One upset and one favourite earned their path into the Ladies Singles Final at Wimbledon to be played on Saturday and now the Men get to work out who will be rounding out the tournament for another year on Sunday.
Another solid day for the Tennis Picks has seen a big bounce back from the poor Day 9 showing, and hopefully I have at least three more winners to come.
At the time of writing the news about Rafael Nadal's withdrawal had not been confirmed so you can ignore the second selection.
Novak Djokovic - 7.5 games v Cameron Norrie: There were a couple of moments in the Quarter Final when it felt like Novak Djokovic was not going to find the intensity he needed to avoid losing his first match at Wimbledon since 2018. Dropping the first two sets is never an ideal position to be in, but Novak Djokovic largely dominated Jannik Sinner from that stage and he was never in a position where he was behind by a break on the scoreboard in the final three sets.
Some potential fatigue could have been a factor in this Semi Final if his opponent had eased through the last Round, but Cameron Norrie had a much more arduous and stressful passage into the last four. The British Number 1 has become one of a handful of male players to reach the last four at Wimbledon and Cameron Norrie has to pick himself up from a rollercoaster back and forth Quarter Final win of his own.
While Novak Djokovic's situation was clear after falling into a 0-2 hole, Cameron Norrie had rallied to win the second set before finding himself 2-1 behind against David Goffin. And unlike the top Seed in the draw, Cameron Norrie had to battle very hard to win the final set which needed almost the full thirteen games and a Super Tie-Breaker to decide the winner.
Cameron Norrie has played some solid tennis in the tournament, but there have been too many tight matches against players that are significantly below the level that Novak Djokovic can bring to the court. The lefty serve should give him an advantage, but Norrie has not been completely convincing behind serve with both Jaume Munar and David Goffin breaking the serve five times.
The return numbers have also declined in each of the last three Rounds and that could be an issue against Novak Djokovic who is likely going to exert plenty of pressure with his own return.
Their sole previous match at the ATP Finals will be a reminder for Cameron Norrie as to how important it is for him to serve well- he was blitzed by Novak Djokovic that day and managed to win just three games.
I am not expecting a complete blow out in this one with the Centre Court crowd firmly behind the home player, but I do think Novak Djokovic is the far superior player on grass at this stage of their careers. Both are coming in off tough Quarter Final wins, but Novak Djokovic has been much more deadly on the return of serve and I do think that will make the difference in this match as he slowly quietens the crowd and moves clear of Cameron Norrie in what I am expecting to be a straight sets win.
Nick Kyrgios - 1.5 sets v Rafael Nadal: One of the most remarkable moments of the tennis season was seen on Wednesday as Rafael Nadal overcame an early injury, had to change up his service action to avoid being in pain and then recovered from 2-1 down against Taylor Fritz to win the match in five sets.
There was no doubt that this family, namely father and sister, were making gestures as early as the second set for Rafael Nadal to withdraw from his Quarter Final, but this is a 22 time Grand Slam Champion and he showed all of that to somehow win that match. Taylor Fritz will have regrets, while Rafael Nadal is reported to have a tear in the abdomen region, although feels he can play through the pain and take part in the Semi Final.
It would have been a tough match up for Rafael Nadal even at full health against the enigmatic Australian Nick Kyrgios who has put together some very strong tennis to reach his first ever Grand Slam Semi Final.
For many, the biggest obstacle in front of Nick Kyrgios is Nick Kyrgios- there is no doubt that some of his on court antics wind up the opponent, but he is just as likely to wind himself up and make some poor decisions which prove to be costly.
However, with a serve like he has, Nick Kyrgios has to feel he can get on the front foot and really test Rafael Nadal's movement on this surface. He also has previous of beating Nadal at Wimbledon with the two sharing a win apiece in SW19 and Nick Kyrgios does tend to raise his game when going up against some of the stronger players on the Tour.
Nick Kyrgios has three wins over Rafael Nadal and matches between these two have tended to be close and competitive thanks to the huge serve possessed by the former. With Rafael Nadal perhaps struggling with injury, Nick Kyrgios may feel he has more scope to put together some strong returns and I do think he is going to make his maiden Grand Slam Semi Final.
I do have to say that Nick Kyrgios has felt like he has been winning matches on the tight margins because he does have a weaker than average return game, while he did not serve as well as he would have liked in the last Round. However, I do think he will be extra motivated in facing a player he has had issues with in the past and Nick Kyrgios has held 93% of his service games against Rafael Nadal in the two grass court matches between them.
With an injury weakening the defending Australian and French Open Champion, Nick Kyrgios can take advantage and win this one in three or four sets.
MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 7.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Wimbledon 2022: 53-45, + 8.12 Units (196 Units Staked, + 4.14% Yield)
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