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21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 JULY 2015 TENNIS Djokovic completes comeback win Novak Djokovic survived a one-set shoot-out with Kevin Anderson to keep the defence of his Wimbledon title on track BIGSERVING South African An- derson had taken the first two sets of the Court One clash on Monday evening before Djokovic battled back to level and force a deciding set, that fading light meant was held over until Tuesday. Djokovic experienced some nervy moments on the resumption, fend- ing off break points, before seal- ing a 6-7 (6/8) 6-7 (6/8) 6-1 6-4 7-5 fourth-round success, breaking de- cisively in the 11th game as Ander- son's serve faltered to complete his comeback. The world number one will face US Open champion Marin Cilic on Wednesday in the quarter-finals. Djokovic was on top when the players came off on Monday evening. It was widely felt that An- derson would benefit most from the decision to call off the match for the night, rather than switch the final set to the floodlit Centre Court. And the 14th seed came out strongly when, at the second at- tempt after a brief shower, play be- gan on Tuesday. Anderson blasted three aces in the opening game, after firing down 32 on Monday, before Djokovic held with ease in the next. Anderson's big serve got him out of trouble from deuce in game three. Then came a moment he will re- flect on as a missed opportunity. A double fault from Djokovic and a loose forehand gave Anderson 0-30 in the next game, a glimpse of an opening against the world number one's serve, and another sloppy fore- hand presented two break points at 15-40. But Djokovic held on, Anderson failing to strike, and it was a big op- portunity spurned. Anderson won a thrilling rally in a sixth game that he took to deuce, but again Djokovic stubbornly held serve. Then Anderson's serve, his mon- ey-maker, broke down at the most critical point. Two double faults in a row brought up a pair of break points in game 11, and a sublime Djokovic return at the toes of An- derson gave the Serbian his break- through for a 6-5 lead. Given Anderson had broken serve just once in the match, Djokovic was always likely to hold from there. And despite dropping the first two points of the game, Djokovic soon swept away his opponent's hopes, with a backhand from Anderson on match point floating beyond the baseline to settle the issue. Djokovic told BBC Sport: "I think Kevin served exceptionally well. "I found this was one of the most difficult matches I've played at Wimbledon maybe in my career. "At times I was really helpless with my return. It was very difficult to read his serve. "He was very aggressive. "To come back and win in five definitely gives me great satisfac- tion and confidence for the next challenge. "It was frustrating at times, es- pecially today, but I managed to go through and that's all that matters. "I congratulate Kevin for a great effort. It wouldn't have been unde- served if he'd won this match." A relieved Djokovic celebrates his victory Sharapova advances after stiff test from Vandeweghe Thoroughbred Russian grit outclassed all-American pedigree as Maria Sharapova fended off Coco Vandeweghe to set up a probable Wimbledon semi-final with Serena Williams VANDEWEGHE has finally come of grand slam age in SW19 but was no match in the deciding set for five-time major champion Shara- pova, who grunted, screamed and cajoled her way to 6-3 6-7 (3/7) 6-2 victory. New York native Vandeweghe may now be ready to uphold the legacy of her Miss America and NBA star grandparents - but 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova is still busy extending a sporting dynasty of her own. Sharapova's wince-inducing screams grew louder amid stress points, as is her custom - any decibel rises did little to deter Vandeweghe, who can at least be proud of the staying power that forced a third set. "It's been a while since I've been at that stage so I'm really happy with every match," said Sharapo- va, preparing for her 20th grand slam semi-final. "You have to give everything you have on a special occasion; you're playing to be one of the last four in one of the world's biggest tour- naments." Sharapova served for the match in the second set, only for Vandeweghe to force and then win a tie-break and take the clash the distance. "I was pretty dominant in the first and beginning of the second set and things slipped away a lit- tle for me in the tie-break," said Sharapova. "I really regrouped and obvi- ously she was playing with a lot of confidence and had nothing to lose. "Obviously when you're in a posi- tion to win it, sometimes it doesn't quite go your way and then you go back to the thing that helped you win that first set." Sharapova will now most likely face top seed Williams in her fifth Wimbledon semi-final - where cold stares and icy glances would be the order of the day. World number one Williams already boasts this year's Austral- ian and French Open titles and is gunning for a calendar grand slam that would all-but complete her set of career landmarks. The 33-year-old, younger Wil- liams sister must first move past a resurgent Victoria Azarenka to confirm that Sharapova battle. Few victories on the world stage would perhaps give Sharapova more pleasure than denying great rival Williams that elusive calen- dar slam. Two years ago Williams ap- peared to brand Grigor Dimitrov "the guy with the black heart". She had been in a relationship with the Bulgarian, who is now dating Sharapova. Sharapova responded in kind, and the pair's relationship since could politely be described as terse. This run represents Sharapova's best Wimbledon performance since losing the 2011 final to Petra Kvitova, as the Russian seeks fur- ther grand slam glory. Whether the 28-year-old could cope with Serena Williams's pow- er and dominance some 11 years after landing the Wimbledon title remains to be seen. The Russian wrestled with her faltering serve throughout a hard- fought victory over Vandeweghe - Williams would exploit similar technical shortcomings without mercy. Defeat for Vandeweghe ends her best-ever grand slam showing - but should also put a stop to a lengthy bout of soul-searching for her true persona in professional tennis. The 23-year-old claims her once-household American name does not weigh heavily, but the exploits of her relatives doubtless adds pressure. The granddaughter of all-star couple 1952 Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins and former New York Knick Ernie Vandeweghe is also the daughter of former Olym- pic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe. Vandeweghe took her mother's maiden name after her parents' divorce left her estranged from her father. In February last year she vowed to cut out the junk food and turn her preparation on its head: 17 months on she can leave London with a serious grand slam career in the making. Maria Sharapova made it through in three sets