Novak Djokovic defeated heroic Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 on Friday in the longest Wimbledon semifinal in history to move into his 11th Grand Slam title match.
In a titanic struggle played out over four hours and 43 minutes, world number one Djokovic squandered two match points in the fourth set tiebreak before going on to seal a final clash against either British second seed Andy Murray, the runner-up last year, or 24th seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz.
The top-seeded Serb, the champion in 2011, leads Murray 11-7 in career meetings but has yet to face Janowicz, the first Polish man to make the semifinals of a major. Djokovic, bidding for a seventh Grand Slam crown, fired 22 aces and 80 winners in his breathtaking win over the luckless Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, who had been hoping to become just the second Argentine to make the Wimbledon final.
“It was one of the best matches I’ve been part of, certainly one of the most exciting. It was so close and nothing could separate us,” said Djokovic. “But that’s why he is a Grand Slam champion, every time he was in a tough situation he comes up with unbelievable shots.” Del Potro, who had defeated the Serb for the Olympic bronze medal at Wimbledon last year, had matched Djokovic blow for blow in the first set but had to bat back a break point in the sixth game to stay on level terms.
Del Potro came back in second set and won the fourth too. In the decider, Djokovic fought off a break point in the fifth game before Del Potro saved one in the sixth. The Argentine cracked to trail 3-5, Djokovic saved another break point as he served for the match in the ninth game before he claimed his epic win with a huge forehand.