Defending champion Djokovic will face Berrettini in Wimbledon 2021 men's final

Canada's Shapovalov, 22, played superbly for the most part, only for Djokovic to claim the key moments on his way to a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-5 win.

Berrettini earned a 6-3 6-0 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 win over Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

The seventh seed is the first Italian to reach the men's singles final.

The Queen's champion used his big forehand and serve to good effect to reach his first Grand Slam final, with Sunday's showpiece taking place just hours before his nation take on England in football's Euro 2020 final.

The 25-year-old is the first Italian man to reach a Grand Slam final since 1976.

"I have no words, really," Berrettini said. "I need a couple of hours to understand what happened.

"I think I never dreamed about this because it was too much for a dream."

Djokovic shows indomitable spirit to move closer to 20th Grand Slam

Five-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic is now one more victory away from retaining the crown he won in 2018 and 2019, and therefore equalling the all-time men's record of 20 major victories set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

But it was far from a straightforward passage for the 34-year-old Serb.

The world number one needed all of his skill and spirit to see off 10th seed Shapovalov in an entertaining contest which had Centre Court gripped.

In his first major semi-final, Shapovalov did not deliver in the key moments - and that proved costly.

"I don't think the scoreline says enough about the match, he was serving for the first set, was probably the better player for the second set. He had most of the chances," said Djokovic, who has reached his 30th Grand Slam final.

"I would like to give him a round of applause for all he has done this fortnight. We will see a lot of him in the future, definitely. He is a great player."

The left-handed Canadian came out swinging off both flanks, his heavy hitting rocking Djokovic and drawing wondrous gasps from the almost-capacity 15,000 crowd.

He was unable to serve out the opening set or then convert any of five break points - which all came in a 10-minute spell across two service games - that would have seen him take control of the second set.

"Novak does a really good job of putting pressure on when it's needed, and you feel it exactly in those moments. He steps up. He does that really well," said 2016 Wimbledon boys' champion Shapovalov.

Three more break points went begging for Shapovalov at the start of the third set and, although he continued to ask questions, Djokovic always seemed to have the answers.

Plenty of balls continued to come back from the Serb in the rallies and, like in the second set, the pressure again told on Shapovalov as he lost serve for a 6-5 deficit.

With Shapovalov receiving support from a Wimbledon crowd that likes to see an underdog succeed, Djokovic remained steely and serene throughout most of the match.

But the ferocious roar of celebration which greeted the ace that sealed victory illustrated his relief.

In contrast, Shapovalov departed in tears as he received a standing ovation.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS