Match report
Updated
Thank you for joining me for the added bonus of the epic ending to this game!
No one expected it to go on as long as it did, especially my stomach, but it was a true pleasure to see two great slugging it out.
Let’s hope the final is just as good!
What we do have for you now is the women’s final, which will be expertly written about by Katy Murrels who is over on the live blog right here *points downwards*
Will Anderson and Djokovic be in good enough nick to make it a stunning clash tomorrow? No, probably not. But it really could come down to who is the fittest as they’ve both been through gruelling games.
Also, the length of that game as delayed my lunch, which is highly unfair. I am quite hungry and having played tennis at 7.30am I really need the fuel to get through the rest of the day. I am sure Rafa and Novak are tucking into some scran right now.
Nadal might be a touch relieved that he doesn’t have to play tomorrow, as least, after such a long game. I am just trying to make him feel better there, as, in truth, he will be absolutely gutted.
Serena Williams and Kerber will not be too pleased by the wait. Surely for a final they should be given a definite time to start, not kept waiting by another game, even if it was a stunner.
Marie emails: “Two fantastic semi finals.
“However, if you could have a word (or find someone who can) with Rafa Nadal about his shorts/underpants. Surely he can afford some that fit him so that we don’t have to watch him trying to make himself “comfortable”. Every serve, every change over. Not a pretty sight, not even with him!!
“Keep going with the excellent reporting.”
Boris thinks both players will be knackered tomorrow, so that’s something to look forward to.
Can we all breathe now? I might need to go get some cans to relax after this. Not that I am sure the Guardian will approve. . .
Djokovic knows him and Anderson might be a touch stiff tomorrow.
“Hopefully, first of all, we can play both of us, get out on the court. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for him.”
The Serb then went on to discuss what it means to him to get to the Wimbledon final after a touch year of so.
“The final is an incredible achievement for me considering what I’ve been through.”
Djokovic says: “I mean, it is hard to pick the words, I am just going through things, flashbacks to the last 14 months and everything I’ve done to get here, to the final against one of the best players in the world, one of the longest matches of my career. I am overwhelmed.”
And now they’re opening the roof for the women’s final!
Nadal looks tired and forlorn as he wanders back to the dressing room. He gave everything but just couldn’t hold off Djokovic in the end.
Kate and Meghan applaud, which is nice of them.
A game of two champions, that’s for sure. Stunning tennis from both of them and eventually edged by Djokovic who had some peaks and troughs in the final set but he just had that little bit more to give in the end.
Djokovic wins!
Djokovic picked off Nadal after a couple of drop shots were exchanged, helping the Serb to smash a backhand beyond the Spaniard to make it 0:30. Then Nadal slipped in rally to offer Djokovic an easy point and three Match Points.
Nadal, obviously exhausted, struck a forehand across the court and out to give the Serb the win in just over five hours and 15 minutes. Ooooof!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 10-8
Updated
Boris and Tim are discussing how we can change the rules to ensure we put an end to these extended final sets. How long will this go on for?
CRASH, BANG, WALLOP WHAT A MATCH! A top edge from Nadal on the baseline helped Djokovic to 40:15, cue shots of Kate and Meghan smiling nicely. Then Djokovic completed the win.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 9-8
Updated
Anderson’s grin will be creeping further and further up his face with every game played here today, as the two tire themselves out. They are looking fatigued, as Nadal showed when he needlessly smashed a forehand into the net to make it 15:30. He was determined to make up for that and volleyed a win after a cat and mouse rally, celebrating making it 30:30 with a victory salute. But he followed that up with a misplaced backhand down the line to offer Djokovic Match Point. This was not the end though as Nadal took it to deuce thanks to an expertly placed drop shot, resulting in a fist pump.
Nadal completes the win with an ace and we go again!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 8-8
Djokovic was not in a calm frame of mind and Nadal knew that. The Spaniard was aiming for the Serb’s forehand and keeping him under pressure early on but that was relieved when Nadal smashed a forehand wide after some fine defensive work from Djokovic on the baseline to make it 15:15. A tense and frustrated Djokovic double faulted to give Nadal two break points, spurning the first and then an ace took the game to deuce.
Nadal had a forehand clip the baseline to give him advantage, after a review having originally seen it called out. Sublime stuff from boy players was ended by a stunning cross-court forehand from Djokovic who somehow managed to get it past the Spaniard.
