Friday marked the 11th time they had met in a major open championship, but considering how poorly Novak Djokovic played in the semifinal, you might have believed it was his first "rodeo."
Roger Federer defeated the No. 1-ranked Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 6-3 to reach his first Wimbledon final since 2009 (he won his sixth title that year) by exhibiting a ruthless streak in response to Djokovic's bizarre outing.
The Serbian looked out of sorts for most of the occasion. Despite winning the second set in convincing fashion, Djokovic slipped and slid his way about a Centre Court showing the wear and tear of some two weeks of competition.
The baseline was brown as an unkempt backyard, the service boxes green as a freshly watered lawn. It was on the latter, and beyond the brown bits, in the deeper parts of the court, where Federer forced him with a medley of overpowering ground strokes, that Djokovic began to falter.
At times it looked like he needed crampons to keep from sliding. But in the end, it mattered little. It wasn't his day, and he looked like he realized it. Faced with a rampant Federer looking five years younger than his 30 years (he turns 31 on Aug. 8), there was little Djokovic could do to stem the Swiss tide set before him.
An early break from Federer had brought the first set to four games to two, and after losing just one point in the ensuing game, the third-seeded player brought the score to 5-2. All this was achieved with few, if any forays to the net—a staple of Federer's career.
Djokovic won a game back, but it took Federer just three swings—including two aces—to go up 40-0 in the decisive game. The next point was a mere formality, with Federer coolly dispatching a forehand as Djokovic rushed out of play to win the first set.
Djokovic came right back in the second set, dictating play from the baseline and successfully keeping Federer at bay. Just as the first set had quickly gone Federer's way, Djokovic had the second set won 6-3, the numbers showing up in palindromic fashion on the ESPN screen. Within an hour, two sets had been finished.
And this was no rushed affair. This was terrific tennis.
After Federer won the first game of the third set, he earned a break point at 30-40—just the second in the match for either play up to that point—but after Djokovic unsuccessfully challenged a missed first serve, Federer pushed a forehand to his right and allowed Djokovic to knot the game at deuce.
After Federer brought the game to a second deuce, Djokovic, as he so rarely did on Friday, calmly dispatched the next two points to level the set at 1-1.
With Federer up three games to two, the players engaged in a wonderfully fought sixth game that was a perfect encapsulation of the quality on display from two of the greatest players in the history of the game.
That sixth game featured a 23-shot point, not to mention shades of Federer's dominance, exemplified by his powerful backhand.
But Djokovic held his nerve, and he took the game to pull to 3-3 in the set.
When Federer broke Djokovic to take the set at 6-4, however, it looked like he'd successfully broken the Serb. He'd unleashed a searing overhead volley for the decisive point, which Djokovic couldn't hope to get to.
In a rare show of emotion, Federer pumped his fist and let loose an emphatic "Come on!"
Four errors from Djokovic allowed Federer to break serve and take a 2-0 advantage in that decisive fourth set. With his opponent visibly shaken, exceedingly fatigued and increasingly despondent, Federer pressed his advantage, wearing down his opponent until he'd taken a 6-4 set win.
His reaction was rather muted, at least in comparison to that triumphant yawp at the end of the third set, especially considering that he had booked passage to his first Wimbledon final in three years.
But then, Federer has always oozed professionalism. Why change now?
He will meet Andy Murray, who will be carrying the weight of an entire nation on his lithe back in Sunday's final. Murray is the first British player to reach a Wimbledon final in 74 years. Back then it was Fred Perry, whose clothing brand Murray used to champion before switching to Adidas.
Should Federer defeat Murray, he will retrieve the No. 1 world ranking that has eluded him for years now.
Speaking to Phil Jones of the BBC after the match, however, Federer showed no signs of nerves. "It was a tough match," Federer said on-air. "Great crowd, it was really fun being out there. Of course, it feels great to be in a Wimbledon final. I've got a tough task ahead of me, but I'm excited about it. That's what I play for."
Coverage begins on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time in London.
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