Novak Djokovic was pushed, but the top seed was able to slide through to the Wimbledon final. (Getty Images)
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will be playing for his second career Wimbledon final after edging eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 Friday at the All England Club.
Djokovic appeared to be in control out of hand, but Del Potro was able to turn the tide somewhat in the second set. The Argentinian was battling some left knee issues — Del Potro had two separate nasty spills in earlier rounds — though his mobility hardly seemed affected throughout.
Del Potro pushed Djokovic to a tiebreak in the third set before stumbling. Then, again, the two played to a tiebreak in the fourth set, and, somehow, Del Potro was able to fight off two Djokovic match points and pull even.
The fifth set mostly mirrored the first four, with both men holding serve and trading games. Del Potro stumbled first, and Djokovic was able to take advantage and close out the match.
Both players were noticeably fatigued late in the final set, but Del Potro seemed most affected. And with good reason: At 4 hours, 44 minutes, the match was the longest ever in a Wimbledon semifinal.
The world number one now moves on to face the winner of Jerzy Janowicz and crowd-favorite Andy Murray in Sunday’s final.
