Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of
Serbia and Wimbledon runner-up Andy Murray of Great Britain will meet in a
blockbuster semifinal Friday at the Olympic Games tennis event at the All
England Club.
The second-seeded Djokovic, who captured a bronze medal in Beijing four years
ago, handled fifth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-5 in a
quarterfinal on the grass at the famed Centre Court.
Djokovic topped Tsonga in 1 hour, 20 minutes by breaking the Frenchman
four times, compared to only one break for Tsonga. The Serb broke the
Frenchman for a 6-5 edge in the second set and then closed out the quality
match on his serve.
The powerful Djokovic is the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champion who
coughed up the No. 1 ranking to the great Roger Federer last month.
Meanwhile, cheered on by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and
his wife Kate, the third-seeded Murray blew past 11th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas
Almagro 6-4, 6-1 on Court 1.
The rout was over in 59 minutes, as a dazzling Murray clubbed 15 aces and was
not broken on Day 6 of this nine-day tournament. The Brit smacked 23 more
winners (29-6) than the overmatched Almagro.
Murray lost to Federer in his first career Wimbledon final last month in this
London suburb.
The four-time Grand Slam runner-up Murray will meet Djokovic for a 14th time,
with the Serb leading their all-time series 8-5, including a 2-1 record this
year. The 25-year-old good friends have never met on grass.
The Sports Network