Djokovic edges Del Potro in a gladiatorial Wimbledon battle

Even the summer warmed up to the promising contest between the 2011 champion Novak Djokovic and the first time semi-finalist Juan Martin Del Potro. The two powerful men squared off for the honour of being the first man into the finals of the 127^th Wimbledon Championships on a packed centre court.

The tennis beggared belief, before Djokovic prevailed 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3 at the end a titanic 4 hour 43 minute duel of astronomical brilliance. In an intensely engaging and the longest ever semi-final in Wimbledon history – Djokovic needed to be better on almost every count to eliminate an obstinate opponent. The Serbian needed 22 aces (4 for Del Potro), 80 winners (48), 42 of 56 points at the net (25 of 37) to come out smiling from an epic clash of relentless gets and lung busting rallies to reach the finals.

Del Potro won the toss and requested to receive. Djokovic did not disappoint his host, holding serve with an ace down the middle. The 6’6” tower, taped at the knee, responded with a similarly thundering ace to begin his service game.

In their twelfth career meeting, Djokovic and Del Potro were meeting on grass for only the second time. Last year the Argentine got rid of Djokovic in the quarter-finals of Olympics on the very court they were standing on now. The world No. 8 also managed to win in Indian Wells earlier this year, but the Serbian has a convincing 8-3 edge over his opponent.

At 30-30 in the sixth game, Del Potro was a tad tentative. He had just gifted a double fault and Djokovic earned the first break point of the match by forcing the issue to the backhand side of the Argentine. Del Potro saved it and more with a couple of giant serves, just when he needed it.

But Djokovic flicked his wrist ever so gently to create an outstanding short angle forehand to bring the game back on deuce. Eventually, Del Potro managed to get through to a laboured hold after a 14 point marathon that lit up centre court in the bright intensity of a top class contest.

The tower of Tandil went after the backhand of Djokovic to stay even at 4-4, the tension though was mounting under the weight of the occasion. Neither of the two had lost a set on his way to the semis. With the set nearing its end it was difficult to gather who might give.

The quality of tennis was already pretty high and it just got impossibly better in the twelfth game. At 30-0 for Del Potro, it felt that the Argentine almost won himself three game points with a cross court backhand deep and wide to the Djokovic backhand. The elastic Serbian, stretched on his outside leg sliced a backhand up the line, landing it right in the corner of the deuce court.

The Serbian’s brilliance confounded his opponent, just as it enamoured an entire stadium. A drop shot on the next point left Del Potro scrambling in vain and an error gave Djokovic set point. It was interesting how the game turned on its head around a moment of maddening brilliance.

The Argentine was clearly rattled and the double fault that followed helped Djokovic finally snatch the wheel after nearly an hour of intense battle. The backhand of Djokovic wasn’t working well, but neither was the serve of Del Potro.

Djokovic did not have to deal with a break point in the set and won twice as many return points (14) as Del Potro (7) to keep him under pressure till the Argentine gave in. It was a tough start to the day for the Argentine, with only 50% of his first serves making the play.

The pressure was palpably obvious from early in the match. It mounted again when Del Potro fell to 15-40 in the sixth game. Fortunately for the Argentine, he produced his best tennis to wiggle out of trouble. A spectacular forehand volley winner and another loaded backhand winner off a short ball carried him to game point from a position of adversity.

But at the other end was a man who is tough as nails. Del Potro had to battle hard to save two more break points in the game, producing some gutsy tennis to remain on even terms at 3-3. Suddenly, a screamer of a backhand winner and a scrambling cross court winner off a drop shot gave Del Potro his first break points of the match.

And he drank like a man in a desert, who stumbled into an oasis after days on the sand. Del Potro struck a stinging backhand down the line winner to help himself to the elusive break. Quenched and energised, Del Potro seemed to be on a roll at 40-0 in the next game. But the Argentine contrived to lose four on the run to suddenly stare at another break.

The spirited Argentine though fought back to hold serve to 5-3, and it was a game that was worth its weight in gold for him. Serving for the set at 5-4, Del Potro exchanged drop shots with Djokovic to inch closer to the set. With ground strokes touching nearly 80 miles per hour, Del Potro did not lose too much time to seal the set and sound the bugle of resistance.

In a spot of bother again at 30-30 in the sixth game of the third set, Del Potro struck a scorching inside out forehand that reminded Djokovic of the power he had to deal with to reach the eleventh grand slam final of his career.

