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Djokovic stands in way of Murray and history

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IANS London

Andy Murray will have another shot at becoming the first British man to win the Wimbledon crown in 77 years when he takes on World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final here Sunday.

Both Murray and Djokovic had tough semifinal outings with the Murray holding off the towering Jerzy Janowicz 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 at the All England Club Friday.

The contest was delayed for 28 minutes after it was decided to close the Centre Court roof at the insistence of Janowicz.

"It's unfair, it's an outdoor tournament," said Murray, who lost the 2012 final here to Roger Federer. "You are only doing it (closing the roof) because he (Jerzy) has been complaining about it for 45 minutes.

 

"It was a very tough match and completely different to any other match I've had here this year. He is talented and unpredictable, has huge serves, which give you very little rhythm to come back at him."

Earlier, Djokovic scraped past the big-hitting Juan Martin Del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (8), 6-3 in an epic battle lasting four hours and 43 minutes, making it the longest ever semifinal at Wimbledon.

The 2011 Champion from Serbia now joins legends John McEnroe, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg in making it to 11 Grand Slam finals.

Murray and Djokovic have been rivals since their under-12 days, and have featured in the final of the last three Grand Slams in which they both competed. The Scot pulled out of the this year's French Open owing to a recurring back problem.

The Serb leads Murray 18-11 in career meetings but their Grand Slam record stands at 1-1.

Murray defeated Djokovic at the 2012 US Open for his maiden Grand Slam title before the 'Djoker' took his revenge at this year's Australian Open for his sixth major triumph.

Murray would be confident going into the final at SW19. He beat Djokovic in the 2012 London Olympics semifinal before getting the better of Federer in the gold medal match.

The 26-year-old Scot is on a 17-match winning streak on grass. His only defeat in his last 24 matches on the surface came against Federer last year.

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First Published: Jul 06 2013 | 2:58 PM IST

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