Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return during the men's singles semifinal match against Rafael Nadal of Spain at the Wimbledon Championships 2018 in London, Britain, on July 13, 2018. Djokovic won 3-2. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

LONDON, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in an epic five-set thriller to enter the final of the Wimbledon Championships here on Saturday.

Djokovic, who last time met Nadal here in the 2011 final, led the Spaniard by two sets to one Thursday night and returned to the court to win 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9) 3-6, 10-8.

"It really could have gone either way," the Serb said. "It was very clear that very few things separated the two players. Basically, until the last shot I didn't know if I'm going to win. I believed it but I knew that he was very, very close and he had some chances. These kind of matches you live for, you work for."

Djokovic will meet Kevin Anderson of South Africa in Sunday's final.