be only a minor hiccup for Jabeur who picked up another break in the next game and then held serve to love to seal the contest on her first match point. Earlier, mother-of-two Maria also dug deep to beat German compatriot Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 despite losing the first set and trailing by a break in the second and third sets.