Novak Djokovic stayed on course for a showdown with Andy Murray in Sunday’s final as they both powered through to the last eight at Wimbledon.
Having seen women’s top seed Serena Williams crash out of the tournament in the opening match on Centre Court, Djokovic and Murray would have been both wary of falling victim to another upset, especially after the defeats of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal last week.
Despite a brief wobble in the second set, Murray progressed, defeating Mikhail Youzhny to set up a quarter-final against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.
Djokovic followed Murray on court, and continued his near-flawless progression through the tournament with a 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7-4) win over German 13th seed Tommy Haas.
Djokovic broke his opponent’s serve six times during a match lasting two hours and 12 minutes, and despite having his own serve taken for the first time this fortnight he never looked like losing.
That was despite the man on the other side of the net having inflicted defeat on him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals four years ago.
“I had a bad record against him, I lost twice in 2009 against him and he is a grass-court specialist, so it was a tough challenge for me, but I played really well,” said top seed Djokovic.
“I had to work hard, but I was serving well, returning exceptionally good in important moments. I had a minor setback when he broke me at 5-3 in the third set, but I am glad I closed it out.”