Djokovic, Del Potro storm into semifinals
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 4, 2013
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their Wimbledon quarterfinal at the All England Club in London yesterday. |
The spectators were still settling into their seats when Juan Martin del Potro chased a David Ferrer overhead into the corner, only to lose traction on the slick grass.
Del Potro's knee straightened suddenly, then bent backward. The tall Argentine crumpled to the ground and barrel-rolled twice into the far edge of Centre Court in London.
Only five points into the Wimbledon quarterfinal, the match appeared over before it had really gotten going.
No such luck for Spain's Ferrrer.
First at a limp, then at a jog, then at a sprint, the eighth-seeded del Potro recovered for a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over the fourth-seeded Ferrer to make his first Wimbledon semifinal. His opponent will be top-seeded Novak Djokovic, whose 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 7 Tomas Berdych ended less than five seconds after del Potro hit his final shot.
"It's really, really painful," del Potro said of the injury that has been bothering him since he first slipped on the Wimbledon turf last Saturday. "I twist my knee once again, but the doctor gave me some magic pills. I could finish the match. I'm so glad to go through."
During a tournament with more than its share of twists and turns, Djokovic and del Potro have gone through virtually unscathed ? on the scoreboard at least. Neither man has dropped a set.
Djokovic overcame a two-break, 0-3 deficit against Czech Berdych in the second set to cruise through. He is in his 13th straight grand slam semifinal and in search of his seventh major title.
Del Potro, meanwhile, is starting to show the form he used to win his only major, the US Open in 2009. He's 3-8 lifetime against Djokovic, though one of those victories came at the All England Club when he beat the Serb in the Olympic bronze-medal match last year. Djokovic also won their last meeting, earlier this year on hardcourt in Indian Wells, California.
After the matches ended, the next two quarterfinals began ? one pitting second seed Andy Murray of Britain against Fernando Verdasco of Spain, the other an all-Polish affair, with Lukasz Kubot going against No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz, with the winner to become the first Polish semifinalist in grand slam history.
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