A look at defending champion Novak Djokovic’s path to another Wimbledon final

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Novak Djokovic celebrations

Novak Djokovic is back in the Wimbledon final for a seventh time.

The world number one will face Matteo Berrettini as he bids for his sixth SW19 crown and 20th Grand Slam title.

Here, the PA news agency charts Djokovic’s route to the final.

First round – beat Jack Draper 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Jack Draper in action

Jack Draper took a set off the world number one (John Walton/PA)

British teenager Draper gave the reigning champion a bit of a wake-up call when he took the first set on his Centre Court debut. The 19-year-old received plenty of plaudits for his performance but Djokovic still eventually breezed through.

Second round – beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson

Djokovic dispatched Kevin Anderson in three (Steven Paston/PA)

Djokovic negotiated a potentially tricky second-round tie against South African Anderson in what was a repeat of the 2018 final. A straight-sets victory proved enough for Djokovic to claim the title three years ago and he repeated the dose by once again making light work of the big-serving Anderson.

Third round – beat Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)

Denis Kudla in action

Denis Kudla was a tricky customer in round three (Steven Paston/PA)

Another straight-sets win but this one was not nearly as straightforward. Back-to-back double faults from Djokovic gifted world number 114 Kudla a 3-0 lead in the tie-break, but some trademark resolute Djokovic defence, and some poor shot choices from the American, saw the top seed through.

Fourth round – beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Novak Djokovic and Cristian Garin

Cristian Garin was well beaten by Djokovic (John Walton/PA)

Djokovic eased into his 50th grand slam quarter-final with another straight-sets victory. Had he been able to pick an opponent for a last-16 clash at Wimbledon, he could have done a lot worse than Chilean Garin who, despite being seeded 17th, is a clay-court specialist and had never won a match at SW19 prior to this year.

Quarter-final – beat Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Novak Djokovic in action

Djokovic saw off Marton Fucsovics in the last eight (John Walton/PA)

Things looked ominous for Fucsovics when Djokovic raced into a 5-0 lead and brought up two set points inside the first 25 minutes. The Hungarian fought hard but ultimately paid for his slow start to the match as Djokovic booked a place in the last four for the 10th time.

Semi-final – beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5

Denis Shapovalov in action

Denis Shapovalov lost in three tight sets (Adam Davy/PA)

It was straight sets again but as Djokovic admitted afterwards, the scoreline did not tell the story of the match. Canadian 22-year-old Shapovalov, playing in his first grand slam semi-final, was the better player for most of the first two sets but could not convert his chances and fell in three of the tightest sets imaginable.

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