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Djokovic Outlasts Del Potro in Epic Wimbledon Semifinal Djokovic Outlasts del Potro in Epic Wimbledon Semifinal
(about 1 hour later)
It was the longest semifinal in the history of Wimbledon, a tennis tournament with no shortage of history. And when it finally ended – quite appropriately with a winner – Novak Djokovic was back in the final with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over Juan Martín del Potro. WIMBLEDON, England — In an age of Twitter and text messages, instant gratification and challenged attention spans, men’s tennis continues — despite all the ferocious currents to the contrary — to excel at long form.
The match required 4 hours and 43 minutes, a marathon on the famed grass court. But the consistent quality of the exchanges meant that this semifinal rarely dragged, and it frequently brought the Centre Court crowd to its feet in appreciation. The marathon men were at it again on Friday, this time on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the sunlight, where yet another pair of powerful, evenly matched rivals relentlessly and good-naturedly sent each other scrambling, lunging, sprawling to every straight line and corner of the most famous patch of grass in the game.
Del Potro , the No. 8 seed from Argentina, had beaten Djokovic for the bronze medal at last year’s Summer Olympics at the All England Club. He looked thoroughly prepared to spoil Djokovic’s grasscourt season again Friday, answering Djokovic’s brilliantly elastic blend of offense and defense with bold and convincing play of his own. “It was one of the best matches I have been a part of, one of the most exciting, definitely,” said the eventual winner Novak Djokovic.
Del Potro saved two match points in the fourth set to send the match to what it seemed destined for: a fifth set. But Djokovic looked the slightly fresher player down the stretch, breaking Del Potro in the eighth game of the set and then serving out the victory. That is quite a statement considering how many keepsake matches Djokovic has lived, laughed and suffered through in recent years.
“It was one of the best matches I have been a part of; one of the most exciting, definitely,” said Djokovic, who has been part of quite a few in this epic-filled era in the men’s game. He had already played two this year: his terrific, five-set victory over Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the clay-court chef d’oeuvre of a French Open semifinal that ended up with Rafael Nadal celebrating and Djokovic ruing what might have been.
Another memorable match on Sunday is hardly out of the question with Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, set to face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between Andy Murray and Jerzy Janowicz. The 7-5, 4-5, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina rightfully joins the club.
At 4 hours 43 minutes, it was the longest semifinal ever at Wimbledon, the oldest tournament in tennis, and yet it so rarely dragged, so rarely gave the crowd the slightest desire for a resolution even if their own Andy Murray was being delayed from taking the court.
They do have world-class wingspans, del Potro and Djokovic. Del Potro, at 6 feet 6 inches tall, can produce astounding and precisely controlled power from the corners, particularly his forehand corner, with one of his thunderous strokes late in the fourth set being clocked at 113 miles an hour and leaving Djokovic staring in disbelief at the spot where it had just landed.
But Djokovic, the game’s elastic man, repeatedly returned the favor: stretching into splits in the backcourt and the forecourt to transform del Potro’s apparent winners into extended rallies.
“It was a really high-level match during four hours, hitting so hard the ball,” del Potro said, looking happier than one might have expected. “I think it was unbelievable to watch, but of course I’m sad because I was so close.”
In truth, he was and he was not. Yes, del Potro lost a great first set. Yes, he had chances to take command of the third before losing it in a tiebreaker. And yes, above all, he bravely saved two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker to extend the match.
But Djokovic, one of the sport’s great managers of risk and reward, was never anywhere near the brink of defeat.
“In the end I think he played unbelievable,” del Potro said. “I played my best tennis ever on grass court for a long time, but it was not enough to beat the No. 1 in the world.”
It is not as if the eighth-seeded del Potro did not know what it felt like to beat Djokovic on grass. Del Potro did it here at the All England Club just last year in the bronze-medal match in the Olympics, a best-of-three-set affair that contained all the emotion of a best-of-five.
Del Potro then beat him again in the semifinals of the hardcourt event in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.
But those results remain exceptions to the rule in their rivalry. Djokovic has won nine of their 12 matches and all four in Grand Slam tournaments.