Wimbledon Men’s Semifinals: Andy Murray And Roger Federer Face Stiff Opposition

Wednesday’s quarter-final matches at Wimbledon saw dramatic recoveries by both Roger Federer and Andy Murray. It was a duo of performances that is worthy of taking them directly to the final. Unfortunately for the pair, they will have to overcome tricky opponents Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych in order make their SW19 final dream a reality.

Roger Federer – Milos Raonic

Federer faces off against the fast-serving Canadian Raonic. It will be their 12th meeting on the tour and their second in a Wimbledon semifinal after 2014. The seven-time champion is the massive favourite going into the match, however, Raonic has the talent to shock the Swiss player.

Playing in his 18th consecutive Wimbledon tournament, Federer reached the last eight without dropping a set after producing comprehensive wins over Guido Pella, Marcus Willis, Dan Evans and Steve Johnson. It wasn’t until a repeat of his US Open clash with Croatia’s Marin Cilic did we see Federer pushed to his limits. On the verge of exiting the tournament, the 34-year-old fended off three match points to battle back and clinch the marathon win in five sets. It was the tenth time he has come back from two sets down, but one of the most significant according to Federer.

Raonic has also endured a dramatic route to the last four. Dismissing Pablo Carreno Busta, Andreas Seppi and Jack Sock in straight sets, he encountered a tough clash with Belgian 11th seed David Goffin. Dropping the first two sets, the Canadian rallied back from two-sets down to win for the first time in his career. Then in the last eight, he overcame a close match against Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Sam Querrey.

This time Federer faces a tougher opponent on the grass than the one he did in 2014. Raonic is more than a fast-server, he isn’t afraid to go to the net and take the ball early. Throughout the tournament he has made 216 approaches to the net with a 67% success rate. The Swiss also succumbed to the Canadian earlier this year at the Brisbane Open. Federer’s task of reaching final No. 11 at SW19 has the potential to be just as difficult as his previous match against his confident opponent.

Overall, Federer remains the favourite to win with a 9-2 head-to-head record against Raonic, but questions remain about how much energy the seven-time champion has left following his Cilic triumph.

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SOURCE: ATPWORLDTOUR.COM

Andy Murray Vs Tomas Berdych

Second on the Centre Court will be 2012 champion Murray against 2010 runner-up Berdych. The two have played each other on 14 previous occasions, however, this will be their first meeting on the grass.

The world No.2 has enjoyed a comfortable first week at his home grand slam after producing straight sets wins over Liam Broady, Yen-Hsun Lu, John Millman and Nick Kyrgios. A blip didn’t occur for Murray until the surprise resurgence of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during his quarter-final match. The Brit was leading by two-sets-to-love before the Frenchman staged an unexpected comeback to force the match into five sets. It was the first time that the world No.2 was tested in the tournament and he passed with flying colours following his fifth set annihilation of Tsonga.

30-year-old Berdych has been put through his paces multiple times during his Wimbledon campaign. His most noticeable was against Czech underdog Jiri Vesely when he failed to convert five match points in the fourth set before clinching the win in the decider. He also dropped sets against Ivan Dodig in the first round and Alexander Zverev in the third.

Murray narrowly leads the head-to-head 8-6 and has won their four most recent meetings on the court including one this year on the clay. Cheered on by the British crowd, he will be the odds on favourite to halt Berdych’s campaign. Nevertheless, Murray is fully aware of the danger he faces.

“He’s a big guy who serves well. When he’s dictating the points, he hits the ball big. He’s a powerful guy.” Murray said about Berdych.

The encounter will not be straightforward, but a British victory still remains highly likely.

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SOURCE: ATPWORLDTOUR.COM