Djokovic edges Del Potro in a gladiatorial Wimbledon battle

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.