Serbian defending champion Novak Djokovic reached his eleventh semi-final at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam in tennis, on Tuesday, with an epic and thrilling victory over his Italian rival Yannick Sener, who was two sets down.
Djokovic won 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a date with either British player Cameron Norrie or Belgian David Goffin to snatch one of the cards in the expected final match on Sunday.
This is the seventh time in the Serbian’s career that he has returned from afar, after falling by two sets in a Grand Slam tournament.
Djokovic saluted Sener, saying: “Congratulations to Yannick for the big fight, he’s very mature for his age, he has plenty of time.”
He added that “the first two sets compared to the next three, like two different matches. He was the better player in the first two sets.”
“At the end of the second set, I took a rest on the toilet, said a little spirited talk to myself, and tried to collect my thoughts, I broke his serve early in the third set.”
And he added: “I saw a little doubt in his movement. I have many years of experience playing on these courts and dealing with pressure.”
Djokovic seeks to become only the fourth player to win the English title four times in a row after Bjorn Borg, American Pete Sampras and Swiss Roger Federer. He also wants to win his seventh title in the championship, which is one title away from Federer’s record.
The Serb looked ready for a match everyone thought was routine when he led 4-1 in the opening set and got a 5-1 break point against the 20-year-old Italian.
But Sener saved the point, came back from a distance 6-5 and had the opportunity to serve for the group. Djokovic saved the point, but a volley in the net gave the Italian the set.
Sener then unleashed himself relentlessly against Djokovic, to win the second set as well.
While things seemed difficult for the Serbian, Djokovic proved that he is no stranger to overcoming the difficulties of the Grand Slam, having previously returned twice from two sets, the last of which was at Roland Garros last year in the final against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Indeed, after breaking the serve in the fourth game of the third set, Djokovic began to regain the initiative, to win three consecutive sets and advance to the semi-finals.
Among the women, the 34-year-old German ranked 103rd in the world, Tatiana Maria, qualified for the semi-finals, by defeating compatriot Jules Niemeyer (97) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday.
Before leaving the stadium, Maria said, “I got goosebumps… It’s a dream to live this with my family and my two young daughters. Less than a year ago I gave birth… This is crazy!”
Maria has never made it past the third round of a major tournament, a role she reached at Wimbledon in 2015.
After losing the first set, Maria found herself behind in the second, but she found the resources to beat her opponent 12 years younger than her and who is participating in her second major tournament.
Maria explained that she simply “played point by point”.
The German will play on Thursday, to book her ticket to the final, against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, ranked second in the world, or Czech Maria Bozkova (66).
“It would be great to play against Ons, she is part of the family,” Maria said. “She plays with my girls all the time.”
AFP