Top seed Novak Djokovic set up a blockbuster Wimbledon final against Nick Kyrgios after recovering from a torrid start to overwhelm Britain's Cameron Norrie 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.
For an hour on a sun-baked Centre Court, inspired ninth seed Norrie outshone the 20-time Grand Slam champion and looked capable of an upset in his first major semifinal.
The partisan home crowd roared its approval as Norrie capitalised on a rash of Djokovic errors to win five successive games and take the opening set.
Djokovic, bidding for a fourth successive Wimbledon title and seventh in all, soon settled into his usual rhythm and gradually seized the initiative.
“I didn’t start off well. He was the better player for the first set. Cameron didn’t have much to lose. He’s playing probably the tournament of his life. I wish him all the best, he’s a great player, I have a lot of respect for him,” Djokovic said after the match.
From the moment the Serbian broke Norrie's serve in the eighth game of the second set, it was largely one-way traffic.
Norrie battled hard in the fourth set as the crowd found its voice again but ultimately could not resist Djokovic's march into a men's record 32nd Grand Slam final.
Australian Kyrgios, handed a walkover in the semifinal by injured Spaniard Rafa Nadal, now stands between the 35-year-old Djokovic and a 21st Grand Slam title.
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