No. 1 Djokovic to face No. 2 Murray at Wimbledon

LONDON – For 368 points, for five sets, for a record 4 hours, 43 minutes – most quite marvelous, all with a berth in the Wimbledon final at stake – Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro put on a memorable show.

Their baseline exchanges were lengthy and intense, accompanied by loud grunts of exertion and exhaustion, punctuated by the thud of racket string against tennis ball.

In the end, as he almost always does lately, Djokovic displayed the stamina and fortitude to win a long-as-can-be match, edging del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-3 Friday to close in on a second Wimbledon championship and seventh Grand Slam title overall.

“Unbelievable to watch,” said del Potro.

“Draining,” said Djokovic, who has won 10 of his last 12 five-setters. “One of the most exciting matches I’ve ever played in my life.”

Folks around here felt just as euphoric about Friday’s second semifinal, even if it was far less competitive or compelling. Britain has waited 77 years for one of its own to claim the men’s trophy at Wimbledon, and for the second consecutive year, Andy Murray is one victory away. He came back from a set down, then a break down in the third, and got past 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that concluded with Centre Court’s retractable roof shut.

“I was very relieved after the semis last year, whereas this year … I was a bit happier,” said Murray, who lost to seven-time champion Roger Federer in the 2012 final. “I’ll be probably in a better place mentally. I would hope so, just because I’ve been there before.”

Sunday, the top-ranked Djokovic faces No. 2 Murray, the third time in the past four Grand Slam events they will meet in the final. The exception was last month’s French Open. Murray skipped it because of a bad back.

Last September, Murray defeated Djokovic in five sets at the U.S. Open to earn the first major title anywhere for a British man since Fred Perry at that tournament in 1936 – months after Perry’s historic win at Wimbledon. In January, Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open. Now they’ll settle things at the All England Club.

On Friday, Djokovic and del Potro played the longest semifinal, by time, in Wimbledon history. Theirs also was the first Wimbledon semifinal in the 45-year Open era between two men who hadn’t dropped a set in the tournament.