Djokovic tops Nadal in men’s semis
From the way Novak Djokovic smacked his racket against his shoe after one miss to the shouts he directed at himself and his coach after others, it was clear how much he wanted to prove he’s past the roughest patch of his career. The 12th-seeded Djokovic sent the strongest signal yet he is back at the top of tennis by reaching his fifth Wimbledon final with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 3-6, 10-8 victory Saturday against top-seeded Rafael Nadal in a match that had been suspended overnight.
‘‘It really could have gone either way,’’ said Djokovic, who is bidding for a fourth championship at the All England Club and 13th Grand Slam title overall. ‘‘Until the last shot, I didn’t know if I was going to win.’’
He’ll face eighth-seeded Kevin Anderson in the final Sunday. Anderson beat John Isner in a 6½hour semifinal that ended at 26-24 in the fifth set Friday, pushing back the start of the Djokovic-Nadal match.
That semifinal was halted because of a curfew after Djokovic won the third set. It had started with Centre Court’s retractable roof closed, so it concluded that way, too, even though there was no hint of rain.
Djokovic hasn’t won a major in more than two years. He dealt with an injured right elbow that got so painful last year that he quit his quarterfinal at Wimbledon and sat out the rest of the season. He had surgery in February, but his results were still shaky. Until now, that is.
‘‘In my opinion, he deserved it,’’ Nadal said. ‘‘I deserved it, too.’’
Undaunted by being forced to a fifth set, Djokovic saved break points at 4-all and 7-all before breaking Nadal at love to end the match.
‘‘It’s hard to pick the words,’’ said Djokovic, who has won his last eight five-setters at Wimbledon. ‘‘I’m just going through things, flashbacks of the last 15 months and everything I’ve been through to get here.’’