Novak Djokovic is on his way to the Men's Singles Finals at 2013 Wimbledon. He defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in five well played sets, 7-5, 4-6, 7(7)-6(2), 6(6)-7(8), 6-3, that gave tennis fans over four hours of tennis. Del Potro might have dropped the match, but he gave fans one hell of an entertaining match to watch as the Argentinian absorbed every ounce of energy given by the crowd.
With a booming serve to take the advantage and a strong backhand down the line, Djokovic closed out a historical matchup at Wimbledon. In a match that took four hours and 43 minutes, fans saw the longest semifinals match in the history of the game.
Before getting to Del Potro's theatrics, let's break down the No. 1 seeded Djokovic's performance. The Serb will have a chance to win his second Wimbledon title with the victory. Djokovic received the hardest test of the tournament in facing Del Potro. Every set was close and the two players split tiebreaks in the third and fourth sets.
Djokovic will now await for his last obstacle to claiming the title as Andy Murray and Jerzy Janowicz face off in the second semifinals meeting of the day.
As much as the story was about Djokovic winning, Del Potro's entertaining performance deserves to be mentioned. If players could get points for fans' reactions and laughs, Del Potro would have broken the bank. His reactions were funny and his shots were amazing.
Fans began warming up to Del Potro in the second set. Down 2-3 in the second set, Del Potro would not give in easily as he attempted to avoid falling into a 2-4 hole. Using his big serve, Del Potro rallied to tie the set 3-3 after being down 15-40 in the sixth game. Djokovic attempted a drop shot volley in the following game, but Del Potro used all of his 6'6" frame to return the shot and win the point. Del Potro was putting on a show and feeding off the crowd's energy. Following the terrific play, Del Potro put away the game, winning the next two points and taking a 4-3 lead in the set.
This sequence seemingly disturbed Djokovic's rhythm. Del Potro went on to win the next game, taking a 5-3 lead. Djokovic won four consecutive points, two of which were murderous serves that left Del Potro stiff. Del Potro appeared to be saving his energy for when he served as he sent a bullet past Djokovic and then closed out the set with a booming serve the Serb was unable to handle.
Djokovic bounced back and defeated Del Potro in the third set in a tiebreaker that was one sided. That was truly the only time Djokovic dominated this match as he won the tiebreak with ease after it appeared both players were going to lock up for a lengthy battle. With the tiebreak tied 2-2, Djokovic closed out the set winning the last five points.
The momentum couldn't carry over into the fourth set for Djokovic. Del Potro refused to lose after being down 3-4 in the fourth. He broke Djokovic's next serve and then the two proceeded to hold serve until it was time for another tiebreak. Del Potro trailed 4-6 and went on to win the next four points to tie the match at two sets a piece.
The final set saw a tired Juan Martin del Potro that was unable to hold serve, unable to chase after balls, but still refusing to quit and giving all he had left. He fell behind 5-3 as he couldn't level the set at 4. After the break, it was evident Djokovic was going to get the win and advance to the Finals.