He had been here before. A Grand Slam quarterfinal where he breezed through the fourth set to force a decisive fifth. It was on his mind too he said afterward. But this time things were different — Denis Shapovalov came out the victor at Wimbledon and the Canadian is on to his first-career Grand Slam semifinal.
“I was in a similar position in the US Open last year in the quarterfinals and I felt like I started the fifth set a little bit slow. So I told myself, just literally, play every single point as hard as you can today in the fifth set and, surely enough, luck was a little bit on my side," Shapovalov said during his on-court interview after beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. At the 2020 US Open, he lost to Roberto Carreno Busta after winning the fourth set 6-0 and losing the fifth 6-3.
On Wednesday at the All England Club, it was a slugfest between the two baseline bangers but Shapovalov did showcase more of an all-around game on grass. The Richmond Hill, Ont., native went to the net more than double his opponent, winning 29 of 42 net points. He also had 59 winners to the Russian's 31 and while he struggled with his serve a bit entering the semifinal matchup — and only got in 63 percent of his first serves in the quarterfinals — he won 86 percent of the points.
Denis Drop-shot-a-lov 😉#Wimbledon | @denis_shapo pic.twitter.com/BTs7Z1K4cU
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2021
After splitting the opening sets, Khachanov and Shapovalov held serve until Khachanov broke through to go up 6-5. Trailing 0-30 in the game, Shapovalov got it to deuce but the Russian broke through before holding serve to take the set. In the fourth set, tied a 1-1, Shapovalov took over, breaking Khachanov easily to go up 3-1 and then went up a double break.
The duo — amid a multitude of fist pumps — were keeping pace in the fifth and final set until Game 9. Here's a quick breakdown of the game Shapovalov called, "the craziest game, I think, of my life."
Note: Khachanov was serving.
| POINT | DESCRIPTION | SCORE |
| 1 | Khachanov backhand winner | 15-0 |
| 2 | Shapovalov's return goes long | 30-0 |
| 3 | Double fault. | 30-15 |
| 4 | *Shapovalov cross-court one-handed backhand winner that caught the line | 30-30 |
| 5 | Khachanov forehand into the net. | 30-40 |
| 6 | Shapovalov's backhand return goes long | Deuce #1 |
| 7 | Shapovalov backhander into the net | Ad in |
| 8 | Khachanov cross-court backhand goes wide | Deuce #2 |
| 9 | Khachanov at the net hits the forehand stab volley into the net | Ad out |
| 10 | Shapovalov forehand return into the net | Deuce #3 |
| 11 | Khachanov backhand goes long by a millimeter (upheld on challenge) | Ad out |
| 12 | Shapovalov approach forehand goes long (upheld on challenge) | Deuce #4 |
| 13 | Khachanov inside-out forehand goes long | Ad out |
| 14 | Khachanov forehand goes long | Game |
*Shapovalov challenged the call and won the challenge.
Shapovalov broke Khachanov and then closed things out on five points — including a double fault and one where he motioned to the ball to stay on Khachanov's side (Khachanov's desperation shot went up in the air).
On match point, his first serve went into the net as nerves surely set in. Before he sent his second serve over the net a fan yelled "C'mon Denis." Khachanov returned the serve but sent his next shot into the net. Shapovalov then fell to the grass in celebration as he finally broke through to the semifinal of a Grand Slam.
Soak it in, @denis_shapo. You're a Grand Slam semi-finalist! 👏
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 7, 2021
🎥: @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/A6hOD0n36l
The prize for winning? A showdown with the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Shapovalov has an 0-6 record against the Serbian, who beat Marton Fucsovics in straight sets in the quarters.
When asked about facing the guy who has already won the Aussie and French Opens in 2021 and has 19 Grand Slam titles, the 22-year-old Canadian gave a big smile and a laugh.
"Well, obviously he's the best player in the world but, you know, I think," he said before pausing and flashing another smile as the crowd got behind him. "Anything is possible and when you look at the scoreboard first thing on, whatever it is, Friday it's going to be 0-0. So that's it. Nothing else matters. It's a tennis match and it could go either way ... I think anything is possible."