Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (L) and Novak Djokovic are facing each other for the 52nd time in their career. In this picture, Nadal and Serbia's Djokovic smile during an exhibition game during 'Kids Day' on The Philippe Chatrier Court in Paris on May 26, 2018, on the eve of The Roland Garros 2018 French Open tennis tournament. CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images

In what many will say should actually be the final, Novak Djokovic will take on Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.

The match between the former All England Cup champions is certainly worthy of being the summit clash, but that is not the case as they were paired in the same half of the draw owing to their disparity in the world rankings.

The semi-final clash between Nadal and Djokovic will begin at approximately 10.30 a.m. EDT (as it follows the first semi-final between John Isner and Kevin Anderson — starting at 8 a.m. EDT).

Nadal is the world number one, but was seeded two, while Djokovic, who is currently ranked number 21 in the world was seeded 12th. Despite the gap in the rankings, it is certain to be a close encounter with both players showing their best form coming into the last four clash.

The Spaniard is the in-form player having amassed 10 titles which include three Grand Slams in the last 16 months, while the Serbian is slowly getting back to his best form after spending over six months on the sidelines with an elbow injury.

In making the semi-final, Djokovic is matching his best result of the season, while Nadal has already won four titles in 2018 with the most recent being the French Open at Roland Garros. The duo are evenly matched in their head-to-head at the All England club with each having won on one occasion against the other.

Nadal is playing in the semi-final at SW19 for the first time since 2011, while Djokovic has not made the last four of a Grand Slam in his last five major appearances. This is the 52nd meeting between the two legends of the game, with the Serbian actually leading 26-25 in their head-to-head record.

Djokovic struggled for form once he made his comeback earlier in the year, but, he is slowly but surely getting back to his best especially over the last week at Wimbledon. Nadal is certain that his clash against the Serbian will be a tough one after labeling him one of the “most complex” players that he has ever seen in the sport.

“Always is a big challenge face Novak,” Nadal said ahead of their match on Friday. "He is one of the more complex players that I ever saw on our sport. Is always a big test. You know that you can’t win against him if you don’t play very well.”

Where to watch

The match will take place on center court at the All England Club with live TV coverage being provided by ESPN and the Tennis Channel in the United States.

Live Streaming of the match will be available on WatchESPN.

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