Djokovic, Federer meet again

Pushing his baby’s pram through the leafy surroundings of Wimbledon Common is how Novak Djokovic collected his thoughts and mapped out his game plan to try and win a third title at the All England Club.

Federer hit 20 aces, won 70 of the 91 points he served, and saved the only break point he faced in a straight-set victory over Murray, one of the games top returners.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia receives treatment on court during the men’s singles semifinal match against Richard Gasquet of France at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Friday July 10, 2015. That was the turning point, ” Djokovic said after booking his 17th Grand Slam final berth.

About the only intrigue concerned Djokovic’s left shoulder, which was massaged by a trainer during second-set changeovers.

If Roger Federer was going to allow Andy Murray to gain a foothold in the Wimbledon semifinals, this seemed as if it might be the moment.

The 29-year-old, who was bidding for a first major final, caused one of the bigger upsets in this years tournament when he knocked out Wawrinka in quarter-finals.

“Apart from the first game where I had the chance there, I didn’t really have any opportunities”.

The Serbian is the slight favourite to win the final with odds of 8-11 compared with Federer on 11-10, according to bookmaker Coral.

However, Djokovic will not make it easy for Federer – as shown by his convincing semi-final victory over Richard Gasquet.

Jamie Murray and Australian partner John Peers tackle Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Romanian Horia Tecau in the men’s doubles final, which follows the women’s singles showpiece match.

“Obviously I got broken right at the end all of the sets but I didn’t actually play a bad match”.

“It’s been tough, Andy has been playing very well this season and there was so much expectation on this match”, said Federer, who is the oldest finalist since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1974.

Murray was vying to advance to his third Wimbledon title match and ninth in majors.

The new, attacking version of Federer, has beaten Djokovic in the past, and is not ready to let the Serb finally get tied on the all time Head-2-Head record. “Boris goes through the emotions with me like when he was playing”, said 2011 and 2014 champion Djokovic who can match Becker’s record of three trophies should he beat Federer. “He’s the greatest ever”.

Djokovic, a two-time Wimbledon champion who won the title previous year, broke Gasquet’s first service game in both sets so far, but the Frenchman broke back in the first set and pushed it to a tiebreaker. Andy Roddick appeared in three Wimbledon finals, in 2004, 2005 and 2009, but failed to win any of them.

“This is where (Federer) loves to play. Game recognizes game, and Federer has not hesitated in saluting Djokovic’s transformation over the years into the most dominant player in men’s tennis.

The seven-time champion won the set 7-5 Friday on Centre Court. It’s his court. He loves it. He usually rises up to the occasion.

In the post match interview, the French player says he can see why his opponent is always a cut above. So, I mean, definitely one of the best matches I’ve played in my career.

“I don’t know if it was close to his peak, you’d have to ask him, but that was definitely the best he’s served against me”.

“I was on the verge of the win, Roger came back and we went down to the wire in the fifth”. Murray finally held with a 129 miles per hour ace.