NOVAK DJOKOVIC BELIEVES he has nothing to lose in his Wimbledon semi-final against six-time champion Roger Federer.
The world number one brushed past German 31st seed Florian Mayer 6-4 6-1 6-4 in their quarter-final at the All England Club on Wednesday.
Djokovic has won six of his previous seven meetings against Federer, but the two have never met on grass.
The reigning Wimbledon champion said he expected another tight encounter against the Swiss maestro and believes he has nothing to lose.
“He (Federer) has great variety in his game. He uses his serve very well. He opens up the court. He uses that slice really well to get the balls to bounce low. He’s very aggressive at times. He can defend well,” Djokovic said.
He has a really smart game for this surface but I improved playing on grass in the last couple of years. I won the title here last year, got to another semi-final this year.
“I’m feeling good about this surface, about myself on the court – I really have nothing to lose. I’m going to try to win.”
Djokovic played on court one in his victory over Mayer, and said it took him time to adapt to the outdoor conditions.
The Serbian had played three straight matches under the roof on Centre Court because of the inclement weather.
“I had a little trouble adjusting to the sun and to outdoor conditions because I played my last three matches indoors,” Djokovic said.
“It took me a bit of time to get into the rhythm, but it was a tricky first set obviously. It was important for me to get a set lead and after that I played much better.”
Mayer, who called Djokovic’s performance ‘unbelievable’, said Federer would need to be at his best to book a place in the final.
It’s a very open match. It’s a good chance also for Roger maybe to reach world number one if he can beat Novak,” Mayer said.
“He will be very motivated, but I think Roger also has to play on a really high level to have a chance to beat Novak.”
