Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer all advance to Wimbledon semis for first time since 2007
Novak Djokovic reached his ninth Wimbledon semifinal with relative ease, defeating No. 21 David Goffin 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 on Center Court at the All England Club on Wednesday.
He was joined later in the day by the rest of the big three of men’s tennis. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer each won their quarterfinals to play each other in the semifinal. It’s the first time they’ve met at the All England Club since the final in 2008, won by Nadal.
It’s the first time since 2007 all three have reached the semifinal at Wimbledon.
Djokovic reaches 9th Wimbledon semifinal
He won his 70th Wimbledon match and will play in a Grand Slam semifinal for the 36th time. It was his 10th consecutive game victory.
Djokovic found himself down in the first set when Goffin won the first break, 4-3, during a back-and-forth contest. It was at that point the No. 1 ranked player and defending Wimbledon champion went into cruise control, shutting down Goffin in the second set and completing the third with ease. The match lasted 1:56.
The 21st seed was praised by Djokovic in the lead-up to the quarterfinal match for his quickness and talent on grass. He showed that early, matching the star with a tweener lob in the second set.
Not one but TWO tweeners...@DjokerNole and @David__Goffin treated us to something special in today's @HSBC_Sport Play of the Day#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/CmtddxSqfQ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2019
Djokovic is chasing his fifth title at the tournament. He will face Roberto Bautista Agut, a 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Guido Pella. It’s the 31-year-old Spaniard’s first Grand Slam semifinal. He’s the 23 seed and with Nadal’s berth clinched, it’s the first time in Wimbledon history two Spanish players have reached the semifinals.
Nadal, Federer set up Wimbledon rematch
Nadal and Federer each won their matches to complete the big three in the semifinals, and set up the first contest against each other at the All England Club in more than a decade.
Nadal defeated American Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Federer lost his first set of the quarterfinal and came back to defeat Kei Nishikori of Japan 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
It's Federer vs Nadal. At #Wimbledon
Again. pic.twitter.com/lYHkirmoQO— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2019
It is a record 13th semifinal at Wimbledon for Federer and at 37 he’s the oldest man to make it that far at a Grand Slam in 28 years. His win in the quarterfinals was his 100th at the tournament, a mark no other male player has reached.
He’s also close to another record at Wimbledon. His 12 aces against Nishikori pushed him closer to the record held by Goran Ivanisevic of 1,397. He’s seven short.
No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Federer have gone head-to-head at Wimbledon only three times, all of which were in the finals from 2006 to 2008. All but the first meeting went a full five sets with tiebreakers. Federer won the first two titles and Nadal won in 2008 in an epic contest.
Overall the 33-year-old Nadal is 24-15 against Federer and is closing in on him for Grand Slam titles. He has 18 to Federer’s 20.
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