Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning champion Novak Djokovic and
six-time winner Roger Federer will duel in Friday's men's semifinals at
Wimbledon.
The world No. 1 Djokovic cruised past 31st-seeded German Florian Mayer 6-4,
6-1, 6-4 on Court 1, while the third-seeded former top-ranked great Federer
carved up 26th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in 92 minutes in
quarterfinal action Wednesday on Centre Court at the famed All England Club.
Both matches were interrupted by a brief rain delay.
Djokovic disposed of Mayer in 1 hour, 45 minutes, striking seven aces and
breaking his German counterpart five times, compared to only one break for
Mayer. The Serbian star tallied 36 more winners (50-14) on Day 9.
Mayer was appearing in his second Wimbledon quarterfinal (0-2), with his first
one coming in his first Wimbledon appearance back in 2004.
The 25-year-old Djokovic is now 32-1 over his last five majors and 44-2 over
his last seven Grand Slams. He reached his first-ever Wimbledon final and
captured his first-ever title here with a victory over Rafael Nadal a year
ago and has won four of the last six major finals overall.
The reigning Wimbledon, Australian Open and U.S. Open titlist Djokovic will
play in his 16th career Grand Slam semifinal (8-7).
Federer, meanwhile, played in front of British royalty -- Prince William and
his wife Kate -- as well as some tennis royalty -- Andre Agassi and his
fellow racquet legend wife Steffi Graf, and the great Rod Laver.
The 30-year-old Federer held his serve throughout while breaking the helpless
Youzhny six times in the Day-9 rout.
The two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Youzhny was playing in his first-ever
Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Federer, who reached seven straight Wimbledon finals from 2003-09, is still
seeking his first Grand Slam title since the 2010 Australian Open.
In addition to his six titles here, Federer was the 2008 Wimbledon runner-
up to Nadal.
Federer will appear in a record 32nd Grand Slam semifinal, as he passed Jimmy
Connors for that distinction on Wednesday.
And only Connors (84) and Boris Becker (71) have won more matches than Federer
(64) at the All England Club.
Djokovic and Federer will meet for a 27th time, but, remarkably, it will mark
only their first-ever Wimbledon matchup. The Swiss icon leads their all-time
series 14-12, but the Serb has won six of the last seven. They've split 10
career Grand Slam meetings.
The Sports Network