"Sometimes things do look surreal for me, but I try to live in the moment" - Novak Djokovic after reaching Wimbledon SF

Novak Djokovic booked his place in the Wimbledon semifinals for the 10th time in his career with a straight-sets victory over Marton Fucsovics on Wednesday.

Djokovic, who won the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this year, is the firm favorite to win a sixth career title at SW19. The Serb is also bidding to become the first male player in the Open Era to complete the elusive Calendar Golden Slam, i.e. winning all four Majors and the Olympics gold medal in the same calendar year.

With his Roland Garros win Djokovic had also become the only male player in the Open Era to win every Major at least twice. The 34-year-old is now poised to achieve many more incredible feats in the rest of 2021.

During his on-court interview, when probed about his march towards history, Novak Djokovic first joked about how reaffirming the statistics sounded. The Serb then expressed his gratitude for having the opportunity to play and succeed in the field he loves the most.

"Do you wanna travel with me as the statistic man? Or maybe psychologist, because you're complimenting my career now," Djokovic said. "It's a great influence on my confidence, thank you for that."

"I'm aware of certain stats and I love the sport with all my heart, and body and soul," he added. "I've been devoted since I was four. Sometimes things do look surreal for me but I try to live in the moment, don't take anything for granted, enjoy every opportunity I have on the court. And obviously, going for history is a huge inspiration for me. And, you know, let's keep it going."

"I'm grateful to see you guys, thank you for coming out today" - Novak Djokovic on the full crowds at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic also revealed how happy he was to play in front of a 100% capacity crowd at SW19. Wimbledon has become the first sporting event in the UK to have full attendance in an outdoor stadium this year; 100% crowds are being allowed for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

Djokovic, who hadn't played in front of a full crowd since the 2020 Australian Open, spared a moment to thank the audience for coming out to watch him play.

"Yeah, I think the first time we had a full stadium since the season restarted, obviously," Djokovic said. "I'm grateful to see you guys, thank you for coming out today. Thank you so much."

Novak Djokovic leads Denis Shapovalov by a margin of 6-0 in their h2h meetings

Novak Djokovic was also informed during his on-court interview that his potential semifinal opponents, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov, were embroiled in a five-set battle. When asked what he'd have to do to outclass his two younger opponents, Djokovic simply replied that he "had to win", eliciting laughter on Center Court.

The Serb jokingly added that he tried to summon the rain gods when Andrey Rublev and Marton Fucsovics were involved in a similar tussle earlier this week.

"I have to win," Djokovic remarked. "Regardless, yeah, when I won my last match, Fucsovics and Rublev went into the fifth. And I was calling for the rain, so..."

Novak Djokovic delved deeper into Denis Shapovalov's game later in his press conference; the Canadian eventually overcame Karen Khachanov to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinals. Djokovic asserted that Shapovalov has everything that would make him a force to reckon with on grass - a huge serve, strong net skills and good movement.

Djokovic, who leads Shapovalov by a margin of 6-0 in their head-to-head, also reminisced about his meeting with the Canadian at the ATP Cup, where the court speed was similar to that at Wimbledon.

"Shapovalov is maturing, he has an all-round game," Djokovic said. "Huge serve, lefty, comfortable coming to the net, his movement is improved, so he is making less errors. We played two tight sets at the ATP Cup, courts were quick, and it’s difficult to play against his serve."

Novak: Shapo is maturing, he has an allround game. Huge serve, lefty, comfortable coming to the net, his movement is improved, so he is making less errors. We played tight two sets at the ATP Cup, courts were quick, and it’s difficult to play against his serve. #Wimbledon

— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) July 7, 2021