Wimbledon semi-finals: Berrettini v Hurkacz and Djokovic v Shapovalov – live! | Sport

Berrettini* 6-3, 6-0, 1-1 Hurkacz

Hurkacz wins a game! Finally! He brings a huge roar from the Centre Court crowd, who just a couple of days ago, were stunned to see him dismantle Roger Federer. Now Berrettini is doing all the dismantling, but the Pole has something to work with in this third set, at least. He rounds off the game with a smart volley and clenches his fist as the crowd respond.

Berrettini 6-3, 6-0, 1-0 *Hurkacz

A comfortable enough hold for the Italian to begin the third set. That is 11 games in a row for the Italian. Will it be the final set? Can Hurkacz find something to make this into a match?

Hurkacz has made 13 unforced errors to Berrettini’s eight. It feels like more. Before he arrived at this tournament, the Pole had lost six matches on the spin, so this run came seemingly from nowhere. It’s about to end, unless he can get his serve going again, indeed get anything going again.

“Hurkacz is falling apart here,” observes the commentator, and that is sadly correct. Berrettini is doing to Hurkacz what Hurkacz did to Federer. The Italian is buoyant, and one set away from a place in Sunday’s final. Hurkacz walks off court for a bathroom break, and returns to a round of applause. Can he raise his level? It’s now or never.

Berrettini 6-3, 6-0 Hurkacz

Hurkacz fires a huge, wide forehand which bounces fractionally wide – he challenges the call, but to no avail, and quickly finds himself 0-30 down. He recovers to 30-30, then another challenge goes his way … but he immediately double-faults for 30-40, and he is pictured in close-up, berating himself again. Berettini closes out the game and the set. In the stands, Hurkacz’s coach looks ashen-faced.

Berrettini 6-3, 5-0 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

The Berrettini forehand, always such a huge weapon, is starting to become more and more dangerous. Hurkacz does have something to cling to now – forcing a break point -but Berrettini gets himself out of trouble again with two gynormous serves, fashions the advantage, and wins the game.

“Hurkacz is in a state of depression out there … and panic … and that’s not a good combination,” observes John McEnroe.

Berrettini* 6-3, 4-0 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Hurkacz is just making error after error right now. Berrettini has him under pressure in all facets of the game – but he is also causing his own downfall with a lot of sloppy errors. This is going to be over quickly at this rate.

Berrettini 6-3, 3-0 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

The Italian tonks another stunning forehand deep to the corner to seal another game – Hurkacz just stands there and watches it flash past him – and has little answer to the quality of his opponent’s all-round game right now. It is notable that Berrettini’s movement is far superior to Hurkacz – the Pole isn’t able to exert any pressure aside from with his big first serve.

Berrettini* 6-3, 2-0 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Berrettini crushes a fearsome forehand down the line for 0-15 – a real statement of intent. Hurkacz misses a regulation smash, which flies off the frame of his racket for 0-30. Berrettini surges to 0-40, thanks to another howling error from the Pole, and Hurkacz then hands Berrettini an early break with a drop shot that flops into the net. Not good if you’re a fan of Hurkacz, but Italian fans will be starting to enjoy themselves.

Berrettini 6-3, 1-0 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Berrettini has hit five aces to Hurkacz’s one, so far, and now he holds exceedingly comfortably at the start of the second set. He’s threatening to overpower his opponent who is more and more on the back foot.

Berrettini, the seventh-seeded Italian, is beginning to take control of this, and he takes the first set – forcing his opponent to deuce, then mustering the advantage, at which point a miscued forehand flies high and wide from Hurkacz and that’s the set over.

Hurkacz’s level dropped in the last few minutes there, quite considerably, and he needs to regroup in this second set if he’s going to stand any chance of a place in the final.

Berrettini 5-3 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

The Pole wins the first point of the game after patting back a couple of deliberately awkward short balls, then coming to the net and volleying at a tight angle for the winner. But Berrettini then re-takes control and holds serve with four points on the bounce, serving powerfully and accurately, and Hurkacz must serve to stay in the first set.

Berrettini* 4-3 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

A frankly outrageous winner from Berrettini makes it 0-15: Hurkacz smashes deep to the corner and looks to have the point won, but the Italian sprints full pelt to run it down and hammers a fantastic pass, cross-court, that the Pole can only stand and admire. At 30-30, after one notable error from Berrettini, Hurkacz slumps a forehand into the net and it’s a golden chance for Berrettini to move a break up … and he gets it! Berrettini hits three deep sliced backhands in a row, waiting for his opponent to make the error, and it eventually comes as Hurkacz nets another forehand. The first break of serve to the Italian, and that’s a big, big moment.

Berrettini has now converted 1/4 break points, Hurkacz is 0/1.

