Djokovic strangles Berdych to reach the semi-finals

Serbian Novak Djokovic celebrates his win against Tomas Berdych

In a tournament stripped of some marquee names, the quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych offered to be one encounter with the pedigree to match the stage. Unfortunately though, the world No. 1 is on a roll this fortnight. And even the immense power and aggression of Berdych was far too little to seriously challenge the Serbian. The world No. 1 scored an emphatic 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3 victory in two hours and 18 minutes to reach the last four of Wimbledon.

The first set was a tight affair between two equally powerful players, determined to keep the other at bay with an awe inspiring display of power and placement. The Czech was aided by the strength of stroke off his forehand, while Djokovic kept his mast flying with some typically impressive defence and the power of his two handed backhand.

There wasn’t much to pick between the two – but Djokovic was consistently putting the Czech under pressure with some solid returns. The Serbian enjoyed four break points – two in the first game and one each in the seventh and ninth games, but Berdych staved off the threat with typical aggression.

At 5-5 in the breaker, Berdych made the fatal error that gave Djokovic the set point. The 7^th seeded Czech failed to get his backhand over the tape, after hitting the top of the net. On the next point, looking for a sharp angle, Berdych sailed a forehand long to finally concede the first set to Djokovic. It was a ferocious battle for an elusive edge and it took more than an hour for Djokovic to finally close out the set.

The Czech though did not allow the disappointment of the setback to affect his game. A brilliant inside out forehand earned him three break points in the first game of the second set. He converted when a slightly off kilter Djokovic shanked a forehand to surrender the first break of the match at love.

Berdych doubled his advantage when he broke again in the third game, but right on cue, Djokovic raised his game a notch to cut the deficit with ruthless aggression. The Serbian used his backhand cross court to pin Berdych to his backhand, before whipping a forehand winner to the deuce court beyond the reach of the stretched Berdych.

When he wasn’t doing that, he put enough sting behind his strokes to induce the error from Berdych. The set was back on even keel at 3-3, with Berdych managing to win just two points off his own serve in the fourth and sixth games. It was a timely statement of intent from the world No.1 – no margin was safe against the 2011 champion – not even a double break.

When Djokovic held at love to turn the wheel a full 360 degrees, Berdych was left to fend his serve to stay in the set. An aggressive Berdych paid the price for his exuberance when an attempted forehand winner landed just wide off the line to offer the Serbian two set points. Berdych saved the first, but made a royal meal of an easy volley to lose the second set.

The match started to slip away for the Czech when he stood mute witness to another stinging return winner from Djokovic in the fourth game of the third set. The world No. 1 consolidated his advantage in the next game to take a comfortable 4-1 lead. Djokovic was two games away from the semi-finals, so near that he could almost start smelling the incense from the Buddhist temple near his Wimbledon abode.

When the Serbian held at love to 5-2, Berdych was staring at the exit door yet again. In a dying flourish, the 2010 finalist kept himself on court for a brief while longer, holding to love in the eighth game. Djokovic raced away to victory in the next game, sealing the match when Berdych fell agonisingly short in trying to retrieve a drop shot.

It was a match that started on almost even terms, but one that got progressively easier for the Serbian. Djokovic faced just two break points during the match, but weathered the storm in the second set to stamp his authority on the match. The Serbian will face Juan Martin Del Potro in his fifth straight semi-finals at Wimbledon.