Then when it really mattered, Djokovic’s backhand came to the fore as he smashed it cross-court out of Nadal’s reach but the Spaniard kept it at deuce with a pass with his backhand.
Neither play gave up on this game as both reached 70 winners each for the match during deuce, a sign of the quality on show. In the end it was Djokovic who held his serve. What an effort from both!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 8-7
Nadal’s limbs were all over the place as he attempted to volley a certain winner but instead found the net on the first point. He then overhit a backhand to make it 15:30, leaving Nadal frustrated and Djokovic gleeful but the Spaniard has been resilient through and forced and error from the Serb who then screamed into the air, which did little for him Nadal won the game, leaving his opponent to volley expletives rather than tennis balls.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 7-7
Updated
Castle is sparing a thought for Serena and Kerber. How must they be feeling? They will just having to keep waiting until this is concluded. They were warming up earlier and will want to ensure they don’t over-exert themselves while practising.
It’s all about handling the pressure at this stage and Djokovic barely broke into sweat for that game as he sent down some stunning serves and then moved Nadal around the court.
Can Rafa handle it?
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 7-6
Updated
Cameron asks: “A tie-break after 6-6 in the final set would be consistent, but I wonder whether having it after 9-9 might have an ‘extra time and penalties’ quality? The final set of *that* 2008 final ended 9-7 to Nadal: given that Federer won the previous two sets 7-6, history might have been different had there been a fifth set tie-break.”
An easy shot to win the opening point was spurned by Djokovic who hit the net when it looked like he could send the ball beyond Nadal. When it looked like the Spaniard would have a simple service game, Djokovic powered a forehand down the line but it just reinvigorated Nadal as he smashed his way to the win thanks to a stunning shot.
We’re going the distance!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 6-6
Kate and Meghan are chatting and the commentators genuinely care, which is a worry. The tennis is far better than whatever nattering is going on in the stands, that’s for sure.
A very confident call from Djokovic to review a Nadal shot ruled in, so much so he stopped playing, sent the Serb into a 30:0 lead. Nadal also had a reviewed call overturned, as Hawkeye earned its money but then it didn’t really help him as Djokovic eased to win the game.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 6-5
Serving to stay in the match does add considerable extra pressure, even for the likes of Nadal as he miscued two shots to give Djokovic a 0:30 lead in the most vital of games. That was followed by a serve out wide, which a stretching Djokovic lifted long and out, a feat he repeated from the next serve to level the score. Nadal was not taking this lightly and smashed an ace to give him Game Point, which he did with another lightning serve.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 5-5
Updated
A little bit of fatigue seems to have crept into Djokovic who played a very tired backhand into the net to make it 15:15, which followed up by sending one long to help Nadal into the lead. The jaded Serb then struck an awful forehand out when Nadal was chasing its shadow. A poor mistake to make, really. Possibly out of frustration with himself he then fired in an ace and another serve which Nadal could not return to take the game to deuce. Nadal couldn’t get himself out of a tough position as he failed to angle a forehand in when he had the whole court to aim for with Djokovic out of position, and the Serb then completed the win to take the lead.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 5-4
Every time I see the roof I just think it must make it a lot hotter on the court but I may be wrong.
Nadal absolutely smashed a backhand at 90mph to make it 15:15 and put a marker down for the rest of the game, or so I thought, but then the game went to deuce after some mesmerising points. A long forehand from the baseline gave Djokovic the advantage and a first break point of the set but he could not convert as he failed to return a powerful serve. A lovely rally filled with drop shots and volleys was ended by a brutal forearm down the line by Nadal to earn him advantage and he then took the game with a 99mph reverse forehand.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 4-4
Updated
And it is an error-free game for Djokovic as he doesn’t give Nadal a sniff in that one. A lot of good stuff coming from the baseline. It really is a superb battle on Centre Court.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 4-3
Updated
Venkatesh flatteringly says: “Hello Will, you make the match come to life beautifully. Missed you in the epic Anderson-Isner semi.
“And when you said people lack common sense as they still watch match under the roof, it made me imagine a lot of dull heads in attendance.”
I was sadly out for dinner for the whole of the final set last night so would have been no use, unfortunately, but I was will pass your feedback onto the hierarchy here.
