Djokovic books Wimbledon final place

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  • One match away: Djokovic will face the winner of Roger Federer's clash with Milos Raonic.

    Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon final for a second straight year after overcoming Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7) in a slippery and windy semi-final at the All England Club.

    A star-studded Royal Box – which included Bradley Cooper, Bear Grylls and Jude Law – and Maria Sharapova in the stands supporting her boyfriend Dimitrov made for an exciting setting but the wind and grand occasion produced some challenging conditions for the grand slam semi-final debutant early on.

    “It was a tough match, fourth set could have gone either way. Like the last match against (Marin) Cilic, I allowed my opponent to get back into the match,” said Djokovic, a champion here three years ago.

    Djokovic did not miss a first serve for the first 19 points of the match and he got the break in the sixth game to lead 4-2.

    The Serb held to love to take the opening set on his first chance, hitting a big inside out forehand that breaks down Dimitrov’s single-handed backhand. It was clear the Bulgarian wasn’t doing enough on return as Djokovic managed to win 100 per cent of his second serve points in that opening set.

    Dimitrov was broken early in the second, going down 1-2 after an inconsistent service game which saw a mix of some decent first serves as well as double faults and unforced errors, while Djokovic kept his mistakes down to just four throughout the match thus far.

    The following game saw the first signs of tightness from Djokovic and two unforced errors back-to-back Djokovic went on to hold for 3-1.

    The 23-year-old continued to apply some pressure though and he finally got his first break of the match two games later, using his slice backhand to draw the errors from Djokovic and he leveled for 3-3.

    Dimitrov, found the spring in his leg all of a sudden, and he broke again to win his fourth game in a row benefitting from a an average drop shot which forced an error from the top seed.

    The Bulgarian got three set points the following game with a service winner and it was soon one-set-apiece when Djokovic challenged a Dimitrov ball which was called in and it proved a poor decision from the world No2 after Hawk-Eye revealed the ball had clipped the baseline.

    In the third set, Dimitrov hit a great passing shot winner to get a break point in the seventh game, which saw some bizarre choices from Djokovic, who serve-and-volleyed on second serve.

    But the 2011 champion saved it and went on to hold for 4-3. Two poor points from Dimitrov cost him the tiebreak, which Djokovic sealed with a service winner to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

    Dimitrov oddly double-faulted three times in a row before hitting a forehand long to get broken in the third game of the fourth set but he responded immediately, getting the break back with a ninja-like passing shot.

    He almost got broken again on a sloppy service game but he hung on and it was Djokovic who then struggled on serve in game six.

    Djokovic was left speechless when Dimitrov slid his way to pulling off a sensational drop shot which gave the world No13 a set point in the 10th game.

    But Djokovic was roaring moments later when he saved the set point. He roared louder when he held for 5-5.

    Dimitrov got a second set point when he volleyed for 6-3 in the tiebreak but he slipped and fell once again while retrieving a Djokovic ball at the net.

    He squandered the next two set points as well as Djokovic volleyed to level the breaker at 6-6. Dimitrov was suddenly down a match point after double-faulting but saved it with a passing shot.

    Djokovic got another one though on yet another tumble from Dimitrov and this time, the Serb converted to reach his third Wimbledon final in four years.

    “Semi-finals of Wimbledon, playing against a future star, he’s already a top player. Winning against (Andy) Murray in the quarters he deserves a lot of respect,” said Djokovic. “He has quality shots, especially the running forehand. He has great touch.

    "He’s playing equally well when he’s aggressive and when he’s defending.

    "It’s a good win for me. I’m really glad to be a part of another entertaining match.

    “Considering the fact that I have lost the last couple of grand slam finals, I’m looking forward (to the final). It’s a big challenge, a big match.”

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