Clinical top seed Novak Djokovic crushed Frenchman Richard Gasquet’s hopes of a first grand slam final with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in their Wimbledon semi-final on Friday.
Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in last year’s final and lost to Andy Murray in the 2013 showpiece. Federer and Murray were on court for the second semi-final.
“It was a very good performance considering the occasion. Semi-finals are always tough and things could have gone his way in the first set. That was the turning point,” Djokovic said after booking his 17th grand slam final berth.
Djokovic played down concerns about a left shoulder injury that twice needed treatment and insisted he would be ready for the final.
“It’s nothing that worries me honestly. It will be fine for the next match,” he said.
“I have a responsibility to play well here in the cradle of tennis. It is an honour to play in the Wimbledon final – the most watched tennis match in the world.
“I’m just glad to reach another final. I will be ready for it.”
Gasquet added: “I did a good match, but the tie-break was important, winning that would have given me confidence.
“It was 2-2 in the tie-break then it was 7-2 very fast. He never missed. That’s why he’s No 1 in the world.”
For the first time, Djokovic has made the Wimbledon, Australian and French Open finals in the same year.
Djokovic, who also won Wimbledon in 2011, now has a remarkable 47-3 record in 2015 and one more win would give the reigning Australian Open champion his second Grand Slam of 2015.
It would also go a long way to erasing the heartache of his French Open final loss against Stan Wawrinka last month – a defeat that denied Djokovic the only major title to elude him.
Gasquet’s surprise run had brought him back to the Wimbledon last four for the first time since 2007.
The 29-year-old, who was bidding for a first major final, caused one of the bigger upsets in this year’s tournament when he knocked out Wawrinka in quarter-finals.
But Djokovic had won 11 of his 12 previous meetings with Gasquet and, despite the Frenchman’s strong showing, the top seed would eventually cruise to victory number 12.
He seemed set for another quick-fire win after breaking in the opening game against Gasquet.
Unexpectedly, the Serb lapsed into an error-strewn period that left him visibly frustrated as Gasquet began to take control.
Unfurling his majestic one-handed backhand whenever the opportunity arose, Gasquet broke back and matched Djokovic blow for blow all the way to the tie-break.
But the tenacious Serb couldn’t be subdued forever and, raising his game at just the right moment, he blitzed Gasquet in the breaker with a series of searing winners.
It was rough on Gasquet, but despite making only five unforced errors he found himself a set down.
Djokovic kept the heat on Gasquet at the start of the second set, breaking with a brilliant forehand that curled cross-court past his stranded opponent.
Confidence was surging through Djokovic now and he somehow stretched to track down a powerful Gasquet forehand and turn it into an blistering on-the-run winner.
Although Djokovic twice called for treatment on his left shoulder, an injury sustained in a first set tumble, even that impediment could not stop him easing to a two-set lead.
With another Wimbledon showpiece in sight, Djokovic turned the screw, cleverly moving Gasquet into awkward positions to induce the errors that brought a decisive break in the third game of the third set.
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1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
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3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m.
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The National selections:
1.45pm: Galaxy Road – So Hi Speed
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3.15pm: Eqtiraan - Bochart
3.45pm: Kidd Malibu – Initial
4.15pm: Arroway – Arch Gold
4.35pm: Compliance - Muqaatil
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Company%20Profile
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (11.30pm)
Saturday Freiburg v Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund, Cologne v Wolfsburg, Arminia Bielefeld v Mainz (6.30pm) Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig (9.30pm)
Sunday Werder Bremen v Stuttgart (6.30pm), Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (9pm)
Monday Hoffenheim v Augsburg (11.30pm)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Indika
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The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