Emboldened by the difficult hold, Del Potro returned with aggression and Djokovic slumped to break point when he plonked a backhand into the net. Fighting toe to toe, Djokovic battled with intensity and power to hold off the advancing Del Potro and protect his fort after a probing seventh game.

At 0-30, 4-5 Del Potro chose just the perfect moment to produce a moment of Wimbledon magic. He retrieved a wide ball, from behind his hip – engineering an incredibly powerful flat forehand cross court winner that left both opponent and spectator gasping in awe. Riding a wave of confidence Del Potro won four in a row to hold tight and stay level.

The drama just got better when Del Potro was down 0-40 in the twelfth game. The Argentine showed immense character to prevent the Serbian from taking a two set lead, winning five in a row to force the tie-break.

But Del Potro confounded everyone when he made a mess of an easy point at 2-3 in the breaker – sending a smash at the net straight at the struggling Djokovic before dumping another overhead in the net to offer the first mini-break at 4-2.

It was a devastating miss and Del Potro never recovered, surrendering the set without winning another point. Djokovic sent a backhand winner to take the breaker before running inside for a change of clothes. It was that hot in Wimbledon and the physical struggle of this contest was only adding to the sweat and toil.

The restroom break also forced Del Potro to ruminate over the cost of that slip up a little longer, causing the gravity of the error to sink in and turn those lumbering legs heavier. Despite the setback, the gallant South American battled hard to keep it alive till 3-3 in the fourth set. The world No.1 though is nearly as relentless as Rafael Nadal might be on a pair of steady knees.

Del Potro wilted in the seventh game, when he fell to 15-40 finding the net with floundering forehand. Del Potro saved the first point with a fiery backhand volley, but embraced the net with his forehand again on the next point to offer a vital break to Djokovic.

This was a semi-final of the highest order and more drama followed. It was Djokovic who sent a forehand long in the next game to offer break back point to the Argentine. Del Potro grabbed it with glee thundering past Djokovic with a screaming forehand winner to stay 4-4.

When Del Potro held to love at 6-5, for once it was Djokovic serving to force the breaker. When he did so without too much fuss, Del Potro flailed a backhand long to surrender the first point of the breaker. Djokovic sent down an 127 miles per hour ace out wide to change ends at 4-2.

But Del Potro took advantage of a short ball to swing away a forehand cross court winner to bring the breaker back on serve. The reprieve lasted barely a minute, Djokovic using his power to send Del Potro side to side to snatch the next point.

When he strung a singeing forehand winner next, he had two match points. Del Potro, refusing to relent, won a 24 point rally of wild brilliance to save the first when Djokovic sailed his stretched forehand long. Under pressure, as he was for much of this match, Del Potro produced a timely forehand winner to stay alive at 6-6.

A backhand winner saw Del Potro suddenly holding a set point to force what seemed an unlikely fifth set. Djokovic assisted with a dumped ball in the net on the next point to help the match into a promising climax, leaving the crowd panting with excitement and pregnant with anticipation.

When Del Potro raced like a rabbit to crouch low and drag out a forehand winner to get to 40-0 in the second game any fear of a drop in intensity were washed away immediately at the start of the fifth set. Djokovic underlined the fact by retrieving forever to claw back to deuce.

The first opportunity of the final set embraced Djokovic, but the tiring Serbian spurned his chances to allow Del Potro to walk out of jail unscathed at 3-3. By now the official towels were all too soaked in the sweat and toil of this epic.

The players had to make do with colourless whites – but there was barely a moment on court that lacked colour or content. Serving at 3-4, Del Potro was drawn to the net by a Djokovic drop shot from where he was lobbed away to a perilous 15-30.

A tired looking backhand into the net, with the feet dragging on court left the Argentine near the lap of defeat. A wild forehand error, searching for a winner, from Del Potro left him shattered and Djokovic serving to stay on for Sunday at 5-3.

Djokovic though fell to 0-30 even as he was serving for the match, and Del Potro struck a forehand winner to earn a break back point. Playing with foaming intensity, Djokovic found a couple of huge serves to earn his third match point. A typically characteristic one-two punch – serve out wide followed by a backhand down the line winner finally catapulted the Serbian into the finals.

In a Wimbledon blighted by early upsets, it was only fitting that these two gladiators offered the kind of fare that will now be the abiding memory of another tremendous year at Wimbledon. And we aren’t even done. There are two more matches left in the kitty – one to decide the other finalist and then the grand finale on Sunday.