
Defending champion Novak Djokovic withstood a determined challenge from Roberto Bautista Agut to reach his sixth Wimbledon final.
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The world No 1 defeated the 23rd seed 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 49 minutes in a gruelling encounter on Centre Court.
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Djokovic appeared rattled at times against Bautista Agut, who was playing in his first Grand Slam semi-final, but moved through the gears to break the Spaniard's resistance.
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The Serb is through to a 25th Grand Slam final and will face either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in Sunday's showpiece.
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The match turned on a 45-shot rally in the seventh game of the third set, which Djokovic won to hold serve and stay a break up.
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From then on, he took total control as the Spaniard, who had looked calm and confident in his first Grand Slam semi-final, was eventually brushed aside.
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"I had to dig deep. It's the semi-finals and Roberto was not overwhelmed," Djokovic, 32, said.
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"He played really well. He was managing his nerves in the first set but later on he established himself and started to play better.
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I got a bit tight. It was a close opening four or five games of the third set - that's where the match could have gone a different way."
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Djokovic will play Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final
Bautista Agut flashed a brilliant return past Djokovic from the first serve of the match but he barely threatened for the rest of the set as his high-risk approach produced too many errors and a provided a straightforward set win for the favourite.
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The second was a different story as Bautista Agut dialled back a little and found that he was able to out-duel Djokovic, who was was making uncharacteristic errors on seemingly simple shots.
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Bautista Agut snatched a break in the third game and served superbly to back it up, dropping only four points in five successful service games to level the match.
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Bautista Agut battled back to win the second set of the match
The Centre Court crowd realised they had a real match on their hands and they were treated to a superb third set. It, and probably the match, hinged on the seventh game as Djokovic, a break to the good, served at 30-40.
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The players then played out their remarkable 45-shot rally, with Djokovic ultimately switching the angle of attack and taking the point with a devastating winner.
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It was the longest rally officially seen at Wimbledon since records began in 2005 and Djokovic duly served out and stayed on top to take the set.
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The champion then took command in the fourth set, cutting out the loose groundstrokes and picking up points with serve-and-volley attacks, and after breaking for a 2-1 lead, he never looked back.
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After his victory, Djokovic said: "Regardless of the history and many finals I've played, playing a final at Wimbledon is something different so I'll definitely enjoy that experience," adding that he would be watching as much of the Federer-Nadal match as he could.
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"I'm a fan of that match-up as well," he said. "It's one of the most epic rivalries of all time so it's fantastic to see them play today."
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