Anderson awaits final rival

Who will face Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon final? Will it be Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic?

Updated : Oct 15, 2019 12:34 IST

Rafael Nadal faces Novak Djokovic in the wimbledon 2018 semifinal today.
Rafael Nadal faces Novak Djokovic in the wimbledon 2018 semifinal today.
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Rafael Nadal faces Novak Djokovic in the wimbledon 2018 semifinal today.

 

2:20am: Nadal stages a stunning comeback to take the second set 6-3.

2:11am: Nadal leads 5-3 and will serve for the set.

2:02am: That's the third consecutive break! Nadal leads 4-2 in the second set.

1:53am: Djokovic breaks right back. He trails 2-3 in the second set.

1:40 am: BREAK! Nadal converts his first breakpoint opportunity of the match and leads three games to one.

1:45 am: Both players hold serve, Nadal leads two games to one.

1:25am: Djokovic takes the first set 6-4 in 47 minutes. That was quick! (Compared to the Isner-Anderson game, that is.)

1:16am: We have our first break! Djokovic breaks Nadal to take a 4-3 lead.

1:10am: No breaks here yet, scoreline reads 3-3.

12:44am: Nadal takes the first game.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic occupy Centre Court now. Another spectacular tennis match awaits!

12:17am: WE HAVE A WINNER! Anderson holds serve to win a stunning fifth set 26-24. What an amazing game of tennis this has been. Kevin Anderson has the last laugh as he defeats John Isner 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24 to progress to the Wimbledon final in what was the second longest match at the tournament! Take a bow, Anderson.

12:12am: BREAK! Anderson registers the first break of the fifth set, in the 49th game to lead 25-24. Can he hold serve and clinch a memorable victory?

12:07am: Isner leading 24-23. Doesn't look like the end is anywhere near!

23:52am: Isner 22-21 Anderson. Anderson on serve... and the epic goes on.

23:42am: Isner 20-20 Anderson. Isner on serve.

23:33pm: Isner 19-18 Anderson in the final set... and the marathon continues. The South African serving to stay in the match.

23:27pm: 18-17 in the fifth set! Anderson is, once again, serving to stay in the match.

23:22pm: Kevin Anderson has held his serve and now the ball is, literally, in John Isner's court. 17 all in the final set!

23:15pm: 16 all it is! Here is the match in numbers so far:
===> 50 games played so far
===> 5 hours, 30 minutes and counting
===> Total of 84 aces

An absolute blockbuster of a semifinal!

23:06pm: 15-all now! We've seen a total of 49 games in this semifinal clash so far!

22:56pm: Scoreline reads 13-13 now. 26 games and we're yet to find a break in the fifth set!

STAT ALERT: At four hours and 55 minutes, this is officially the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history.

22:50pm: And it's 12-all now. For those of you wondering, John Isner was part of the longest match in tennis history when he defeated Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 at Wimbledon 2010. Another interesting point to note, that match was played over a span of three days !

22:40pm: Make that 11-11.

22:34pm: It's 10 a piece now!

22:18pm: Still no break here. Isner leads 9-8.

22:12pm: Isner saves a break point to make it 8-7. What an intense battle here on Centre Court!

22:06pm: And it's 7-7 now. What a serve fest this is turning out to be!

22:00pm: 6-6 it is. No tiebreaks in the fifth set. Boy, are we in for a marathon fifth set?

21:56pm: No breaks in this set so far. Isner holds serve to make it 6-5. Can he break and register a win?

21:52pm: Anderson makes it 5-5. Looks like we're heading towards another long set!

21:40pm: Isner holds serve to make it 4-3 in the decider.

21:32pm: Isner leads 2-1 in the fifth set.

21:22 pm: WE'RE BACK ON LEVEL TERMS! Anderson manages to hold on and takes the fourth set 6-4. An exciting fifth set awaits.

21:20pm: Anderson squanders three set points! It's deuce now.

21:12pm: Anderson holds serve at 40-0 to make it 4-all in the fourth set.

21:06pm: Another game for Isner, we seem to be heading for yet another tie-break here.

20:53pm: Isner pulls one back to lead the fourth set 2 games to 1!

20:38pm: ISNER TAKES IT! Anderson fires his shot wide and Isner wins the tiebreak 11-9. He now leads two sets to one.

8:37pm: What an intense tiebreak this is turning out to be. It's 9-9 now!

