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Federer, Djokovic set for final showdown

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AFP London
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will clash in a titanic showdown for the Wimbledon title after crushing an uprising from the next generation in the semi-finals on Friday.

Seven-time champion Federer demolished Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his ninth Wimbledon final, while top seed Djokovic defeated Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) as the threatened overthrow of the established order fell flat.

Federer, 32, who becomes the oldest man to make a Grand Slam final since Andre Agassi reached the 2005 Australian Open final at the age of 33, holds an 18-16 career lead over Djokovic, including a victory in their only previous major final meeting at the 2007 US Open.
 

Federer has beaten 2011 Wimbledon champion Djokovic in two out of three meetings in 2014 and is looking forward to renewing their rivalry which stretches back to 2006.

"Novak and myself always play good matches," he said.

"He is a great champion and is used to these occasions. He's got the trophy here in the past and knows how it's done.

"I know I don't have 10 years left, so I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can. That I get another chance to go through these kinds of emotions is great."

Remarkably, Sunday's clash will be the first final in 19 Grand Slams that won't feature either Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray.

Canadian eighth seed Raonic, touted as a candidate to shatter the big four's stranglehold on the sport's major trophies, never looked capable of troubling Federer in a Centre Court mismatch.

Raonic had fired a tournament-leading 148 aces en route to his first Grand Slam semi-final, yet Federer picked him off with ease to extend his career record to 5-0 against the 23-year-old.

"It was down to big concentration really," said Federer, who will be playing in his first Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 2012 when he went level with Pete Sampras as a seven-time winner.

"I had to focus on every point. You always say that but today especially I had to be careful on my serve and there were only a few chances when he served.

"I've played some great tennis this week, under pressure at times as well.

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First Published: Jul 05 2014 | 12:47 AM IST

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