Friday is looking like a significant day for Novak Djokovic, one way or another. It will be one year to the day since he married the woman he has loved all his adult life, Jelena Ristic; and it hardly takes a tennis genius to spot that an agreeable way to celebrate would be to defeat Richard Gasquet for a place in the final of Wimbledon 2015.
The defending champion got through to the last four by beating Marin Cilic for the 13th straight time without reply in their respective careers. Against the big-serving Croatian, it felt very much as if the world’s most famous Serb could keep reeling off those 6-4 sets for as long as anyone would ask him to. As it was, just the regulation three were enough, and he won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a Centre Court crowd whose number included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“It was very solid,” said Djokovic. “I didn’t know how my body would feel after a tough five-setter against Kevin [Anderson in the fourth round]. Tactically I played very well. I try not to take my 27th Grand Slam semi-final for granted even though it is expected that top players reach this far. But you need to earn it so I’m very pleased.”
And yet there is a residual air of melancholy about him, in the aftermath of Roland Garros. There is a sense about Djokovic this Fortnight that he is trying to remind himself how wonderful Wimbledon is, and how fantastic a third title here would be following his wins in 2011 and 2014.
I didn't know how my body would feel after a tough five-setter against Kevin. Tactically I played very well
The seedings dictated that his semi-final opponent here was to be Stan Wawrinka, the man who denied him the completion of his career Grand Slam in Paris just a month ago. But it was Gasquet, the No.21 seed, who outlasted the Swiss in their five-set quarter-final; and so Djokovic is left in a peculiar situation.
On paper, clearly Wawrinka would have been the tougher test – but also a tailor-made opportunity for the No.1 seed to put right, to some degree, the events which overtook him at Roland Garros. What a mental springboard that might have been into the final; what a perfect reminder of how much he treasures this title.
Instead he has an “easier” opponent – one whose only win against him in 13 meetings came eight years ago. Only six weeks ago Djokovic dismissed Gasquet for the loss of just six games on the Paris clay in the fourth round. Back then, that win took Djokovic into a quarter-final where he faced his six-time conqueror at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal, and saw him off in straight sets.
He overcame a vastly in-form Andy Murray in the semis to take his winning streak to 28 matches, including 16 on clay. It was his time. Just one last step remained to his destiny of the career Slam, against an opponent he had beaten 16 times in the last 17, the mere No.8 seed to his indomitable No.1. As title favourites go, Djokovic was hotter than July… And he lost.
Wimbledon is his first tournament since then, and in a year when the grass-court season has been significantly extended, so far this amounts to the five matches he has played here. Yet somehow it feels like a long grass season for him, as if the Roland Garros defeat prevents him relishing every moment here. This is not to say he has shown lack of focus on court – far from it, given the test he faced from Anderson in the fourth round.
But he doesn’t seem… happy. In Paris, he was brimming with it through every round until the last. He spoke of being in the best place of his career, with everything coming together, reaching a pinnacle in his life and feeling like a complete person. He has not spoken that way at Wimbledon. But he denies that he has a sense of anti-climax here.
“It definitely wasn’t easy to digest the loss in the finals against Stan,” he said after beating Cilic. “It was a great chance for me to win Roland Garros for the first time. But this is sport. Got to keep going. You have to use these experiences as a way of getting stronger.”
Djokovic has shown so many times this battling spirit. Step by step, round by round, he is trying to win his way back to happiness. The next hurdle is the Frenchman.
“Gasquet loves grass, and is one of the most talented players we have on Tour. It’s a great effort from Richard to beat Stan. He always had touch and talent. I think he improved his fitness a lot. I heard he worked hard to get himself really fit and ready to go the distance, and it’s paying off.”
With each victory here, Djokovic has kissed the tips of his fingers and brushed his hand over the grass, as if to create a tangible reminder of what is good and precious. He is a tennis player – the best in the world right now. Wimbledon matters to him. Step by difficult step, he is leaving Paris behind.
