Johansson eases past Nalbandian
By Mark Barden
BBC Sport at Wimbledon
Wednesday, 29 June, 2005
Thomas Johansson reached his first-ever Wimbledon semi-final with a
7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-2 win over David Nalbandian.
The 12th-seeded Swede, contesting his first quarter-final in SW19,
always had the upper hand against the Argentine 18th seed, the losing
finalist in 2002.
Nalbandian, who defeated Britain’s Andy Murray in the third round,
found himself battling to hold serve from the start against a
determined opponent.
Johansson’s serve, apart from a single first-set break, was rarely
threatened.
Nalbandian was broken in the third game of the opening set but broke
back five games later for 4-4.
A see-saw tie-break saw no less than seven breaks, with Johansson
holding his nerve to finally come out on top after an hour and
13 minutes.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard I was the oldest guy left in the
draw, but I’m happy to be the oldest guy in the semis.