London: Novak Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro in the Wimbledon semi-finals after the world number one clinched his 13th consecutive Grand Slam last-four spot with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych on Wednesday.
Djokovic is yet to drop a set in his five matches at this year’s tournament and the 2011 champion is now just two wins away from lifting the All England Club trophy for the second time.
Del Potro beat Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) after surviving a nasty fall in the opening game, which left the Argentine eighth seed needing several minutes of treatment on a left knee already heavily bandaged.
Berdych had beaten Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2010, but that was one of just two wins for the Czech seventh seed in their 15 meetings.
The losing streak always looked likely to continue once Djokovic took a tight first set in the tie-break, to the delight of Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, who was cheering on his fellow Serb from courtside.
Djokovic, a six-time Grand Slam champion, recovered from 3-0 down in the second set and surged to victory in his 17th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final appearance.
“It was a close match, it could have gone either way,” Djokovic said.
“He was a double-break up in the second set. I don’t know how I got out of that, but I was serving and returning well.
“I have a commitment to go far in this tournament. I am playing some of my best tennis on grass even though it’s not my preferred surface,”
Berdych added: “I can play better than I played today. If you give him too much then it’s a lot.”
On Centre Court, Del Potro, 24, was clearly struggling to move at times, but he gritted his teeth through two hours and 16 minutes of gruelling action, unloading 42 winners and 12 aces to finally subdue the battling Spaniard.
It will be del Potro’s first Grand Slam semi-final appearance since his breakthrough triumph at the US Open four years ago.
Del Potro is just the second Argentine man to feature in the Wimbledon semi-finals, following in the footsteps of country man David Nalbandian who did it in 2002. (Reuters)