Novak Djokovic reaches Wimbledon semifinals with easy win over Lu

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Djokovic sweeps Lu in straight sets to reach semis

WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic swept past Yen-hsun Lu in straight sets Wednesday to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon for the second time as he bids for a second Grand Slam title.

The third-seeded Djokovic never faced a face break point as he beat the 82nd-ranked Taiwanese player 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in less than two hours on Court 1, becoming the first man to advance to the final four.

Lu stunned three-time finalist Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, but couldn’t replicate that performance against the 2008 Australian Open champion.

Djokovic lost just 12 points in 13 service games. He won 26 of his first 28 service points, including 15 in a row. The Serb had 29 winners and 17 unforced errors, and converted five of 15 break points.

“Nothing is easy these days, especially at this stage of the tournament,” Djokovic said. “But the way I played, I deserved to win. I was hitting all the shots and I was really playing very solid from all parts of the court. I’m very, very happy with the performance today.”

Djokovic reached the semifinals here in 2007 but had to retire against Rafael Nadal with a foot injury while trailing in the third set.

“This time physically I’m fitter,” Djokovic said. “Those were very strange conditions and circumstances. I had to play three very long matches in three days and couldn’t hold on in the semifinal. This time everything is in order and Ill give my best.”

Djokovic will face the winner of the quarterfinal between top-seeded Roger Federer and No. 12 Tomas Berdych.

In other matches, No. 2 Nadal played No. 6 Robin Soderling, and No. 4 Andy Murray faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray is aiming to become Britain’s first male champion at Wimbledon since 1936, while Federer is trying to win a record-tying seventh title at the All England Club.

The women’s semifinals are set for Thursday, with an unusual final four featuring Serena Williams and three unheralded players.

Defending and three-time champion Williams plays 62nd-ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, while 82nd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria will face No. 21 Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Missing is five-time champion Venus Williams, who played in eight of the past 10 women’s finals but was upset in straight sets by Pironkova in the quarterfinals.

There was a surprise in the women’s doubles Wednesday with the top-ranked Williams sisters losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to Russians Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva.

The loss ends the American pair’s hopes of winning the Grand Slam this year after victories at the Australian Open and French Open. They had won four straight Grand Slam titles and were shooting for their 13th Grand Slam title and fifth here.