Novak Djokovic was "overwhelmed" after beating old foe Rafael Nadal in an epic Wimbledon semi-final he concedes could have gone either way.

The Serbian reached a first grand slam final since the 2016 US Open by beating world number one Nadal 6-4 3-6 7-6 (11-9) 3-6 10-8 in a match played over two days and beaten in terms of length only by the other last-four contest between Kevin Anderson and John Isner.

Victory marks the biggest step yet in a stunning turnaround for Djokovic, whose struggles for form and fitness over the past 18 months have been well documented.

The 12-time grand slam winner, who will face Anderson in Sunday's men's singles final at the All England Club, says those battles played out in his head after the win.

"It's hard to pick the words, I'm just going through things, the flashbacks and everything I've been through to get here, to get to finals, to win against the best player in the world," he told BBC Sport. 

"It's one of the longest matches I played over the two days, I'm overwhelmed."

The victory means Djokovic's head-to-head record with Nadal reads 27-25 in his favour and he reflected on another absorbing contest with the Spaniard.

"It was very special, it really could have gone either way," he added. "People who saw the match here, it was very clear that very few things separated the two players."

"Until the last shot I didn't know if I would win. I believed it, but I knew he was close and had chances. You live for these matches."

Discussing his upcoming final with Anderson, who came through a six-hour-and-36-minute slog with Isner on Friday, Djokovic joked: "Hopefully we can first of all play, hopefully we can get on the court!"

"It's been a rollercoaster ride for him but he had a day off. I wish I could have one. It is what it is, I'm in the final of Wimbledon and it's an incredible achievement for me."