One long rally
» Novak Djokovic wins 45-shot exchange en route to berth in final.
WIMBLEDON, England — Going by the number of strokes, it was the longest point ever recorded at Wimbledon.
And for Novak Djokovic, it went a long way toward putting him into another final at the All England Club.
After exchanging dozens of strokes during the third set of his semifinal match against Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday, Djokovic finally smacked a backhand down the line with the 45th shot of the rally to save a break point. The defending champion held serve to make it 5-2 and went on to win the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
According to official statistics, the 45-stroke rally was the longest at Wimbledon since they started tracking point lengths in 2005. But for Djokovic, the important part was the impact it had on what was a very closely-fought duel up until that stage.
“At one stage of the match, it could have gone (a) different way. Was very close in the third set,” said Djokovic, who faces Roger Federer in Sunday’s final as he goes for a fifth Wimbledon title.
“Couple of very long games when I broke his serve and he had some break points, a very long rally. I managed to make a winner down the line with a backhand. Obviously winning that game was crucial for me. It gave me more confidence and relief so I could swing more freely in the next games.”
Aside from the number of strokes, the point itself was perhaps not that memorable. For much of it, both players seemed content with just hitting the ball back over the net and waiting for the other to make a mistake. The last 18 strokes were all crosscourt backhands, with the players remaining in more or less the same position until Djokovic finally switched it up with his shot straight down the line.
That was at 30-40, and Bautista Agut had missed a previous break point as well at 15-40, which he said made him a bit more cautious on his second opportunity.
“I had an easy forehand (on the first break point). I went too much for it,” the Spaniard said. “Then the next point I wanted to play — I didn’t want to take a risk on the point, to play long, to play a good rally. Was maybe one of the best points of the match.”
The previous Wimbledon record was 42 strokes, set in a 2006 match between Jarkko Nieminen and Dmitry Tursunov. The women’s record is 39, set in a 2007 match between Nathalie Dechy and Elena Dementieva. Rallies on grass are usually shorter than on clay or hard courts.
Seeded 23rd, Bautista Agut was as surprised by his march to Wimbledon’s semifinal as anyone, having scheduled his bachelor party in Ibiza for the tournament’s final weekend. The party was postponed, and his buddies flew to England to join his fiancee in cheering him on.
Djokovic, Wimbledon’s fourtime and defending champion, had faced only one seeded player (David Goffin) in breezing to Wimbledon’s semifinals after earlyround upsets bounced four top-10 players from his half of the draw.
Djokovic claimed the opening set in just 36 minutes, looking virtually untouchable.
But with Djokovic’s forehand and focus straying, Bautista Agut took the second set, 6-4, to level the match. With the Spaniard making it a match, Djokovic flapped his arms at the capacity crowd in an effort to coax a show of support.
“He was not really overwhelmed, so to say, with the stadium and with the occasion. He played really well,” Djokovic said. “First set, he was still probably managing his nerves and he made some uncharacteristic unforced errors. But later on, at the beginning of the second, he established himself.”
But Djokovic found his own motivation in the third set and rolled to the victory.