Camila Vega
As with the quarterfinals, we anticipate the men’s singles semifinals at Wimbledon 2022. Both matchups will be powerful and, we hope, long battles. Three of the four players are coming from five-set matches (Djokovic, Norrie and Nadal) and two of them are aiming for their first Grand Slam. We tell you all about it below.
Wimbledon 2022 Preview and Predictions: ATP Semifinals
Novak Djokovic vs. Cameron Norrie
The first semifinal will be played between Serbian Djokovic and British Norrie. In his home tournament, Norrie advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time and lifted a five-set match against David Goffin by winning the second, fourth and fifth sets.
He is the fourth Briton of the Open Era to reach the semifinal at Wimbledon, and the first one since 2016 (Murray). It is an understatement to say that neither of these two players has had a smooth tournament. In fact, Djokovic has had three 4-set matches and one 5-set match, while Norrie has had two 5-set matches.
Djokovic won in straight sets the only time they’ve met, in last year’s finals. However, Norrie has won two tournaments this year (Lyon and Delray Beach). Our bet is on the Serbian player, who is fast, shrewd and overly flexible. To beat him,
Norrie needs to win more than two sets, as the Serb is known to be able to lift a match two sets down with ease. The Briton must be calm, willing and focused. Additionally, he must play with many angles near and far from the net and with different speeds to hurt Djokovic.
Nick Kyrgios vs. Rafael Nadal
The second game will be lengthy, so make sure you bring something to eat. Nadal leads the series between these two players 6-3. He also has a goal: to win his 23rd Grand Slam. Kyrgios and Nadal have met only once this year: in the Indian Wells quarterfinals. In this match they went to a deciding set and Nadal prevailed after two hours and 46 minutes.
They are known to be players with very different personalities. Kyrgios is a bit of a clown, while Nadal is very focused and serious. In our predictions are the Australian’s volley serves, jumps, drop shots and smashes.
Our bet, in this case, will be on the Australian, as Nadal comes from a very strenuous match and has discomfort due to a broken foot, while Kyrgios played a three-set match and is nine years younger.
However, we know that this match is not easy and that to beat Nadal you need to be focused and consistent, two qualities that the Australian lacks.