8:33pm: Isner is now serving for the third set at 7-6. Can he convert his second set point? Nope, Anderson makes it 7-7.

8:31pm: A stunning display of serve and volley here from Isner. He leads 6-5!

8:27pm: It's even stevens here as the scoreline reads 3-3 in the third set tiebreak.

8:22pm: Scoreline reads 6-6. We have a third continuous tiebreaker!

8:15pm: Isner holds serve to make it 5-5. Another tiebreaker in the offing?

8:12pm: MAKE THAT TWO! Isner breaks right back to 4-5. He now serves to stay in the set.

8:08pm: BREAK! We have the first break of the match! Isner is broken for the first time at Wimbledon 2018 and Anderson takes a 5-3 lead.

8:03pm: Still no break here. Anderson leads 4-3 in the third set.

7:57pm: Anderson holds serve to make it 3-2. It's interesting to note that there hasn't been a single break of serve in the 31 games that have been played so far!

7:54pm: Love-hold! Isner plays a perfect service game to make it 2-2.

7:50pm: Both players hold serve and the third set scoreline reads 2-1 in Anderson's favour.

7:38pm: Isner fires a thunderous ace, his 19th of the match, to win the tiebreak 7-6 and take the second set.

7:37pm: Set point for Isner! Anderson serving at 3-6.

7:33pm: Isner on a roll here, takes five straight points to surge to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak.

7:30pm: Anderson fires a huge ace down the T to take the second set to a tiebreak.

7:23pm: Isner holds serve to take a 6-5 lead. Can he break Anderson's serve to take the second set?

7:19pm: Kevin Anderson, down 4-5 and on serve, is serving to stay in the set.

7:08pm: Still no break of serve in this match. Kevin Anderson's holds his serve to level the second set 3-3.

6:54pm: John Isner takes a 2-1 lead in the second set after holding his serve. Kevin Anderson is a set up and on serve in the second.

6:44pm: An unforced error from John Isner hands Kevin Anderson the first set 7-6 (6).

6:37pm: Isner holds a 4-2 lead in the tie-break as players change sides.

6:33pm: Isner responds to Kevin Anderson holding his service game with a successful one of his own and the first set will be decided by the tie-break.

6:25pm: John Isner digs himself out of a hole to level the first set at 5-5 after being in danger of losing it with a break of serve.

6:18pm: John Isner holds his serve and it's four games all in the first set.

6:00pm: Game Anderson. Isner isn't able to break and after a gruelling game Anderson leads the first set 2-1.

5:59pm: The third game has already gone into its 14th minute. Deuce number eight.

5:54pm: Isner with some really effective return play and game goes on into the sixth duece.

5:54pm: Seems like we've already got a match on our hands. The third game is into its fourth duece.

5:43pm: Kevin Anderson win the first game on serve.

5:42pm: Anderson starts off the match with a double fault. But delivers a powerful ace right after.

5:41pm: And we're underway.

5:37pm: Isner has fared the better between the two of them in head-to-head records. Isner has won eight and Anderson 3.

5:35pm: Two towering figures on the court now. John Isner stands at 6' 10'' and Kevin Anderson at 6' 8". Battle of the giants?

5:24pm: Kevin Anderson's match against John Isner coming up. Stay tuned.

....................................................................................................................

It's day 11 of Wimbledon 2018 and the men's singles semifinals are in store today.

First up, it will be two newbies facing each other. Kevin Anderson and John Isner have never reached this far in the Wimbledon before. So we'll surely have a first-time finalist this time.

John Isner, however, is famous for having played the longest tennis match ever against Nicolas Mahut in the first round of Wimbledon 2010. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. But he'll be out to make sure he doesn't just remain a name in the record books.

Kevin Anderson reached the final after a stunning comeback against defending champion Roger Federer. The 33-year-old South African was a surprise US Open finalist last year and finished second to Rafael Nadal.

Isner, who is yet to drop serve at the tournament, has hit 160 aces compared to Anderson's 123, while the South African has lost serve nine times.

The second fixture for the day is one that shouldn't be missed. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will face each other for the 52nd time, more than any other duo n the sport. This will also be the fourth time they meet in the semifinals of a major. Nadal will be looking to win his third Wimbledon, having last won it in 2010. And Djokovic, who is an underdog this time, aims for his third.

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