Djoker powers into semis
London, July 3: Novak Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro in the Wimbledon semifinals after the world number one clinched his 13th consecutive Grand Slam lastfour spot with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych on Wednesday.
Djokovic is yet to drop a set in his five matches at this year’s tournament and the 2011 champion is now just two wins away from lifting the All England Club trophy for the second time.
Del Potro beat Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) after surviving a nasty fall in the opening game, which left the Argentine eighth seed needing several minutes of treatment on a left knee already heavily bandaged.
Berdych had beaten Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2010, but that was one of just two wins for the Czech seventh seed in their 15 meetings.
The losing streak always looked likely to continue once Djokovic took a tight first set in the tie-break, to the delight of Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, who was cheering on his fellow Serb from courtside.
Djokovic, a six-time Grand Slam champion, recovered from 3-0 down in the second set and surged to victory in his 17th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final appearance.
“It was a close match, it could have gone either way,” Djokovic said.
On Centre Court, Del Potro, 24, was clearly struggling to move at times, but he gritted his teeth through two hours and 16 minutes of gruelling action, unloading 42 winners and 12 aces to finally subdue the battling Spaniard.
It will be del Potro’s first Grand Slam semi-final appearance since his breakthrough triumph at the US Open four years ago.
Del Potro is just the second Argentine man to feature in the Wimbledon semi-finals, following in the footsteps of David Nalbandian in 2002. FLIPKENS VOWS TO CONTINUE FAIRYTALE Kirsten Flipkens has warned Marion Bartoli that she has no intention of letting her fairytale run at Wimbledon come to an end in Thursday’s semifinals.
Flipkens knows she is one of the more unlikely All England Club semifinalists in recent years, but the Belgian 20th seed is determined to make the most of her first appearance in the last four at a Grand Slam. This time last year the 2003 junior Wimbledon champion, who suffered several serious injuries as a youngster, was ranked a lowly 262 in the world after blood clots in her left ankle forced her to take several months off.
Tuesday’s surprise 4-6, 63, 6-4 win over former champion Petra Kvitova in the last eight secured a semifinal showdown with French 15th seed Bartoli and provided Flipkens with a tangible reward after all her struggles.
Fittingly for a tournament shaped by upsets, Flipkens’ clash with Bartoli, who was beaten by Venus Williams in the 2007 Wimbledon final, is one of two surprising last four match-ups.
The other semifinal is a clash of styles between big-serving Sabine Lisicki and shot-making Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska. — Agencies
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