World No. 1 Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic will face No. 2 seed Andy Murray from Scotland this Sunday for the Wimbledon Men’s Doubles finals; the match will either propel the 2011 Wimbledon champ to win his seventh overall major or make Murray the first British in 77 years to win the men’s tournament in Wimbledon, England.
Although the Serbian will be favorite when the players meet, the majority of the Centre Court crowd would be behind the Brit.
Djokovic was put through the longest semi-final ever seen against No. 8 seed Martin del Potro, and the former Wimbledon champ fended off the emerged as the winner with 7-5, 4-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 on Friday.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Tommy Haas of Germany in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 1, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville
"It was a cat-and-mouse game in a way throughout the match," Djokovic said. "Sometimes I was in control and more aggressive, and sometimes him. That's why it was a lot of tension. You needed to stay committed and concentrated in order to wait for the chance. When it's presented, you have to grab it. I managed to do that in the fifth.”
At the end of the discussion, del Potro told Djokovic, “You can see I play my best tennis ever on grass court from a long time, but was not enough to beat the No. 1 in the world.”
"I was so close," he said again.
Moreover, Murray won the match against Djokovic in the Olympic semifinals on Wimbledon’s Centre Court last year with the score 7-5, 7-5.
“I’ll take that thought to my head when we play on Sunday,” Murray said after defeating the 6-8 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland on Friday with 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 despite a controversial decision to close the Centre Court roof after the third set.
Andy Murray of Britain (R) shakes hands with Jerzy Janowicz of Poland after defeating him in their men's semi-final tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 5, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Murray will face Djokovic for the third time in the last four Grand Slam finals. Murray won at the U.S. Open last year, and Djokovic won in Australia this year. Their other big clash, however, came in the Olympic semifinals on Wimbledon's Centre Court last year. Murray won 7-5, 7-5.
"I'll take that thought to my head when we play on Sunday," Murray said.
On Saturday evening, Djokovic posted his resolve to give his everything on the court tomorrow at the decisive game for the 2013 Wimbledon championship game.
“This is what I live for, this is what I fight for. I’ll leave my heart out there tomorrow. #NeverGiveUp #Wimbledon #NoleFam,” he tweeted.
The Men's Singles final between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be broadcasted live on Sunday morning, July 7, at 6:00 AM (PT).
Wimbledon's Slam Tracker will have live scores and stats through out. WatchESPN offers live streaming of the Gentleman's Singles final tomorrow.
