The big question entering this match was “How is del Potro’s knee?”.  Twice, in two consecutive matches, del Potro hyper-extended his knee.  Twice, he came storming back.  Against Zemlja, he won 3 games in a row to close out the third set and a match.  Against Ferrer, he dominated the match start to end, despite the knee issue reoccurring in the first game.

Although del Potro limited his practice leading up to the semifinal encounter, he claimed he was fine, and would play the semifinal.

Many felt, even if del Potro were 100%, he would find himself struggling with Djokovic who had yet to drop a set.  A gimpy del Potro would surely be no match against the fit and honed Serbian.

Right away, del Potro looked fine.  He was able to engage in long rallies.  He’s smart about where he hits so he doesn’t expose too many angles.  He looks for opportunities where he can use his forehand to good effect.

The two kept pretty even in the first set with a single break late in the first set that lead to a Djokovic lead.  It just felt that Djokovic was in control, but del Potro would keep hanging in.

In the second set, del Potro had to fight off break points, and he showed a great skill at fending them off.  Meanwhile, the one break point against Djokovic went the way of the Argentine, so he was able to take the second set 6-4.

The third set went according to serve with neither man able to get to break point.  This went to tiebreak where del Potro got behind early and lost it, and it was at this point that things looked a bit dire for del Potro.

del Potro got broken early in the fourth set to fall back 4-2.  Djokovic had been struggling a bit with his shots, missing drop shots, hitting backhands wide, and eventually gave a break back to del Potro.  The two stayed on serve to the tiebreak, and again del Potro got behind in the tiebreak, but this time he fought his way out, and punctuated it with a hard crosscourt return that Djokovic netted, and took the fourth set tiebreak 8-6.

Still, despite tying the set up, Djokovic still looked like he was in control, as if del Potro was a bull terrier not quite willing to let go, hitting enough big shots at the big moments to stay within striking range, yet never able to string enough points to get a lead.  Finally, Djokovic secured one more break in the fifth set, and despite a game attempt to break back, Djokovic held on for the five set epic win.  del Potro did more than hold his own, showing some of the hitting prowess that lead him to the US Open title in 2009.

Off the ground, he’s the best big man, steady, yet powerful.  By big man, I’m referring to anyone 6’5″ or taller (Berdych is in this range and his groundies are good too, but lacks the steadiness of del Potro).

This is the second Wimbledon final that Djokovic has reached, and the first match he looked shaky on, though he held his nerve and played solidly.  One huge difference was the ace count with Djokovic serving over 20 aces while del Potro serving only a handful.  It probably says as much about Djokovic’s return skills as it does about his serving ability.

And although Djokovic slipped numerous times, often because he was way back where the grass was still green, his immense flexibility implied that Djokovic wasn’t bothered by being on the ground all the time.  del Potro also avoided hyper extending his knee.  In the end, an epic match where del Potro clung on madly, but couldn’t quite pressure Djokovic.  A superb display of defense on both sides.