All going with serve so far, neither of the players wanting offer an inch in their games. Could be in for a long one. Nadal looks like he is hitting the ball better with every shot he plays.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 3-3
Djokovic was on the back foot in the last game but he avoids a repeat of that and dominates his service game with some precise shots which Nadal fails to get to.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 3-2
Updated
The first point in that game was utterly stunning and Djokovic ran around the entire court saving the point until a subtle drop shot even eventually gave Nadal the point and he didn’t look back and took the game to love.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 2-2
Andrew says: “Can you find some slightly rotten left-over strawberries - fermented strawbs might contain alcohol. Or, stick to the Guinness?”
Not really a Guinness man, if I am honest. Like a Spanish white wine (if you’re listening Laithwaites!). I realised when larger fruits rot they create alcohol but surely you won’t get much from a strawberry.
This set is going with serve and Djokovic takes the lead thanks to his clinical backhand and some powerful serving.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 2-1
Henman Hill is full of people watching on the big screen, which must be a pleasant experience on a day like this.
An early highlight was a ball boy going to retrieve a failed first serve and completely missing the ball first time around. He will never make it that lad.
Nadal produced another double fault, hindered by his second serve being utterly pathetic and ending up in the wrong half of the court. After realising he needed to it a bit, the Spaniard levelled the scores in the set.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 1-1
Well. . .here we are in the fifth and final set, which will please Anderson as he attempts to recover from his exertions yesterday.
After the failings of the last set, Djokovic has decided messing about really isn’t for him and takes this one without Nadal troubling the scoreboard operator.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6, 1-0
Nadal wins fourth set!
The pressure is proved once again as Nadal offers up a double fault to help Djokovic towards a potential break but then, at 0:40, the Spaniard sprung back into life to take this vital game to deuce, much to the chagrin of his opponent.
Drop shots and volleys were the order of the game as Nadal earned the advantage then to get the set with an ace!
We’re heading into a deciding set!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-6
Updated
After some consultation with the Guardian bosses it has been decided I am not allowed either champagne nor Pimm’s while working, which upsetting.
Anyway. . .Djokovic started with a double fault, which is quite unlike him. Nadal then sent a top edge into the crowd which was caught in the crowd, leading to some jovial banter as the catcher realised it is easier to catch the ball at Wimbledon than at Lord’s.
Djokovic backed off at 15:15 and lost the game as Nadal made him play by his rules, something the Serb will not appreciate. Djokovic does not seem to happy with himself and will be even more upset after smashing one into the net after a fine volley to give Nadal the break!
Nadal to serve for the set now!
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-5
A smash from deep in the court put Nadal 30:15 ahead. It looked pretty hard to execute but it was a superb effort from the Spaniard. He followed it up with a serve which could not be returned and eventually took the game to stem the flow after Djokovic took three consecutive games.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-4
Sankaran emails in a theory on the state of the match: “Methinks its really quite simple: whoever wins the 4th set will win the match. That’s a pretty obvious forecast when it comes to Novak, but I am sure that if Rafa wins this set, he will power on home from there. You heard it here first.”
Andrew Castle is now discussing butterflies on commentary as he wonders how his career in daytime TV never resulted in him interviewing Donald Trump. Admittedly, Castle is a finer broadcaster than Morgan but those are the breaks.
Djokovic has dropped just one point in his last two service games, helping him dominate proceedings after Nadal’s stronger start. Even his second serve is causing Nadal a lot of trouble.
All things now even in the third set.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 3-3
Updated
Both players were offered the chance to retract the roof for this afternoon’s play but one wanted to keep it on (Djokovic) to help his serve, one assumes. Looks like a greenhouse, though.
Some unforced errors from Nadal give an opening to Djokovic and he is not willing to pass up the opportunity to break back. Sloppy from the Spaniard there.
6-4, 3-6. 7-6, 2-3
“Your commentary is hilarious! Loving it.” Oh Mark, please. *blushes*
Djokovic is not taking any more of this and shows that it us up for the fight by winning the game to love. He’s a break down but he was not messing about there and Nadal was the man who looked undercooked in that game.
Gregory has sent in his opinion on the roof situation: “I suppose there must be some rationale, albeit deeply flawed, for closing the roof. Any idea what it is? Seems idiotic to say it’s because that’s how the match started, given the very purpose of the roof is to allow matches to finish under different conditions than they started.”
Just all seems worryingly conservative from the tennis authorities.