Berrettini 3-3 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

At 15-15 we are treated to the best rally of the match, the Italian eventually winning it thanks to a fine power-angle forehand into the left corner that Hurkacz can only hit long. But Berrettini then dumps a regulation forehand into the net for 30-30. He immediately hits back with a deep, wide first serve that extinguishes Hurkacz’s hope of winning a first break point … then Berrettini nets another disappointing effort to make it deuce. The Pole saves one game point, then attacks the net and volleys cross-court, in sublime fashion, to win advantage and his first break point of the match. Berrettini responds, though, and digs out two big serves to go to the verge of winning the game … but then hits a forehand long and it’s back to deuce!

It took nearly 10 minutes, but Berrettini eventually holds. He had to work for that and produced several big serves under intense pressure.

Berrettini* 2-3 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Now a love hold for the Pole, and we are still with serve in the first set. Berrettini hit one lovely backhand slice in that game, but immediately followed it up with a horribly skewed forehand. Still, the Italian has been far closer to breaking serve than his opponent, even if winning points against either player’s serve is generally proving tough.

Berrettini 2-2 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Another love hold for the Italian, whose service game is looking very slick indeed. We are with serve after four games, with the Polish player having fought back to save himself from 0-40 down in the third game.

Berrettini* 1-2 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Berrettini has his opponent on the ropes at 0-40, but Hurkacz roars back to deuce, rounding off the third point of his recovery with two confident smashes. A couple more solid serves, and the Polish player has avoided falling a break down. That was a hugely impressive fightback from the 24-year-old, and he edges back ahead with Berrettini to serve again now.

Berrettini 1-1 *Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Berrettini does indeed hold comfortably, to love, including one slice of luck with a big forehand that crashes into the net – but down on to Hurkacz’s side of the court. All square.

Berrettini* 0-1 Hurkacz (*denotes next server)

Hurkacz thunders a couple of big early serves down the middle and holds very easily, in about 90 seconds flat, to get the biggest match of his life up and running. He looks impressively relaxed, as he did against Federer two days ago. Berrettini will hope to hold his own service game in similarly efficient style.

This is your two-minute call.

John McEnroe says he gives Berrettini the edge in this match. “He’s been building up to this for a couple of years,” says the American pundit.

And of Hurkacz: “What impressed me, particularly in that second-set tie-breaker, is that Hurkacz stood up mentally … Federer kind of went away. ‘Hubi’, as he likes to be called, sensed that and he thrashed him.”

The players are out on court, they’ve tossed up, and we are moments away from the first men’s semi-final of the day.

Speaking to the BBC, Berrettini says the first time he played Hurkacz was as a 17-year-old, in a match in Poland. Berrettini is 25 now, the Polish player is 24.

Berrettini has defeated Guido Pella, Botic Van De Zandschulp, Aljaz Bedene, Ilya Ivashka and Felix Auger-Aliassime to get to this stage.

Hurkacz beat Medvedev before he beat Federer, in five sets, so he’s definitely had the tougher path to this stage.

Both men are in their first Wimbledon semi-final.

What else do we know about Hubert Hurkacz, the second Polish man to reach the semi-final of a grand slam tournament?

Well, he adheres to a strict vegan diet, for one thing. He has also told the ATP Tour website that strawberries are his favourite fruit, so he’s in the right place in SW19.

His dream dinner party guests?

“It would be nice to have dinner with Roger [Federer], Robert Lewandowski, a Polish footballer, and I’m struggling for a third person…!”

Can anyone stop Ashleigh Barty? Karolina Pliskova will be hoping to do so …

You may remember Hubert Hurkacz from such viral videos as the press conference with no journalists and no questions, back in April:

After his demolition of Federer, I very much doubt a press conference sans questions is a luxury that the Polish player will enjoy again.

Hubert Hurkacz’s quarter-final victory on Wednesday felt more like a state funeral than a sporting event: Centre Court was plunged into a state of collective shock as Roger Federer, the king of SW19, was dispatched in three sets by the 24-year-old Pole, even suffering the indignity of a 6-0 reverse in the final set. We live in hope that Federer will return next year.

The world No 18 produced a largely flawless display to reach this semi-final: serving at 130mph, often matching Federer in longer rallies while throwing in the odd exquisitely-judged drop-shot for good measure. If he can produce a similar level this afternoon then the seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini, who dropped a single set in his quarter-final victory against Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime, will be in for a tough day at the office.

Following Hurkacz’s showdown with Berrettini, the No 1 seed, five-times champion and heavy tournament favourite Novak Djokovic will stride on to court. He was not genuinely tested by Márton Fucsovics in his straight-sets quarter-final win but it is safe to think that Denis Shapovalov, the 10th seed and world No 12, will provide a much sterner test. Shapovalov recovered from a set down to emerge from a five-set thriller against the Russian Karen Khachanov two days ago and he will be feeling suitably battle-hardened.

Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova are already busy preparing for their women’s singles final tomorrow, and in a few hours’ time, there will be only two players left standing in the men’s draw. Let’s get it on.