VIDEO. Djokovic, qualified for the final: “I dreamed of playing Wimbledon when I was 7 years old while the bombs were flying over my head”

Le genou du Serbe semble aller à merveille. MAXPPP - John Walton

Novak Djokovic, second in the world, beat the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (25th) on Friday July 12 6-4, 7-6 [2], 6-4 and thus qualified for the final of Wimbledon where he will meet the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz for a revenge of last year.

"I'm very happy to be in the final, but I don't want to stop there, I now want to lift the trophy& ;quot;, Djokovic said before even leaving Center Court. "I say it very often, but this story bears repeating: I dreamed of playing Wimbledon when I was 7 years while bombs passed over my head. I looked in the mirror and imagined myself on this court…", he recalled.

At 37, the Serbian is seeking an eighth Wimbledon title to match Roger Federer's record and a 25th Grand Slam title to improve his own record . Already, he will play his tenth final at Wimbledon (only Federer has done better with 12) and the 37th in a Grand Slam, improving his own record (the second, Federer, has played 31).

🙏🥹 Les mots forts de Novak Djokovic après sa qualification en Finale :
💭 "J'étais un petit garçon de 7 ans en Serbie, je voyais les bombes au dessus de ma tête et je rêvais de jouer sur ce court" #interview #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/lG8bx8Mi3k

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) July 12, 2024

Friday in the first set, Djokovic broke the break in the sixth game by leaving no points to Musetti on his own serve and finishing with a spectacular point. The Serb quietly dominated the proceedings when he obtained two set points on his serve at 5-3. But the Italian scored four points in a row and, to the delight of the public who loudly made him understand, he broke.

Musetti started the second set well

In the process, Djokovic, however, regained control of the match by granting himself three set points and pocketing the first set on a missed drop shot from his opponent. At the start of the second set, Djokovic was trailing 15-40 and on the second break point, Musetti managed two phenomenal long-line backhands: the first destabilized Djokovic, the second put the Serb several meters away .

Still using his magical backhand, Musetti won his serve to lead 3-1 with a cross passing at the end of the race and the court. Djokovic recovered to 3-3 but found himself trailing 0-30 at 5-5. He then chained a winning serve and three aces to lead 6-5. Then Musetti saved a set point before taking the set to a tie break.

Match points saved by Musetti

In this exercise, Djokovic has been a master for a long time and he confirmed it once again, even if Musetti scored a magnificent point on a winning forehand which passed between the chair of ;#39;referee and the net post.

Djokovic then managed the break at the start of the third set and maintained the advantage until the end. He even had three first match points at 5-3 on Musetti's serve, but the latter managed to keep his put in play and force Djokovic to serve for the match. And it was on a final backhand, this time too long, that Musetti lost the match

🇷🇸💪 NOVAK DJOKOVIC REJOINT CARLOS ALCARAZ EN FINALE DE #WIMBLEDON !
😍🎻 Il ne fallait pas oublier la célébration !#Action pic.twitter.com/X9REBhtWTF

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) July 12, 2024