Nadal may have the measure of favourite Djokovic

BBC1, from 1pm Friday

Anderson v Isner
John Isner powered past classy Canadian Milos Raonic in one battle of big servers on Wednesday and he can come through another heavyweight tussle and tee up his first Grand Slam final by beating giant South African Kevin Anderson.

Bookmakers are struggling to find a favourite. The pair are renowned as two of the fastest servers in the business and tiebreaks should prove key with a place in the final at stake.

Anderson showed plenty of character to claw his way back from two sets down against Swiss legend Roger Federer in the last round but a showdown with Isner is a different test and there will be more pressure on the South African to hold his serve.

Breaking Isner’s serve, however, is extremely difficult. The American has booked his place in the semi-finals without being broken, winning all 95 of his service games.

Isner has dropped three sets in the tournament but each of them was lost in a tiebreak and Anderson can’t afford to start slowly as he did against Federer.

Whether it was the pressure of the situation or the legend he was facing, Anderson could not find his rhythm in the opening two sets, making just 56 per cent of his first serves and winning only 66 per cent of those points.

Those figures must improve if the towering South African has hopes of toppling in-form Isner.

The American leads their personal series 8-3 and has won the last five meetings with three of those coming in straight sets.

Their only clash on grass, at Queen’s ten years ago, went Isner’s way too and the American makes most appeal with his serve looking slightly the stronger.

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Djokovic v Nadal
Novak Djokovic is hitting peak form as he seeks Grand Slam success for the first time since winning the Australian Open in 2016, but whether he should be clear favourite to overcome his old foe Rafael Nadal is open to debate.

There’s little doubt that Djokovic is slowly getting closer to the player who held all four Grand Slam titles two years ago but he’s not flawless and resilient Rafa is the much safer alternative.

Injuries and personal issues have derailed Djokovic in recent seasons but his run to the final of Queen’s suggested the Serb was on a comeback mission and his performances at Wimbledon have supported that feeling.

The Serb made light work of beating rising Russian Karen Khachanov, home hope Kyle Edmund and Japanese ace Kei Nishikori at the All England Club, three victories which didn’t seem possible just 12 months ago.

On the other hand, Nadal has won two of the last three Grand Slams and his determination to find a way to come out on top makes him difficult to oppose.

The silky Spaniard has made the Wimbledon final on five occasions and a thrilling five-set victory over Juan Martin del Potro in the last eight, when he saved five break points in the final set, showed he wants it move than ever.

A match fitting for a final could see plenty of long rallies and Nadal, who has won the last four meetings between them to have gone over three sets, may be better positioned to tee up a title-decider.

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