London, July 6: World No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic entered his second Wimbledon men's singles final after defeating eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro in a five-set battle here on Friday.
The top seed beat the Argentinean 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3 on centre court in four hours and 43 minutes, making the match the longest ever men's semifinal in Wimbledon history, beating the 1989 Ivan Lendl-Boris Becker last four tie which lasted four hours and one minute.
The World No.8 del Potro, who won his lone Grand Slam at the 2009 US Open, saved two match points in the fourth set but could stop the 2011 champion on his third match point. This is del Potro's best ever outing at the lone grass court major.
"I'm enjoying the victory today. I will think about the final tomorrow. That's why he's (del Potro) a Grand Slam champion. Because when he gets in tough spots he comes up with great shots. Credit for him for fighting and coming up with some big forehands,” Djovokic said after the match.
Djokovic will meet the winner of the second semifinal between Poland's 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz and local second seed and crowd favourite Andy Murray scheduled later Friday.
