By Erik Gudris | Friday, July 4th, 2014

 

With flashes of brilliance and flashes of despair, Novak Djokovic held off Grigor Dimitrov in four sets to reach the Wimbledon final.

Photo Credit: Kieran Galvin / CameraSport

Midway through the fourth set, Novak Djokovic tapped in an easy put away shot up at the net. Then he shook his head as if not happy with the result. That moment summed up in many ways his win over Grigor Dimitrov in their Wimbledon semifinal.

A match filled with great shots, but more often than not, mostly found both men unhappy with the court, their movement, and the early windy conditions.

Both players dealt with gusting wind right from the start of the match. Yet Dimitrov, perhaps feeling the moment of playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal looked less certain of his chances. At 2-all, Dimitrov would hit four errors, including a wayward double fault, essentially breaking himself to love.

Djokovic, who at one stage hit 19 straight first serves in, didn't really need to raise his level that high as he would close out the set 6-4 thanks to yet another Dimitrov backhand error.

Though Dimitrov started showing more aggression early in the second set, it didn't help him right away. Djokovic, going up a break, soon held for 3-1. With Dimitrov looking at times grumpy and unsure of how to proceed or even change his fortune, a quick second set for Djokovic looked possible.

That all changed as Dimitrov's slice backhand started paying more dividends for him. Now more engaged in their rallies, Dimitrov broke Djokovic when the Serbian netted a backhand. As Djokovic's level dipped for no real reason, Dimitrov's own got better.

Dimitrov, breaking a now rattled Djokovic again as the top seed let a ball drop in on the baseline that he thought was out, soon had the set 6-3.

Each man took care of their serve throughout the third set. Yet Djokovic, made more efforts to move foreward. Not just at the baseline but also to the net where he found success with several volley winners. Still, Djokovic wasn't pleased with any of that, especially his movement. Djokovic changed shoes in hope it would help his traction. That didn't really help as both men found themselves down on the ground after one point at 5-all.

A tiebreak ensued, but Dimitrov despite playing well to reach this stage, simply faded away. A backhand error from the Bulgarian gave Djokovic an early mini-break lead. A poor double fault later from Dimitrov sealed his fate. Djokovic, with a potent serve, closed out the set 7-6(2).

Now up against it, Dimitrov reverted back to how he played in the opening set. Three double faults in a row from Dimitrov created early break points for Djokovic. A swatted forehand from Dimitrov sailed wide giving Djokovic a 2-1 lead. The end of Dimitrov's Wimbledon looked near.

But Dimitrov once again came back to life with a passing shot winner to break back. Dimitrov fought off two break points with two big serves and then held for 3-2.

The back and forth momentum continued even after Djokovic fended off three break points against him for 3-all. Both men, still not happy with their movement on court, would switch shoes several times again. What really helped Dimitrov was yet another surge in shotmaking prowess late in the set. With several sliding winners, he held a set point on Djokovic at 5-4. Djokovic fought that off with a big serve and would hold for 5-all with a huge roar.

Dimitrov regained his advantage in the ensuring tiebreak and would open up a 6-3 lead. It looked like "Showtime" as Dimitrov is sometimes called had finally arrived. Yet Djokovic rebounded by once again seeking opportunities up at net. Sneaking in to hit a short volley winner, Djokovic leveled the breaker at 6-all.

A double fault from Dimitrov gave Djokovic his first match point. That soon went by as Djokovic's attempt at serve and volley resulted in a winning pass from Dimitrov. Djokovic would get another match point after Dimitrov hit the ground again. With a forehand pass that just clipped the net but still landed in, Djokovic could finally relax and perhaps enjoy his 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(7) win.

Djokovic now returns to the Wimbledon final where he will not only seek his second title but also, with a win, move back to No. 1. It may not have been the overall performance Djokovic would have hoped for in a Wimbledon semifinal, but sometimes a win is just that, a win. Especially when it gets you a step closer to a coveted Grand Slam title.