Nole was stopped in attempt to reach his second consecutive final at Wimbledon.
Top seed and defending champion suffered a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 loss against six-time winner Roger Federer in the semi-final of the Championships in their 27th career meeting.
The Swiss reached his eighth final at the All England Club in 2 hours and 19 minutes.
It was the first encounter between Djokovic and Federer on grass, Roger now leads their H2H series 15-12.
The first two sets were shared in less than an hour.
Serving at 4-5 in the third set, Novak hit a smash long at 15-30 to give Federer two set points. He saved the first, but Roger seized his second chance, winning a 20-stroke rally to move within a set of the final.
Nole could not recover and he dropped his serve in the second game of the fourth set. Federer sealed the match 6-3.
“I dropped in the energy level. I played really a couple of sloppy games, very slow, with no pace, with very low percentage of first serves,” Novak said. “He was the better player. It’s not the first, it’s not the last time I lost a match. I lost to a great champion, somebody that has the most Grand Slams in the history of the sport. I do regret that I didn’t play as well as I thought I would, and as well as I played maybe last couple matches. Life goes on. I have to move on.”
Novak converted 1 of his 3 break point chances, while Roger capitalised on 3 of his 11 break point opportunities.
Match statistics: aces (9-12), double faults (2-0), winners (28-31), unforced errors (21-10), total points won (102-114).
Federer will face world no.4 Andy Murray in Sunday’s final. Murray beat 5th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to become the first Briton in 74 years to make it to a men’s singles Wimbledon final. He will be looking to win his first Grand Slam title.
If the Basel native wins his 17th Grand Slam trophy, he would regain the no.1 spot, which he previously held for 285 weeks. Pete Sampras holds the all-time record with 286 weeks at no.1.
Novak will next play at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The event begins on July 28.
The 2008 bronze medalist will be Serbia’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony.
“The Olympic Games are pinnacle of all sports. I’m really looking forward to playing here and see how it looks during the Olympic Games. I will try to enjoy every single moment of it,” Nole said.
Photo: Getty Images
