Contrary to popular belief, wolf packs in the wild do not have a dominant alpha male. Flying in the face of mythological folklore, this long-held misconception of hierarchy has been debunked.
In the realm of Grand Slam tennis of late, however, it is difficult to argue against the old-school theory. For more than a decade there has been a jostling among the top order, a co-dominance of sorts shared between a formidable trio.
But in recent years, one name has assumed increasing authority as the alpha leader, Wimbledon’s No.1 seed Novak Djokovic. A five-time champion at the All England Club, the 34-year-old could well be approaching the peak of his powers as he closes in on a third straight Grand Slam singles title for the season and a record-levelling 20th overall.
A trio of younger challengers – Denis Shapovalov, Matteo Berrettini and Hubert Hurkacz – are his last remaining threats, determined to test his alpha standing at this point of The Championships.
Following his dismissal of American Denis Kudla in the third round, the Serbian hinted at his canis lupus qualities for having seen him through so many dog fights on the biggest stages.
“Part of it I think also comes from my upbringing in the mountains,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I spent a lot of time in the mountains with wolves and this is a wolf energy I have, I am not kidding.”
Through to his 10th Wimbledon semi-final, following a relatively straightforward quarter-final victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, that wolf energy is standing Djokovic in good stead.
He has not lost a grass court match since 2018 and will book a seventh Wimbledon final berth with his 20th straight win on the surface should he see off the threat of the aggressive 22-year-old, Shapovalov.
Since he burst on to the scene with victory over Rafael Nadal in Montreal in 2017, Shapovalov’s ascent has been steady, with a lone title in Stockholm two years ago to his name. It was easy to overlook, however, the flashy left-hander only turned 22 a couple of months ago and has now secured a top 10 ranking following his run to the last four.
“Maybe big matches, he was not winning those in the last couple of years. It seems like he's maturing, which is also something that is normal, it's logical,” Djokovic said.
“You would expect that from a player like him that has really an all-around game. Huge serve, lefty, which is always tricky to play someone who is left-handed on the quick surfaces.
“He's comfortable coming in to net. I think his movement has improved. Due to better movement, he's probably making less errors, which was probably the part of his game that was always troubling him.”
Djokovic has not lost a match in six showdowns between the pair, but in their past two – at the ATP Cup in Australia – Shapovalov has closed the gap.
The world No.1’s record against left-handed opponents at the majors, however, only serves to back up his alpha status – 23 wins from his past 24 clashes.
He has won 15 of his past 16 Grand Slam semi-finals, while the young Canadian has advanced this far for the first time. Since capturing his first of five Wimbledon trophies a decade ago, Djokovic has only fallen to Roger Federer in a 2012 semi-final, Andy Murray in the 2013 final, Sam Querrey in the third round in 2016 and to Tomas Berdych in 2017, although that contest he did not complete due to an elbow injury.
They were figures Shapovalov would not be dwelling on too heavily. “I think when you're at the semi-finals of a tournament, there's not really underdogs, overdogs, whatever you want to call it,” Shapovalov said. “Obviously he's got experience, this and that… The score is 0-0 and you play the match. It's tennis. It could go any way. Anything can happen. That's really my mindset.”
The other two challengers left circling from the pack will scrap it out for their right to contest a maiden Grand Slam final in the opening match on Centre Court on Friday.
No.7 seed Berrettini has been this far once before – at the 2019 US Open – and carries a 10-match winning streak on the grass into his showdown with the 24-year-old Pole, Hurkacz, who won their pair’s only Tour-level encounter at Miami two years ago.
The Roman denied No.16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight and could create history as the first Italian player to reach a Wimbledon final.
No.14 seed Hurkacz thwarted No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev and eight-time champion Roger Federer in succession to notch his maiden semi-final at a Grand Slam and now stands on the cusp of becoming the second Polish player to reach the title match, following 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska.
“I mean, playing Hubert is going to be really tough. He beat Daniil, beat Roger in a row, and he's feeling good. He's having a great season so far, so it's gonna be tough one… Now, stepping in this tournament, I knew that I could do it,” Berrettini said. “I know that also the run is not over.”
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