Greg Garber, Senior Writer 9y

Djokovic one win away from defending Wimbledon crown

Tennis

LONDON -- Novak Djokovic's tennis is so superb these days that he can be measured against only one person -- himself.

After beating Richard Gasquet 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 to advance to Sunday's Wimbledon final, Djokovic has won 19 of his 20 Grand Slam matches this year. Yet that one defeat -- a surprising and soul-wrenching loss in the French Open final to Stan Wawrinka -- managed to take the air out of the 28-year-old Serb's otherwise sensational season.

Unlike his female counterpart, Serena Williams, Djokovic will not have an opportunity for a calendar-year Grand Slam. And the career Grand Slam still eludes him. Djokovic will have to be satisfied with a chance to defend his Wimbledon title and take his third championship at the All England Club, which would equal his coach, Boris Becker.

When it was over, 2 hours and 21 minutes after it began, Djokovic raised his arms, blew kisses to the Centre Court crowd, bowed to the Royal Box and bent down to touch the grass -- as has become his custom.

"Yeah, was a very good performance, considering the occasion," Djokovic said. "I am definitely living the dream, being in Wimbledon, on the most renowned tennis court in the world.

"It's a great honor and privilege to be out there, but I have to keep going."

And so do we. Herewith, our five takeaways from the first semifinal match:

1. Gasquet is over-served: Djokovic, who was broken only once, had another terrific serving day. He made 76 percent (74-of-98) of his first serves and won 78 percent (58-of-74) of those first-serve points. He averaged 118 mph on his first deliveries, 6 mph faster than Gasquet. Djokovic hit 12 aces and double-faulted just twice.

2. Overmatched: Gasquet is a lovely player, with a classy, stylish one-handed backhand, but he is simply not equipped to compete with a player of Djokovic's skill. Gasquet is now 1-12 against Djokovic, including a loss at this year's French Open, when Gasquet managed to win all of six games. This time out, Gasquet won that many in the first set alone. Since defeating Roger Federer at Monte Carlo a decade ago, Gasquet has lost 15 straight matches to the word's No.1-ranked player.

3. Backbreaking tiebreaker: Gasquet, riding that gorgeous backhand, survived an early break and forced a first-set tiebreaker. The score was 2-all when Djokovic finally broke him down, winning the final five points. One of them was a backhand volley winner, but the other four were Gasquet errors, three of them from the forehand side. "Things could have gone his way in the first set," Djokovic observed. "That was the turning point."

4. A semi-decent run: This was a terrific tournament for the 29-year-old Gasquet, matching his best Grand Slam efforts -- here in 2007 (losing to Federer) and the 2013 US Open (Rafael Nadal). Gasquet beat rising Aussie Nick Kyrgios and French Open champion Wawrinka in back-to-back matches. Gasquet was trying to become only the second Frenchman to make the Wimbledon final in the Open era, joining unseeded Cedric Pioline, who lost to Pete Sampras in 1997. Gasquet, at No. 21, would have been the lowest seed to reach a major final since 2009, when No. 23 Robin Soderling fell to Federer at Roland Garros.

5. Slippery slope: Djokovic has always been a contortionist, careening around the court and lunging after difficult balls, which is how he has become the game's best defender. Friday, he had a difficult time keeping his feet on the scorched earth that has become Centre Court and landed awkwardly a number of times. In the third point of the fifth game, he came down hard on his left foot and his ankle buckled. In a single point in the first set, Djokovic hit the deck three times. During the changeover at 5-4 in the second set, the ATP trainer came out to massage Djokovic's left shoulder. "It's nothing that worries me," Djokovic said.

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