In tennis, sometimes, the result of the final is pretty much decided after the semifinals.
In the 2012 London Olympics, in one of the semifinals, Federer won an epic battle with del Potro, 3-6, 7-6, 19-17, in 4 hours and 20 minutes. It was as long as many five set matches. "The best tennis match ever played", the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal, lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes.
A depleted Federer did not offer much resistance in the final, and lost badly.
In the 2013 US Open, in one of the semifinals, Djokovic won an epic battle with Wawrinka, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 12-10, in 5 hours and 2 minutes.
In the final, his physical exhaustion manifested itself as a degraded mental sharpness. He made tons of unforced errors. He was able to offer periods of resistance. But he could not sustain it. And his opponent was the Nadal, who is known as the most relentless player in history. You go down a notch in a few moments, you lose. So did Djokovic.
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