Djoko hurdles biggest threat on way to crown

LONDON – From the way Novak Djokovic repeatedly smacked his racket against his shoe after one miss, to the shouts directed at himself and his coach after others, it was clear how much he wanted to prove he’s past the roughest patch of his career.

Djokovic sent the strongest signal yet he is back at the top of tennis by reaching his fifth Wimbledon final with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 10-8 victory over rival Rafael Nadal on Saturday in a match suspended overnight.

“It really could have gone either ways,” said Djokovic, who is bidding for a fourth championship at the All England Club and 13th Grand Slam title overall. “Basically until the last shot, I didn’t know if I was going to win.”

He’ll face Kevin Anderson in Sunday’s final. Anderson beat John Isner in a 6 1/2-hour semifinal that ended at 26-24 fifth set Friday night, pushing back the start of Djokovic vs Nadal.

The second semifinal then was halted when the third set ended just past 11 p.m., because of a neighborhood curfew. It had started with Center Court’s retractable roof closed and so concluded that way, too, even though there was no hint of rain.

It all made for an unusual schedule, with the start of the women’s final – normally the stand-alone showcase on the fortnight’s last Saturday – delayed until Nadal and Djokovic finished.

Djokovic hasn’t won a major in more than two years, dealing with an injured right elbow that was so painful in 2017 he quit his quarterfinal at Wimbledon and sat out the rest of the season. He had surgery in February, but his results were still shaky.

Until now, that is. His defense and returning are as good as ever and made the difference in his 52nd career tour-level meeting with Nadal, more than any other two men have played.

“In my opinion, he deserved it,” Nadal said. “I deserved it, too.”