Djokovic beats Mayer to reach Wimbledon semis

Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached his ninth straight Grand Slam semifinal Wednesday by beating Florian Mayer of Germany 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 at Wimbledon.

Djokovic broke for a 5-4 lead in the third set and then saved three break points in the next game before serving out the victory with an ace.

Djokovic was down a break in the first set but broke right back and held serve the rest of the way. He finished with 50 winners compared to 14 for Mayer.

The top-ranked Serb will next play six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who routed Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. Federer leads their head-to-head series 14-12, but they've never played at the All England Club.

Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title by beating Rafael Nadal in last year's final.