Nadal is looking on the money today. He is playing some powerful and aggressive tennis and Djokovic cannot compete currently. The forehand from the baseline to make it 40:0 summed up this afternoon’s action so far, all speed in the wrist and struck perfectly. He goes on to win it to Love. Ooooof!
Updated
Diane emails in a complaint: “The Guardian minute-by-minute update hasn’t update for 12 minutes.”
I understand, Diane, but it is a game-by-game live report and that one went on for 15 minutes!!
Djokovic lost the first two points after some failed first serves, letting Nadal in. And he was unable to recover as Nadal breaks him to take the advantage in this set.
At 0:15 it looked like Nadal was in a touch of trouble until he levelled things thanks to a backhand down the line beyond the Serb. The margin of error was shown when a superb crosscourt shot from Nadal was out by inches to make it 30:30, the Djokovic succeeded where the Spaniard failed when returning a serve to take the game to deuce. A failed drop shot was forgotten thanks to a superb serve to level things once more. Deuce kept going for quite a while, a sign of the intensity offered by these two.
Just your six deuces required but Nadal eventually got there.
Maybe we will be going for six hours in this one, too! Pour yourself a Pimm’s and settle in.
Here we go! Nadal gets is going once again.
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have arrived. Should I care?
Updated
The two players are getting into the swing of things by knocking up between themselves. They’ve had 14 hours to rest since finishing yesterday, but it is still less than ideal.
There was a great ovation for the two players as they came out, helped by the roof actually being on, despite my claim that there is no need for it.
As the game started with the roof being on, despite the weather, we will continue with the match being played under cover. As people generally lack common sense.
No need for the roof today as it is a lovely, warm day across London. I am very much in shorts and t-shirt and did not even consider a jacket in the bag for later.
More than 70% of men in the world’s top 200 have earned more than their female counterparts in 2018 with prize money only equal at the majors:
BBC are reminding us about the state of play in the game. It was a touch tight last night, it’s fair to say, with Djokovic the one digging deeper but nothing can be ruled out today with Nadal set to be refreshed from a night’s sleep etc.
I don’t like to brag but I was out this morning at 7.30am playing tennis on some lovely courts off Bermondsey Street (that’s me being London centric). Anyway, there was no need for me to learn how to return a serve from a pro, but this might be useful for you.
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid have just won the Wimbledon men’s wheelchair doubles in straight sets. It is their third time winning the tournament in a row and fully deserved it.
This game is in its infancy compared to what we all witnessed yesterday between Isner and Anderson. Here’s our report from the epic clash:
Preamble
Good afternoon. Play is set to resume at 1pm BST in this second men’s semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal. Three-time champion Djokovic leads two-time winner Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9) overnight. Here’s Kevin Mitchell’s report:
At the end of a very long Friday when nothing could be taken for granted, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic added an entertaining late-night postscript to the heroics that had earlier transfixed Centre Court in the sunshine for six hours and 36 minutes, but must return on Saturday to determine who meets Kevin Anderson in Sunday’s final.
Djokovic took the first 6-4 and the third 7-6 (9), Nadal the second 6-3.
At a set apiece after an hour and 36 minutes of edgy tennis that fluctuated between excellent and flawed, they had just over an hour left until the 11pm curfew, yet neither could seal the deal in the second semi-final before the lights were dimmed under the roof on Centre shortly before that deadline, although they did their best.
Djokovic might have a slight advantage under the covering after it was agreed they will continue under the roof on Saturday. They will resume at 1pm, before the women’s final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber, which is scheduled to start at 2pm. Given the drama of Anderson’s prolonged tie-break-fest against John Isner, that is no certainty.
Although Djokovic held more convincingly for most of the first set and some of the second, Nadal in the third reverted to the drop shot that had proved so effective towards the end of his five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, and he began to trouble his old rival in the 52nd meeting of their rivalry.
Ever so slowly, having looked as if he might be swept away, Nadal worked his way back into the argument, and two sublime drop-shots – one sliced from the baseline, the second from short range – helped him to set-point in the tie-break, but he lost control of a backhand and they changed ends at 6-all.
A superb forehand into the ad corner gave him a second chance to take the set on his own serve, but an exchange of drop-shots brought fans to a frenzy. At the 11th hour, literally and figuratively, Djokovic grabbed his first set point, but hit long for 9-all, then got a second look as a Nadal drop-shot sat up invitingly for him. The Spaniard dumped a final backhand and it was over – for the night.
