After what has been an upset-ravaged men’s draw at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, we are now down to the final four men.
The Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray final, which everyone has been anticipating since the early exits of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal appears on track to take shape, but not before Andy Murray had to climb back from the canvas to beat Fernando Verdasco in the first two-sets-to-love-down comeback of this year’s tournament.
Djokovic is yet to be challenged in this Championship but faces his first big threat in the semi-finals, in the form of former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
So, here are the two semi-final matches in preview.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Juan Martin del Potro (8)
Head-to-head: Djokovic 8-3
Last meeting: del Potro defeated Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, semi-finals, 2013 Indian wells Masters.
It’s all or nothing for World No. 1 Novak Djokovic now.
Having cruised through his first five matches without the loss of a set, the Serb now faces his first genuine obstacle on his path to the Wimbledon final, in the form of Argentine tower man Juan Martin del Potro, who also hasn’t lost a set en route to reaching his first Wimbledon semi-final.
After a very closely-fought first set of his match against Tomas Berdych, and a sloppy start to the second where he fell behind two breaks, Djokovic upped his hand to eventually win in straight sets and reach his fifth Wimbledon semi-final in seven years.
That was seen as the first genuine test of Djokovic’s bid for a second Wimbledon title, but as he has done all season, he dismissed every challenge with relative ease.
The victory over Berdych comes after he outlasted German veteran Tommy Haas in straight sets.
Now, he faces del Potro, who almost didn’t get to where he is now after suffering a Victoria Azarenka-like knee injury in the first game of his quarter-final against bogey Spaniard David Ferrer.
But just like Azarenka did in her first round match against Maria Joao Koehler, del Potro played on bravely and surprised many by defeating Ferrer in straight sets.
del Potro had not beaten Ferrer since 2009 but he buried the hoodoo in emphatic style, to not only reach his first semi-final at the All England Club but also his first at a Grand Slam since he won the 2009 US Open.
Now, only Novak Djokovic stands in the way of him and a second Grand Slam final, to follow the aforementioned success at New York four years ago.
The head-to-head might stack in Djokovic’s favour but del Potro has had his measure in recent times. They have met six times in the last twelve months, with del Potro winning two of them – their only meeting on grass in the Bronze Medal match at last year’s London Olympics, and just as recently as the semi-finals of this year’s Indian Wells Masters.
If Djokovic is to continue his run he will have to quell the big, serving threat that is del Potro.
Prediction: Djokovic in four sets.
Jerzy Janowicz (24) vs. Andy Murray (2)
Head-to-head: 1-all
Last meeting: Janowicz defeated Murray 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, third round, 2012 Paris Masters.
If it wasn’t for a massive comeback against Fernando Verdasco then Andy Murray may not have been preparing for this match and he would have started planning the defence of his US Open title very early.
His comeback from two sets down was his first such success since the 2011 US Open, when he knocked off Robin Haase in the second round, and continued his grass court winning streak at 16 dating back to the London Olympics last year.
It also leaves him on track for a Sunday showdown against Novak Djokovic for this year’s Wimbledon title.
The latest assignment that he will be presented with is Polish sensation Jerzy Janowicz.
Having risen through the rankings over the last twelve months, Janowicz became the first Polish man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final by virtue of his straight-sets victory over good friend and compatriot Lukasz Kubot.
Janowicz’s success comes hot on the heels of Agnieszka Radwanska’s run for the women, whereby she is now favoured to win Saturday’s women’s title following the exits of her nearest rivals.
But if Janowicz is to reach his first Wimbledon final, he will have to face not just Andy Murray, but also the wrath of the Centre Court crowd which will be desperately cheering him on into a fourth consecutive grass court final, third at the All England Club and second at Wimbledon.
Janowicz has the experience of having beaten Murray before, in a three-set thriller at last year’s Paris Masters, where he ultimately reached the final as a qualifier before losing to David Ferrer.
Murray will once again have the support of the home crowd so if Janowicz is to pull off an unlikely upset, the first thing he will have on his mind is trying to block it out. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick have used this to great effect in recent years.
But Murray’s experience of having now reached his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final should be too much for the young, rising Pole.
Prediction: Murray in straight sets.
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