(AP) – It was the kind of tennis that Wimbledon’s Centre Court crowd would gladly have watched all night long.
The show being put on by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was so good it could have been an instant classic had they been able to finish their semifinal before the tournament’s 11 p.m. curfew.
Instead, the two players — and a disappointed audience — were sent home after the third set on Friday with Djokovic leading 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9) following a tense tiebreaker that had more entertaining rallies than some entire matches.
The two players didn’t even get onto the court until after 8 p.m. because of an earlier marathon semifinal won by Kevin Anderson and when Djokovic converted his second set point in the tiebreaker — having saved three of Nadal’s — the clock had ticked a couple of minutes past 11. That left organizers no choice but to call it a night, although the announcement from the chair umpire led to a scattering of boos from some fans who clearly wanted more.
Most of them will have to watch the rest on TV.
The match will resume at 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, before the women’s final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber. At stake is a place in Sunday’s men’s final against the man who was partly at fault for keeping Nadal and Djokovic out there so late. Anderson’s win over John Isner lasted 6 ½ hours and went to 26-24 in the fifth set.
Djokovic-Nadal had clearly been the headline act of the day — they have five Wimbledon titles between them and met in the 2011 final while Anderson and Isner had never made the semifinals before — and their tennis was at another level from the earlier match. Even Anderson said he could feel during his match that the crowd would rather be watching the next one.
“They’ve paid to see two matches, and they came pretty close to only seeing one match,” Anderson said. “I can feel the crowd (get) pretty antsy for us to get off the court. They’ve been watching us for over six hours.”
While Anderson-Isner was mostly a serving duel with a few longer rallies thrown in, Djokovic and Nadal repeatedly slugged it out from the baseline, chasing each other around the court and coming up with spectacular winners from every corner.
Many of the best points came in the tiebreaker, including a 23-shot rally that Nadal finished off with a forehand half-volley drop shot to set up his first set point.
It was one of three successful drop shots from the Spaniard in the tiebreaker alone, but Djokovic answered with one of his own to save the second set point at 7-6.
He eventually went up 10-9 with the help of a backhand passing shot and an errant shot into the net by Nadal brought the entertainment to an end — for now.
It led to the unusual situation of both players leaving the court to a huge ovation — and applauding the fans in return — but without there being a clear winner or loser.
Source: AP
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Vamos Rafa !
Go on my son! Unleash the beast. The gods are with you!
Oooh novak its 3 love to Rafa – do you want the roof open now?
😂😂😂
Woohoo
Consolidate Rafa!
Shut it Boris – youre hardly impartial. Rafa has broken. Yes
Shame Novak didn’t think about the crowd instead of himself when asked about the roof especially when he tries to fool people with his fake love cupping, come on Rafa wipe that smug look off his face and show him roof opened or closed won’t stop you from reaching the final .
Very well said
C’mon Rafa! You can do it. Vamos💪💪💪
Yay
I’ve just got in to find that Rafa is soaked with sweat and it’s only the first game in the 4th. It must be like a caldron in there.
Ridiculous isn’t it Lorna , I thought it was supposed to be Wimbledon not the Eden project.
Super anxious as well over here. Djoker seems out for blood and Rafa is hanging on. Those balls into the net are not helping Rafa.
Wow so roof still closed. Common sense could not prevail then?
Steady on champ!
Strong hold, Rafa. Hopefully that has broken the seal, now. Let the tennis flow. You can do this.
Rafas’s drenched already and they’ve only just started , the roof situation is pathetic.
Hmm…… how is everyone ! I m super anxious
so anxious
Can hardly breathe
In pre-match talk – Boris confirmed it was Novak who didnt want the roof opened. Nice one Novak – you deserve to.lose – look at the weather you fool
Oh well Susie , just goes to prove that he’s scared he would lose against Rafa with it open, the big wimp
He will never be forgoven Maria
Rafa it’s crunch time, Give this set your everything! You have nothing to lose champ, so go out there and raise all sorts of doubts for Djoker.
Stay strong Rafa, you are the best ever!
Please Wimbledon see sense and keep the roof open , surely its a new day and should only be shut if it rains, and it will have to be reopened again anyway for the women’s final. I can’t believe even Novak would want it shut , they should think about the 15,000 people who have paid good money to see the match NOT sweat their ball’s off( no pun intended).
Good Luck, Rafa. I really, really want you to win. You are my hero and has always been.
I think it was bad management of the schedule to put you last. I got tired of the Isner and Anderson match. Way to long! I like both players and did not care who won.
AGAIN, GOOD LUCK. ALL ,MY LOVE.
Good luck today Rafa , you can do this , the Wimbledon crowd are right behind you. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that you will be meeting the Gentle On court tomorrow , also good luck to Angelique Kerber .
Should be Gentle giant
VAMOOS RAFA!! ❤️🍀