By James Waterson
Photo Credit: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
(July 1, 2011) Novak Djokovic claimed the No. 1 ranking and his first berth in a Wimbledon final after he defeated 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3 Friday.
“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a tennis court – my dreams are coming true,” Djokovic said. “Hopefully more celebrations will come.”
His ascension to the top rank hasn’t been easy. He was one win away from becoming No. 1 at the French Open, but he played tentatively in a four set loss to Federer in the semifinals.
At Wimbledon, he once again needed to make the final to surpass Nadal. Instead of facing Federer again in the semifinal, he had to play Tsonga, who beat the Swiss in five sets in the quarterfinal.
Before their match today, Tsonga won five of their seven matches, including a five-set victory in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Australian Open.
Because of the Frenchman’s record, it may have come as no surprise he started well. He broke Djokovic in the first game of the match, and held him off by playing aggressively.
Djokovic had two break points at 5-3, but Tsonga strung together some big serves to earn the hold. The Serb quickly held, and then earned a 40-love lead on the Frenchman’s serve.
Tsonga came back to deuce, but double faulted to give Djokovic another break point, which he capitalized on.
Both players held to force a tiebreaker, which the Serb won after Tsonga made three unforced errors.
Winning the first set seemed to energize Djokovic, as he won the second set in 28 minutes.
Tsonga recovered in the third set, and he started playing the type of tennis that saw Federer off in the previous match. He hit 18 winners to seven unforced errors, and eventually won the tiebreaker after saving a match point to force the fourth set.
If Djokovic was disappointed after missing his chance in the tiebreaker, he didn’t show it early in the second set. He immediately held at love, and then a sloppy service game from Tsonga gave him the break.
Tsonga struggled to win points on Djokovic’s serve the rest of the set, and the 24-year-old Serb closed out the match with ease. When the Frenchman’s final shot sailed long, Djokovic fell to the ground and lay on his back. Before meeting his opponent at the net, he kissed the court.
After the match, he described what it felt like to earn the No. 1 ranking and make his first Wimbledon final.
"I've been dreaming about playing the finals of Wimbledon since I started playing tennis when I was 4. To be able to be there on Sunday will probably be the best feeling."
Djokovic faces the winner between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in the final, and he will replace Nadal as the new No. 1 on Monday.