Tennis titans clashing in men’s semifinal

LONDON — After so much speculation about a possible Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, 10 years after their last, the tennis world instead will get a semifinal featuring another outstanding rivalry: Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic.

Today’s showdown will be their 52nd meeting overall – the most for any pair of men and 14 more installments than Federer vs. Nadal – and first at the All England Club since 2011.

That was also the last time Nadal made it past the fourth round at the grass-court major; Djokovic, who holds a 26-25 head-to-head lead, beat him in that year’s final.

“We always played in important stages, important places,” said Nadal, who had a far rougher go of things in the quarterfinals than Djokovic, needing more than four-and-a-half hours to edge Juan Martin del Potro in a five-set thriller. “Friday is another important match against an opponent that is one of the most difficult ones that you can face. He’s playing well. Only way to try to win it is (to) play very well.”

The first semifinal at Centre Court, between No. 8 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa and No. 9 John Isner of the U.S., features two powerful servers with similar games who have a lot less star power and considerably fewer Grand Slam trophies, to say the least: The Nadal-Djokovic combined count is 29, including five at Wimbledon.

There are zero major titles so far for either Isner, 33, or Anderson, 32, who shockingly ended Federer’s bid for a ninth championship at Wimbledon by erasing a match point and beating him 13-11 in the fifth set of their quarterfinal Wednesday.

At least Anderson can boast of one runner-up finish, and it was recent, against Nadal at last year’s U.S. Open.

“I’m trying to get to where he’s already been,” said Isner, who has won all 95 of his service games this fortnight, thanks in part to a tournament-leading 161 aces. “He wants to get back there, wants another crack at a championship.”

Isner, who leads Anderson 8-3 in past meetings, is making his debut in the final four of a Grand Slam tournament.

Serena nears eighth Wimbledon title

LONDON — Yes, this will be Serena Williams’ 10th Wimbledon final. Yes, it’s her 30th title match at any major. And, well, sure, she’s widely regarded as not just the best of her era, but any era.

Let others shrug at this latest accomplishment, as if all it signified were merely another chance at another in a long line of trophies. Williams is not shy about saying she, for one, is impressed by this. Rightly so. For it was only about 10 months ago she was having a baby and then dealing with a serious health scare that followed.

Even after all of that, even after more than a year away from the game, even in only the fourth tournament of her comeback, Williams showed she’s still capable of dominance. Especially at the All England Club, where a relatively routine 6-2, 6-4 victory over 13thseeded Julia Goerges of Germany on Thursday put Williams one win away from an eighth championship.

She’s also closing in on her 24th Grand Slam title, which would equal Margaret Court’s all-time record.

Williams will face another German, 11th-seeded Angelique Kerber, on Saturday.

“Whatever happens, honestly,” Williams said, “it’s an incredible effort from me.”

The left-handed Kerber, a former No. 1 and two-time major champion, beat 12th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 earlier Thursday.

“Seeing her back, it’s great,” said Kerber, who has lost six of eight previous matches against Williams. “I know that she is always pushing you to the limits.”