Djokovic, Murray reach semifinal at Wimbledon

LONDON - Top seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the semifinals with an easy victory over Tomas Berdych while local favorite Andy Murray fought back from two sets down to beat unseeded Fernando Verdasco en route to the last four in London on Wednesday.

Djokovic, the 2011 champion, reached the last four at the Grand Slam events for the 13th consecutive time by beating Berdych 7-6 ( 5), 6-4, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their men's quarter-final tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 3, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The Serb will take on Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina for a for a place in Sunday's final.

Del Potro, the eighth seed, defeated Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in another match.

World No. 2 Murray went down 0-2 in the first two sets and was on the brink of elimination in the deciding set but fought back to beat 54th-ranked Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.

Murray, the reigning US Open champion, will vie for a final berth in the second half against Polish 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz, who beat compatriot Lukasz Kubot 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

The Scottish has reached the Wimbledon semifinal for the fifth time in a row and has a chance to become the first Briton to win here since Fred Perry in 1936.

Djokovic, a six-time Grand Slam champion, took a sweet revenge on his defeat in the 2010 semifinals to Berdych, who has recorded two wins from their 15 meetings.

"It was a very close match, and that was what I expected," said Djokovic. "One shot decided the winner of the first set and that was an important advantage for me. I don't know how I managed to turn the second set around, but it was a he confidence boost for me to go two sets up.

"I could see he was frustrated in the third set so I capitalised when I needed to and he missed a few easy shots. Now I feel physically fresh for the semifinal."

Murray, who was beaten by Roger Federer in last year's final, was watched by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and finally went through.

"I came through an incredibly tough match. It could have gone the other way. I found a way to get through and that's all you need," said Murray.