The Wimbledon Open men's singles semifinal will feature no Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. But despite the absences of tennis' biggest stars, Wimbledon won't lack excitement—the final four matches of the All England Tennis Club start on Friday.
World's no.1 Novak Djokovic and Olympic champion Andy Murray are the big favorites to book spots in the championship match. Yet, Juan Martin Del Potro and Jerzy Janowicz won't fall down easily, and could even give the contenders a run for their money, especially if the two are in good form.
Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin Del Potro
This could be Novak's biggest test so far in the tourney after running the table through the first five rounds. Outside hometown favorite Andy Murray, Djokovic has the best chance of winning his second Wimbledon Open title in three years because of the lack of a formidable force in his bracket. Novak dominated Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to secure his 12th Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
Meanwhile, Del Potro has just reached his first Wimbledon Open semifinal following his straight set win over David Ferrer of Spain, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6. Like Murray, Del Potro has been dominant in the tourney, cruising to the semifinal round without dropping a single set.
In a match between two players with contrasting play, it will be interesting to see how Djokovic will respond to Del Potro's powerplay. In the 11 games they played, Djokovic only lost three, but the Argentine scored a victory in their latest meeting at Indian Wells.
Andy Murray vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Fresh from his epic comeback victory against Fernando Verdasco, Murray enters the semifinal round with his confidence at the highest level. At the same time, the threat of playing an upset-minded Janowicz should not be taken for granted, so the Briton must bring up his best game once again if he wants to move onto the final round.
Murray and Janowicz only played twice before Thursday's semifinal round, with the Brit winning their first meeting at the Davis Cup Playoffs and the Pole pulling off a stunner in round-of-16 of last year's Paris Masters.
In a David versus Goliath kind of match, it will be fascinating to see if Murray will continue his good play and fulfill his destiny on Wimbledon lawn or will Janowicz come through with another upset in the biggest stage of them all.
TV Schedule and Live Streaming
Coverage of Gentlemen's Semifinal of the Wimbledon Open starts at 7 a.m. EST on ESPN and ESPN3 or Wimbledon Live
Audio Streaming
Radio Coverage of Gentlemen's Semifinal of the Wimbledon Open - ESPN Radio or Wimbledon Radio
Live Scores and Results
Updated Stats and Results are available on Wimbledon Results and Score
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