Djokovic survives scare, in semis
4 July 2014 5:06 AM IST
Andy Murray’s reign as Wimbledon champion came to a stunning end as Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov clinched a sensational 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. Murray had hoped to become the first British man to successfully defend the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936, but the Scot was completely out-classed in a two-hour masterclass from 11th seed Dimitrov on Centre Court.
The 27-year-old’s unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semifinal at the grasscourt Grand Slam. Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final. ‘I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It’s never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate. I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis. The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control,’ 11th-seeded Dimitrov said.
Only once before had Murray lost a Wimbledon quarterfinal, against Rafael Nadal in 2008, and this was his first defeat against a player ranked outside the top 10 at a Grand Slam since 2010. After years of struggling to live up to the vast potential that has earned him numerous comparisons with Roger Federer, this was a thrilling performance from 23-year-old Dimitrov, who finally secured his first win over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam at the fifth attempt.
The world number 13 was playing in his first All England Club quarterfinal, but he is a former junior Wimbledon champion and had underlined his grasscourt pedigree by winning the Queen’s Club title last month. He showed no signs of being overawed and secured two break points in the fourth game, converting at the first attempt when he pinned Murray to the baseline then rushed the net to force the Scot to blaze his backhand wide.
By the time Dimitrov broke again for a 5-1 lead a stunned silence had descended on Centre Court and he finished off the set in just 25 minutes. The shock of dropping a set for the first time in this year’s tournament only added to the already-lethargic Murray’s malaise. Murray seemed to have run out of answers when a tame backhand slice drifted out to give the Bulgarian a break for a 4-3 lead in the second set. The third seed broke back to force a tie-break, but the crucial moment came at 4-4 in the breaker when Murray chose to charge the net behind a weak approach shot.
It was a disastrous gamble as Dimitrov stood his ground and unleashed a blistering backhand winner before serving out the set with a defiant roar. Murray had been in equally dire straits when he defeated Fernando Verdasco from two sets down in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. But he was unable to climbed off the canvas this time. Murray’s game was riddled with mistakes, he made 37 unforced errors in total, and it was fitting that virtually his last act as champion was the double fault that gifted Dimitrov a 5-2 lead in the third set. Dimitrov wasn’t going to refuse that gift and he sealed his sensational triumph on his second match point.
LONDON: Novak Djokovic reached his 23rd Grand Slam semifinal and fifth in a row at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the 2011 champion defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic for the 10th time in 10 meetings.
Top seed Djokovic won 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-2 and will face Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who knocked out defending champion Andy Murray, for a place in Sunday’s final. The six-time major winner went level with Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal by making the last-four at a major for the 23rd time. ‘It was a tough five-setter. I knew that Marin would be aggressive. I took the first set and had chances to break in the second but didn’t take them,’ said Djokovic.
‘I dropped serve and the momentum shifted but in the last two sets I regained control, swung through the ball, had more stability on the ground and I was getting my returns back.
Djokovic cut a frustrated figure in the second set when the roars from Centre Court, where Murray was fighting for his life, shattered the focus of Court One where he also asked for the score updates from the other semifinal to be switched off the screens. The world number two said he was expecting a tough encounter with 23-year-old Dimitrov who will be playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal. ‘He’s on fire at the moment. He’s won titles this year including Queen’s so hasn’t lost on grass. It’ll be a tough match.’ Djokovic raced through the first set in 27 minutes allowing the 26th seed Cilic just a miserly six points on his serve. But with coach and 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic watching on, the 25-year-old Cilic roared back to level courtesy of a break in the fourth game of the second set.
He carved out another break for a 6-5 advantage in the third set with Djokovic hitting back immediately. The Serb took two falls in the tie-break and his rhythm was shattered as Cilic edged it 7/4. In a topsy-turvy encounter, back came the world number two who sped into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set with his footwork more assured after a change of shoes courtside. Djokovic was now comfortably in the ascendancy and breaks in the first and seventh games of the decider steered him into the semifinals at a major for the 16th time in his last 17 Grand Slam outings.
The 27-year-old’s unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semifinal at the grasscourt Grand Slam. Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final. ‘I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It’s never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate. I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis. The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control,’ 11th-seeded Dimitrov said.
Only once before had Murray lost a Wimbledon quarterfinal, against Rafael Nadal in 2008, and this was his first defeat against a player ranked outside the top 10 at a Grand Slam since 2010. After years of struggling to live up to the vast potential that has earned him numerous comparisons with Roger Federer, this was a thrilling performance from 23-year-old Dimitrov, who finally secured his first win over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam at the fifth attempt.
The world number 13 was playing in his first All England Club quarterfinal, but he is a former junior Wimbledon champion and had underlined his grasscourt pedigree by winning the Queen’s Club title last month. He showed no signs of being overawed and secured two break points in the fourth game, converting at the first attempt when he pinned Murray to the baseline then rushed the net to force the Scot to blaze his backhand wide.
By the time Dimitrov broke again for a 5-1 lead a stunned silence had descended on Centre Court and he finished off the set in just 25 minutes. The shock of dropping a set for the first time in this year’s tournament only added to the already-lethargic Murray’s malaise. Murray seemed to have run out of answers when a tame backhand slice drifted out to give the Bulgarian a break for a 4-3 lead in the second set. The third seed broke back to force a tie-break, but the crucial moment came at 4-4 in the breaker when Murray chose to charge the net behind a weak approach shot.
It was a disastrous gamble as Dimitrov stood his ground and unleashed a blistering backhand winner before serving out the set with a defiant roar. Murray had been in equally dire straits when he defeated Fernando Verdasco from two sets down in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. But he was unable to climbed off the canvas this time. Murray’s game was riddled with mistakes, he made 37 unforced errors in total, and it was fitting that virtually his last act as champion was the double fault that gifted Dimitrov a 5-2 lead in the third set. Dimitrov wasn’t going to refuse that gift and he sealed his sensational triumph on his second match point.
LONDON: Novak Djokovic reached his 23rd Grand Slam semifinal and fifth in a row at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the 2011 champion defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic for the 10th time in 10 meetings.
Top seed Djokovic won 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-2 and will face Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who knocked out defending champion Andy Murray, for a place in Sunday’s final. The six-time major winner went level with Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal by making the last-four at a major for the 23rd time. ‘It was a tough five-setter. I knew that Marin would be aggressive. I took the first set and had chances to break in the second but didn’t take them,’ said Djokovic.
‘I dropped serve and the momentum shifted but in the last two sets I regained control, swung through the ball, had more stability on the ground and I was getting my returns back.
Djokovic cut a frustrated figure in the second set when the roars from Centre Court, where Murray was fighting for his life, shattered the focus of Court One where he also asked for the score updates from the other semifinal to be switched off the screens. The world number two said he was expecting a tough encounter with 23-year-old Dimitrov who will be playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal. ‘He’s on fire at the moment. He’s won titles this year including Queen’s so hasn’t lost on grass. It’ll be a tough match.’ Djokovic raced through the first set in 27 minutes allowing the 26th seed Cilic just a miserly six points on his serve. But with coach and 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic watching on, the 25-year-old Cilic roared back to level courtesy of a break in the fourth game of the second set.
He carved out another break for a 6-5 advantage in the third set with Djokovic hitting back immediately. The Serb took two falls in the tie-break and his rhythm was shattered as Cilic edged it 7/4. In a topsy-turvy encounter, back came the world number two who sped into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set with his footwork more assured after a change of shoes courtside. Djokovic was now comfortably in the ascendancy and breaks in the first and seventh games of the decider steered him into the semifinals at a major for the 16th time in his last 17 Grand Slam outings.
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