LONDON:
Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached his fifth Wimbledon final on Friday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over an outclassed Andy Murray, leaving British hopes of a first champion since 1936 in tatters.
Top seed Nadal, the winner also in 2008, will take on Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final, the match given an extra edge by the Serb guaranteed to depose the Spaniard from the world number one spot.
Second seeded Australian Open champion Djokovic, beaten only once in his last 50 matches, reached his first Wimbledon final with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3 win over French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
For Murray, it was a third successive semi-final loss at the All England Club.
The final statistics summed up Murray’s misery with Nadal committing just seven unforced errors – four of those in the first set to the Scot’s 39.
“It’s a dream to be back in the final. I feel sorry for Andy, he deserved to be in the final. It’s tough for him to lose this match today, but I wish him all the best for the rest of the year,” said Nadal.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2011.
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