Nadal, Djokovic reach Wimbledon finals

LONDON, July 1 (UPI) -- Defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djovkovic gained the Wimbledon finals Friday and, no matter who wins the title, the Serb will be world No. 1.

Nadal overcame Britain's Andy Murray 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and Djokovic defeated Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-7 (9-11), 6-3 in the semifinals.

Nadal, now top-ranked, is the reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and French Open champion. He is going for his 11th Grand Slam title.

The Spaniard cruised after dropping the opening set to crowd-favorite Murray.

The victory by Djokovic, whose record this year is 47-1, meant he will replace Nadal at the top of the rankings, even if he loses to him.

Nadal was seeded No. 1, Djokovic second, Murray fourth and Tsonga 12th in the tournament.

Djokovic, winner of the Australian Open this year, will be in his first Wimbledon championship match.

After battling through a first-set tiebreaker and moving on to a two-set lead, Djokovic dropped the third set before dominating the fourth for his 49th win in 50 matches dating back to last season.

"I've been working all my life for this," Djokovic said. "I've been dreaming about playing the finals of Wimbledon since I started playing tennis when I was 4. To be able to be there on Sunday will probably be the best feeling."

Djokovic already has won seven tournaments this year.

Tsonga eliminated six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.