Roger Federer stuns Novak Djokovic to advance to the final – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Third seed, Roger Federer of Switzerland, reached his eighth Wimbledon final by defeating the current world number one, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals at the All England Club on Friday.
The Swiss Maestro grabbed victory after a battle of two hours and 19 minutes and moved one step closer to his record equalling seventh Wimbledon crown. If he wins on Sunday, Federer will also become the new number one player in
the world, levelling Sampras’ record of most weeks as the top ranked player with 286.
Federer and Djokovic started smoothly on Friday, as they held their serve in the first five games to take the score to 3-2 in the Swiss Maestro’s favour. The former world number one hit a blow to his Serbian opponent in the sixth
one and capitalised on it to triumph 6-3.
Djokovic responded strongly by capturing opening three games of the second set and gaining a 3-0 advantage. The Belgrade, Serbia resident held his entire serves with relative ease, winning it 6-3.
The third set was the most competitive one of all, as Djokovic and Federer did not allow each other to make a breakthrough in the opening nine games and took the score to 5-4 in the latter’s favour. However, Djokovic failed to
hold his serve when he served to stay in the set at that moment and went down 4-6.
The momentum shifted in Federer’s favour and he made the most of it by winning first three serves to move ahead 3-0. Djokovic was unable to inflict any damage to the six-time former champion, as Federer lost just a couple of points
in the 10th game and served it out at 5-3.
During the post match press conference, Federer said, "I have one more match to go. I'm aware of that. Still, it's always nice beating someone like Novak, who has done so well here last year, the last couple years."
The Swiss Maestro added, "There's obviously a lot on the line for me in terms of winning here, the all-time Grand Slam record, world No. 1. I'm also going into that match with some pressure, but I'm excited about it.”
On the other hand, Djokovic had all praise for his rival, as he stated, "He was the better player. In the important moments he was aggressive, hitting from both sides. Obviously, that's what you expect when you play against Roger
at the final four of a Grand Slam. I knew that."
Federer is pitted against Great Britain’s top player, Andy Murray, in the final.
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