WIMBLEDON 2013 MEN'S SEMI-FINALS



  • Venue: All England Club, London

  • Date: Friday 5 July


Coverage: Live on BBC TV, 3D, BBC HD Channel, Red Button, BBC Radio 5 live, plus the BBC Sport website, tablet, mobile and connected TV.



Andy Murray will have to deal with the biggest serve in the tournament when he takes on 6ft 8in Jerzy Janowicz in Friday's semi-finals at Wimbledon.


The world number two, hoping to become Britain's first male champion since 1936, plays the Polish 24th seed in the second match on Centre Court at approximately 16:00 BST.


They will follow the first semi-final between top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Argentine eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro at 13:00.



Andy Murray


Andy Murray's Wimbledon journey



Janowicz, 22, heads the serving charts with 94 aces and a top speed of 140mph, and he has been broken just four times in the tournament.


Poland's first male Grand Slam semi-finalist also has a win over Murray, having saved a match point on his way to beating the Scot at the Paris Masters in November.


Murray, the second seed, believes his return will be key to his chances of reaching the final.


"That's always been one of the strengths of my game," Murray said in his BBC Sport column.


"I have to take every chance that comes my way. Janowicz might be a big guy with a big serve, but I won't be intimidated by him."


While the power of Janowicz's game is the obvious threat, Murray says there is more than just the serve and the forehand to worry about.



The stats


Andy Murray



  • Murray is through to his fifth Wimbledon semi-final in a row



  • He has hit 60 aces and 10 double faults, with a top speed of 133mph, in five matches



  • Jerzy Janowicz tops the standings with 94 aces and a top speed of 140mph



  • Murray's first serve percentage for the tournament is 63%



  • He has won 82% of points behind his first serve and 55% behind his second serve



  • Murray has won more points (115) returning second serves than any other player



  • He is top of the standings for breaks of serve, having done so 24 times in five matches



"He also has pretty good touch," said the world number two. "He likes to hit drop shots. He doesn't just whack every single shot as hard as he can. It will be a very tough match."


Murray, 26, needed five sets to get past Fernando Verdasco in the previous round, and he is looking for the Centre Court crowd to help him once again.


"When I went behind, the crowd definitely got right behind me and made a huge, huge difference," he said.


"If they can be like that from the first point to the last in all of the matches, it makes a huge difference."


Janowicz insisted he was not concerned by the prospect of having 15,000 spectators cheering for his opponent, saying: "For sure the crowd will not really help me, but we'll see how it's going to be.


"This is my first semi-final ever, so I don't know what to expect. I hope Andy will feel some kind of pressure.


"I'm sure he feels some kind of pressure because Great Britain is waiting for the champion in Wimbledon."


Djokovic, the 2011 champion, has yet to drop a set but will face Del Potro on the same court where he lost to the Argentine in last year's Olympic bronze medal match.


"That was a close match also, 'Delpo' is a great player," said the world number one, 26. "I have a great respect for him. He's a Grand Slam winner.


"He struggled with injuries in last few years, but every time he comes back he comes back very strong because he just has this talent and qualities as a player."


Del Potro is through to his first Wimbledon semi-final despite struggling with a knee injury that was not helped by a bad fall in his quarter-final win over David Ferrer.


"I will need to be 100% or 110% against [Djokovic]," said the Argentine. "He's the number one, he's a former champion here.


"But if I'm OK, if I do everything good to be ready for my next match, I will be excited to play against him. I remember the match during the Olympic last year on the same surface."



Andy Murray


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