Clinical Djokovic reaches fourth final
World No.1 outguns French opponent Gasquet in straight sets to move within one win of back-to-back Wimbledon titles
>> LONDON: Defending champion Novak Djokovic swept into his fourth Wimbledon final with a ruthlessly efficient 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Richard Gasquet yesterday.
Djokovic, the world No.1, survived an unusually sloppy start and eventually dismissed the French 21st seed with 12 aces and 46 winners in two hours and 20 minutes on Centre Court.
The 28-year-old will go for his third All England Club title, and his ninth at the majors tomorrow.
Djokovic defeated Federer in last year’s final and lost to Murray in the 2013 showpiece.
“It was a very good performance considering the occasion. Semi-finals are always tough and things could have gone his way in the first set. That was the turning point,” Djokovic said after reaching his 17th Grand Slam final.
Djokovic played down concerns about a left shoulder injury that twice needed treatment and insisted he would be ready for the final.
“It’s nothing that worries me honestly. It will be fine for the next match,” he said.
“I have a responsibility to play well here in the cradle of tennis. It is an honour to play in the Wimbledon final — the most watched tennis match in the world.
“I’m just glad to reach another final. I will be ready for it.”
For the first time, Djokovic has made the Wimbledon, Australian and French Open finals in the same year.
Djokovic, who also won Wimbledon in 2011, now has a remarkable 47-3 record in 2015 and one more win would give the reigning Australian Open champion his second Grand Slam of 2015.
It would also go a long way to erasing the heartache of his French Open final loss against Stan Wawrinka last month.
Gasquet’s surprise run had brought him back to the Wimbledon last four for the first time since 2007.
The 29-year-old, who was bidding for a first major final, caused one of the bigger upsets in this year’s tournament when he knocked out Wawrinka in quarter-finals.
But Djokovic had won 11 of his 12 previous meetings with Gasquet and, despite the Frenchman’s strong showing, the top seed cruised to victory.
HINGIS BACK IN FINAL
Martina Hingis is back in a final at Wimbledon for the first time since 1998 — in doubles.
Hingis, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and doubles partner Sania Mirza are top seeds and won their semi-final against the fifth-seeded American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-2 yesterday.
The 34-year-old Hingis and Mirza, the first Indian woman to be ranked No.1 in singles or doubles, will face Russian second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final.
Makarova and Vesnina, who won last year’s US Open, beat Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Seventeen years ago, Hingis won the Wimbledon doubles trophy with Jana Novotna. Hingis triumphed in all four majors in doubles that season.