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TOP seed Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the fourth year in a row with a comfortable defeat of the Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych. Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-3. Berdych, runner-up in 2010, broke twice in the second set to lead 3-0 but made too many mistakes at pivotal moments.
Former champion Djokovic will play Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, who beat David Ferrer in straight sets, for a place in the final.
Seventh seed Berdych trailed Djokovic 13-2 in head-to-head encounters before the match but beat his rival at Wimbledon in 2010, in their only previous meeting on grass.
The 27-year-old Czech pushed the world number one all the way in the first set, although he was unable to make too many dents in the formidable Djokovic serve.
An energised Djokovic (26) hit 15 winners and only two unforced errors on the way to winning the opener, which he secured via a tie-break.
But Berdych broke to love early in the second set – only the third time Djokovic had been broken in the tournament – before forcing a double-break to go 3-0 ahead.
However, Berdych allowed his focus to slip in the next game and was broken back before Djokovic raised his levels again to level at 3-3.
And with Djokovic bristling again on Court One, Berdych fell apart when serving to stay in the set, handing it to his opponent with a tame forehand into the net.
It was the same story early in the third set, with Berdych sending down two double faults to give Djokovic a 3-1 lead, after which the steely Djokovic managed to keep him at arm’s length.
Djokovic, winner of the men’s singles at Wimbledon in 2011 and bidding for his seventh major title, has now reached 13 consecutive semi-finals at Grand Slam tournaments.-BBC.
derick.khumalo