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July 7 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, breezed by Hungarian Marton Fucsovics to advance to the semifinals of Wimbledon 2021 on Wednesday in London. He won the quarterfinal match in 2 hours, 17 minutes to advance to his 41st Grand Slam semifinal and is two wins shy of tying the men's singles title record.
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"I think it was a solid performance," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I started off extremely well, I didn't do too many things wrong in my game in the first six games of the match.
"I managed to close it out at 5-3. I guess one break of serve in the second and third set was enough to clinch the victory today."
Switzerland's Roger Federer had a much tougher day, and exited the tournament after a straight-sets upset by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.
Djokovic fired four aces and 32 winners and won four of 14 break points in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. He will battle Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals Friday at the All England Club.
The winner will face Hurkacz or Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon 2021 men's singles final.
Djokovic started the 2021 season with a title at the Australian Open. He then went through Spaniard Rafael Nadal to win the French Open.
With wins at Wimbledon and the upcoming U.S. Open, Djokovic can become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to claim all four Grand Slam titles in the same calendar year.
He is 19-0 in major tournaments this season. Djokovic can tie Federer and Nadal for the men's singles Grand Slam record of 20 if he wins in London.
"I'm aware of certain stats," Djokovic said. "I love this sport with all my heart, body and soul. I've been devoted to this sport since I was four. Sometimes things look surreal for me, but I try to live in the moment.
"Obviously, going for history is a huge motivation for me. Let's keep it going."
Shapovalov beat Russian Karen Khachanov 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in a 3-hour, 26-minute thriller Wednesday at the All England Club.
The Canadian fired 17 aces and 59 winners and converted five of 19 break points to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal.
"Obviously [Djokovic] is the best player in the world," Shapovalov said. "But I think anything is possible.
"When you look at the scoreboard first thing Friday, it will be 0-0. Nothing else matters. It's a tennis match, and it could go either way."
Hurkacz upset Federer 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. He will face Berrettini, who defeated No. 16 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, on Friday in London.
Hurkacz fired 10 aces and 36 winners in the one-hour, 49-minute victory. He also converted five of 15 break points. Federer converted one of four break points and had 31 unforced errors in the straight sets setback.
World No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia will play Germany's Angelique Kerber in the first of two women's singles semifinals. That match starts at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday and airs on ESPN.
No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will battle No. 13 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in Friday's second semifinal.
