Djokovic can tie mark vs. Berrettini in Wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic practices at Indian Wells in 2019.
Photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Novak Djokovic is one victory from tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with a record 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles.

   Standing in Djokovic's way is hard-serving Matteo Berrettini.

   The top-ranked Djokovic dismantled No. 10 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5 today in the Wimbledon semifinals for his 17th consecutive victory, including the French Open title.

   Djokovic remains on track for the first men's calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 and the fourth ever. He also can join Steffi Graf (1988) as the only players to achieve a Golden Slam, which includes an Olympic singles gold medal. The Olympics dropped tennis between 1924 and 1988. 

   The seventh-seeded Berrettini defeated 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam final and become the first Italian to advance that far at Wimbledon. 

   Djokovic improved to 7-0 against Shapovalov, a 22-year-old left-hander with a spectacular one-handed backhand.

   Shapovalov, who lost in the first round of the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger at 17, converted only one of 11 break-point opportunities. He served for the first set at 5-4, double-faulted to drop the set and double-faulted on break point at 5-5 in the second set.

  The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Berrettini, 25, pounded 22 aces en route to his 11th straight victory. He won Queen's Club on grass in London two weeks before Wimbledon. 

   Djokovic is 2-0 against Berrettini, including a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 decision in the French Open quarterfinals last month. They will meet on grass for the first time. 

   Meanwhile, No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated No. 5 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the women's doubles semifinals.

   Mertens reached the singles semifinals of the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. Shibahara, a 23-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, played at Wimbledon for the first time this year.

   In the second round of girls doubles, No. 1 seeds Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus and Diana Shnaider of Russia dismissed Clervie Ngounoue, 14, of Washington, D.C., and Alexandra Yepifanova, an incoming Stanford freshman from Lake Worth, Fla., 6-2, 6-2. 

Federer falls to Poland's Hurkacz in Wimbledon quarters

Roger Federer, who will turn 40 on Aug. 8, said he doesn't know if he'll return
to Wimbledon next year. 2017 photo by Mal Taam 

   Roger Federer might have played his last match at Wimbledon.

   The No. 6 seed and eight-time champion lost to No. 14 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 today in the quarterfinals. 

   Federer made his only Northern California appearance in a 2018 exhibition in San Jose. He underwent two operations on his right knee last year and had played only eight matches this season before Wimbledon. He said he doesn't know if he'll return to Wimbledon next year. 

   "I need to take a few days," Federer, who will turn 40 on Aug. 8, told reporters. "We'll take some time tonight, see how I feel, and then we'll see what I can do to get in better shape and be more competitive.

   "I'm happy I made it as far as I did here. Of course I'd like to play again, but at my age, you're never sure what's around the corner."

   Hurkacz, 24, had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament before this fortnight. He is scheduled to face No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy on Friday in a matchup of 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) players, ensuring a first-time major finalist. 

   Berrettini, 25, eliminated No. 16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 20-year-old Canadian, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to reach his second major semifinal. Berrettini lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the last four of the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Hurkacz and Berrettini have split two career matches, both on hardcourts.

   Nadal, 35, chose not to play at Wimbledon or in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, citing the need to recover after a demanding clay-court season.

   In Friday's other semifinal, top-ranked Novak Djokovic is set to play No. 10 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada. 

   Djokovic dismantled unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Shapovalov, a 22-year-old left-hander, topped No. 25 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to reach his first major semifinal.

   Djokovic is 6-0 against Shapovalov. They will meet on grass for the first time.

   Shapovalov lost in the first round of the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger at 17 years old.

   In the men's doubles quarterfinals, No. 6 seeds Rajeev Ram, a 37-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain defeated No. 3 seeds and defending champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

   Simone Bolelli of Italy and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina beat No. 14 seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan 7-6 (0), 6-4, 6-3.

   No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina dispatched unseeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2014-17) of Sweden and Casper Ruud of Norway 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Granollers reached the singles final of the 2018 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger. Goransson, 27, played in his first Grand Slam tournament. 

   Meanwhile, No. 5 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan advanced to the women's doubles semifinals with a 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory over No. 16 seeds Marie Bouzkova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic. Shibahara, a 23-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, is making her Wimbledon debut this year.

   In the third round of mixed doubles, No. 7 seeds Neal Skupski of Great Britain and Desirae Krawczyk, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., eliminated alternates Arthur Fery, who recently completed his freshman year at Stanford, and Tara Moore of Great Britain 7-6 (5), 6-3. 

   No. 9 seeds Kevin Krawietz of Germany and Kveta Peschke, a Czech who will turn 46 on Friday, defeated No. 5 seeds Ram and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix by walkover. Peschke has won both women's doubles titles in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. — with Latisha Chan of Chinese Taipei in 2018 and Nicole Melichar, a Czech-born American, in 2019. 

   In junior matches:

   —Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay outlasted Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round.

   —No. 6 seeds Bruno Kuzuhara of Coconut Creek, Fla., and Quinn beat wild cards Billy Blaydes and William Jansen of Great Britain 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round.

   —Clervie Ngounoue, 14, of Washington, D.C., and Alexandra Yepifanova, an incoming Stanford freshman from Lake Worth, Fla., edged Nikola Bartunkova, 15, and Barbora Palicova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6 [15-13] in a clash of unseeded teams.

Ex-Stanford finalists advance to Wimbledon semis

Former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber extended her win-
ning streak to 10 matches today. 2015 photo by Mal Taam

   Six years ago, Angelique Kerber edged Karolina Pliskova to win the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

   Both former world No. 1s reached the Wimbledon semifinals today. So did Aryna Sabalenka, the runner-up in the 2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State University, a half-hour drive from  Stanford.

   Kerber, the No. 25 seed and 2018 Wimbledon champion, dismissed No. 19 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 to extend her winning streak to 10 matches. Kerber, a 33-year-old left-hander, won the Bad Homburg Open on home soil in Germany the week before Wimbledon.

   Pliskova, seeded No. 8, beat unseeded Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-2. Pliskova, 29, now has reached the semis or better in every Grand Slam tournament. She advanced to the final of the 2016 U.S. Open, losing to Kerber 6-4 in the third set.

   Sabalenka, seeded No. 2, overpowered Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, seeded No. 21, 6-4, 6-3. The 23-year-old Sabalenka, formerly coached by Dmitry Tursunov, had never reached a major quarterfinal until this week.

Karolina Pliskova, also a former world No. 1, now has
reached the semifinals or better in every Grand Slam
tournament. 2015 photo by Mal Taam

   In Saturday's semifinals, Sabalenka will face Pliskova, and Kerber will take on top-ranked Ashleigh Barty of Australia. Barty, 25, dispatched unseeded compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic, a finalist in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger, 6-1, 6-3.

   Kerber, who seeks her fourth Grand Slam singles title, is 2-2 against Barty, the 2019 French Open champion. This will be their first meeting on grass and in a major. 

   Sabalenka leads Pliskova 2-0 in their head-to-head series. Both matches occurred in 2018, and both were close. Sabalenka prevailed 7-6 in the third set on grass in the Eastbourne quarterfinals and 7-5 in the third set in the second round on hardcourts in Cincinnati.

   Also today, No. 14 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland defeated No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia 2-6, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the completion of a fourth-round match. Entering Wimbledon, the 24-year-old Hurkacz had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.

   Most other matches were postponed by rain.