Novak Djokovic beats Cameron Norrie to reach Wimbledon final

LONDON — This deficit was less intimidating for Novak Djokovic. The tension is less evident. It's not that he likes to fall behind in matches, of course. It's that when he does, he understands how to deal with it.

"It's amazing how the entire game can come apart, honestly, simply because you feel you're stressed. Then no shots are truly operating correctly. Your feet are stagnant and sluggish," Djokovic remarked. "Something occurs in a match, then all of a sudden it's entirely different and you're soaring. Everything flows."

The top-seeded Djokovic fashioned a second consecutive comeback victory at Wimbledon on Friday, beating No. 9 seed Cameron Norrie of Britain 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals to run his winning streak at the All England Club to 27 matches as he pursues a fourth straight championship on its grass courts.

"The more you encounter these sort of events, not the better you feel, but merely more prepared you feel. You know what to anticipate," Djokovic remarked. "It's always truly about controlling your own anxieties better than maybe your opponent is his own. This internal conflict is usually the biggest."

He will meet first-time major finalist Nick Kyrgios for the championship Sunday.

"The task," Djokovic added, "is not over."

The unseeded Kyrgios, a volatile 27-year-old from Australia who garnered jeers for the mere mention of his name during Djokovic's on-court interview, did not need to play Friday since 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal withdrew with a torn abdominal muscle.

"Mouth-watering" is how Kyrgios characterized the impending encounter.

He had won both prior encounters against Djokovic, but they were on hard courts five years ago.

"One thing is absolutely sure," Djokovic stated. "There's going to be a lot of pyrotechnics, emotionally, from both."

Djokovic's appearance to yet another Wimbledon final is considerably more anticipated than the presence of Kyrgios. But as the top-seeded Djokovic remarked, his opponent Sunday has the skill to be in the limelight.

"These are the circumstances where he likes, where he flourishes, in a large platform," Djokovic said. "So in a sense it's also not surprising for me that he's there. Honestly, as a tennis fan, I'm pleased that he's in the finals because he's got so much potential. Everyone was applauding him when he arrived on the tour, anticipating big things from him.

"Of course, then we know what was going during many years with him psychologically, emotionally. On and off the court, a lot of various things that were distracting him and he was not being able to acquire this consistency. For the calibre player that he is, here is where he needs to be, and he deserves to be."

It will be the 32nd Grand Slam championship match for Djokovic, breaking a tie for the men's record he holds with Roger Federer, and provides the 35-year-old from Serbia an opportunity for a 21st major title and eighth at Wimbledon. Only Federer, with eight, owns more at the grass-court championship among men.

On the steamiest day of the fortnight, with the temperature at 85 degrees and the air motionless, Djokovic frequently seemed irritated early, gesticulating toward his guest box. But unlike in the quarterfinals, when he lost the first two sets against Jannik Sinner before prevailing in five, it took little time for Djokovic to demonstrate his supremacy.

Exactly what enables Djokovic to trail, then win — he has seven career comebacks from a two-set deficit, including in the 2021 French Open final — is impossible to tell. He stated a talking-to in the restroom helped against Sinner. He quipped that sporting a white hat after the opening set made a difference versus Norrie.

Asked at the Friday press conference to explain the white bottle he seemed to inhale from during another match, Djokovic provided this tongue-in-cheek reply: "Magic potion."

"You'll find out shortly," he said, "but I can't talk about it now."

Djokovic vs. Norrie started auspiciously enough for Londoners wanting to see one of their own advances to a men's final, something only two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray has achieved for Britain since the professional era began in 1968.

Roars sounded as the left-handed Norrie emerged first from his seat; Djokovic was putting some water on his hand and rubbing it in his hair. When Norrie's volley winner completed a break in the opening game, he leapt and fired an uppercut. Union Jack flags floated throughout the stands.

Was the title won? No. A spot in the final earned? Not that, either. All in all, it was quite a celebration after one of what would become 35 games, five of 202 points, four of 154 minutes.

When Djokovic broke right back, he went to fetch his white towel and wiped at his sweat. To him, this was hardly a huge feat.

Just a little indication of how varied and great Djokovic occurs on one really fantastic point. He fired a spinning half-volley on the move, but Norrie answered with a lob. So Djokovic sprinted back toward the baseline, the net behind him, and conjured up a between-the-legs, facing-the-wrong-way, high-arching lob of his own that somehow fell in. Norrie sprinted to that, twisted his body to react with a forehand and Djokovic concluded the 14-stroke exchange with a drop volley winner.

Even the partisans on present shouted with pleasure. Djokovic lifted his right index finger to the heavens.

Still, just two of Norrie's first 20 points came through victories he created. Djokovic made 12 unforced mistakes in the opening set alone. One measure of how he restored order: Djokovic had 16 unforced mistakes over the final three sets combined.

Norrie, never previously reached the third round at a major, became less sharp as Djokovic intensified the pressure — within points and on the scoreboard. A particularly bad service game by Norrie, with a trio of unforced mistakes, enabled Djokovic break to lead 5-3 in the second set.

"He sort of handed me that," said Djokovic, who would capture 11 of 13 games in a match-shifting run.

He was broken three times in the opening set, then never faced a break point the rest of the way.

Perhaps feeling their player may need a push, several supporters delivered yells of "Let's go, Norrie, let's go!" early in the third set. Didn't alter a thing.

Djokovic broke to start the third. Did the same in the fourth.