London // Defending champion Novak Djokovic eased into the Wimbledon semi-finals on Wednesday as Roger Federer and Andy Murray set-up a mouthwatering clash for a spot in the championship match.
Top seed and world No 1 Djokovic, also the champion in 2011, made the semi-finals for a sixth successive year and seventh time in total by beating ninth seed and US Open winner Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
It was the 28-year-old Serb’s 13th win in 13 matches against the Croatian. Djokovic goes on to face French 21st seed Richard Gasquet in his 27th grand slam tournament semi-final.
Second-seeded Federer, the seven-time champion, reached his 10th Wimbledon semi-final with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win over French 12th seed Gilles Simon.
Murray, the No 3 seed, cruised into his sixth All England Club semi-final with an equally comfortable 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over unseeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
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Djokovic, an eight-time grand slam tournament champion, hit 27 winners and committed just 12 unforced errors without allowing a break point to Cilic.
“It was a very solid performance after a tough five-set match against Kevin (Anderson) in the fourth round,” Djokovic said. “The top players are expected to reach the final stages of these competitions, but still I’m happy to make my way through. Of course, I try not to take it for granted.”
There were two other significant landmarks for Djokovic yesterday – his 650th tour-level match win and his 50th Wimbledon victory.
Federer, 33, who is bidding to become the oldest Wimbledon champion in the Open era, will play in his 37th grand slam tournament semi-final.
He shrugged off two rain delays as well as being broken for the first time at the tournament to complete victory over Simon in just 94 minutes.
Federer fired 11 aces and 36 winners as he secured a sixth win in eight meetings with Simon, who was attempting to reach the last four of a major for the first time.
Federer holds a 12-11 head-to-head lead over Murray and has won their past three clashes.
He defeated the Briton in the 2012 Wimbledon final – their only meeting at the tournament – before Murray gained revenge just weeks later in the Olympic Games final.
“We both like to look back on that summer of 2012. If we knew I would win Wimbledon and him Olympics, I think we both would have taken it. It was a great summer for us,” the 17-time major winner said.
The only blip for Federer was dropping serve for the first time at the tournament in the 10th game of the second set, which ended a run of 116 consecutive service holds since the first round in Halle last month.
Murray, 28, claimed his 150th match victory at majors to make his 17th grand slam tournament semi-final appearance, and his sixth at the All England Club.
“I’ve played Roger many times. I know him well and we get on well, but obviously on Friday it will be a different story,” Murray said. “We’ve played some good matches here and hopefully this will be a great one.”
In the final match to finish, Gasquet stunned No 4 seed Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 to set up a clash with Djokovic. It will be the Frenchman’s second Wimbledon semi-final appearance, eight years after his first.
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