LONDON: It would be unfair to call all that Juan Martin del Potro threw across the net in the Wimbledon men's singles semifinals as shot-making. Bullets - murderous and bloodless - were flying all over Center Court as the giant Argentine's play came dangerously close to being declared illegal.
Results: Men's Singles | Women's Singles
The world No.1 Serb Novak Djokovic, who spent his younger days dodging bullets in war-torn Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia, was however well-armed, pulling off a 7-5, 4-6 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 win in 4 hours and 43 minutes, in the longest Wimbledon semifinal ever.
"This was one of the best matches I have been a part of," Djokovic said, "One of the most exciting. It was so close, you couldn't separate us. That's why he is a Grand Slam champion.
I didn't think I played badly. Each time I went up in the match, or when I had a match-point in the fourth set, full credit to him for keeping the fight going. I'm just glad to have come through. When I lost the fourth set, it was disappointing but in the end I managed to stay sharp and solid to make the final."
The Argentine, 6 ft 6', a mix of crushing firepower and destructive shot-making, had the world No.1 on the back-foot, scrambling from side to side, hanging in there by the barest minimum.
For most part of the epic semifinal it appeared like Djokovic was playing on the edge, just about holding himself up to the bullets that were coming at him from the other end.
The Serb, a skillful strategist, came charging at his opponent each time he saw an opening, cutting recovery time and forcing his handsome, hulking opponent to play early. It was a clash punctuated by staggering shot-making that sizzled under the sparkling afternoon sun.
The Argentine, playing with a heavily strapped left knee and moving gingerly, also engaged in some theatre, breaking from the monotony of the match if you please. Like Boris Becker said, "There's no business like show business."
At the end of a long rally early in the last-four clash, Del Potro, known as Delpo back home in Tandil, a picturesque hill station is the southwest of the country's capital Buenos Aires, failed to break on time and ran into the crowd, where he engaged with spectators.
In the fourth set, the Argentine, known to clown around on Tour, charged across to the other side and debated a line call with his opponent. A contest in which the players were involved in fierce combat was played in the finest spirit of sport.
So much so that in the end of the near five-hour contest the two men embraced at the net in mutual respect and admiration. It was the Serb's range and resilience that saw him come back to claim the third set in a tie-break.
It was a set dominated in most part by the blistering pace of his opponent's game. Del Potro appeared to be running away with it. Then inexplicably, he fell back 0-40 on his serve in the 12th game. The set drifted into tie-break, where the Serb was at the top of his game.
Del Potro, playing with a bandaged knee and moving on virtually one leg, was broken in the seventh game of the fourth set. At that point, it appeared like the pendulum had swung the Serb's way.
However, the giant pro from Argentina wasn't ready to step back just yet. He broke Djokovic in the following game to push the match into tiebreak, where more drama unfolded. Djokovic, who led 3-1, 4-2 and then 6-4 could do little as his fiercely competitive opponent came out punching to level scores at 6-6.
Del Potro saved the first match point with a 24-stroke rally before winning three successive points, two of them on his serve, to level at two sets apiece. Djokovic did well to pull himself together in the decider, eking out a break in the eighth came, before holding nerve and serve in the ninth to take his place in the title round.
Bopanna-Zheng out
In the mixed-doubles quarterfinals late on Thursday, the seventh seeds India's Rohan Bopanna and China's Jie Zheng fell to Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Russian Vera Dushevina 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Bopanna's exit brought the curtains down on the Indian challenge in the 2013 Championships.
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