Novak Djokovic defeated Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 to reach his ninth straight Grand Slam semifinal and keep his appointment with Roger Federer.Djokovic chose to show why he has, over the last year and a half, been the world’s best. Mayer worked his way to the net, but, perhaps unnerved by the Serb’s ability to run down balls, attempted to wrong-foot him with a soft volley to where he had been.
Djokovic was heading the other way, but he realigned himself so quickly his organs must have switched place.
He stretched to snap a backhand past Mayer into an opening ridiculously small.
Djokovic saved the other breakpoints with less spectacular play and held. Serving at 4-5,
Mayer salvaged one set-point with his skimming two-handed volley, but Djokovic pocketed the set with his next. Not surprisingly, Mayer had a mental let-down.
Coming close has that effect on those who haven’t been there before, and Djokovic played relentless tennis from the backcourt to take advantage. The set took 25 minutes.
In the third, Mayer got back to the level he had managed in the first set.
The difference in athleticism, however, was too wide to bridge: had the German served better, he might have made up for his movement, but playing Djokovic without a major weapon or comparable fitness and footwork is an invitation to step on the carousel he turns on by directing his opponents to the corners of the court; they step off knackered and beaten.
Tricky player
“Obviously he's a player who doesn't give you much rhythm,” said Djokovic. “You know, he changes his pace. He's a very tricky player to play against on grass.
He had some big wins here in Wimbledon, so I was a little bit more nervous at the start. But I managed to get the rhythm in the right moments.”
What of his 27th meeting with Federer, the first here and the first on grass?
“He uses the grass court better because of that slice. You know, he has a really smart game for this surface.
“But I improved playing on grass the last couple of years. I mean, I won the title here last year, got to another semifinal this year, so I'm feeling good about this surface, about myself on the court. I really have nothing to lose. I'm going to try to win.”
For the record, Roger Federer leads the head-to-head 14-12.
