A thrilling 10th game in the second set eventually went Murray’s way, as he faced up to a host of set points and defended each one, before dropping serve in the 12th game.
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The Swiss maestro saw off the challenge of home favourite Andy Murray at Wimbledon today to book his place in Sunday’s final against Novak Djokovic. His breathtaking demolition of Andy Murray in Friday’s semi-finals was a throwback to his years of Grand Slam dominance when he captured 16 of his 17 majors in a seven-year spell between 2003 and 2010.
Djokovic produced big serves at crucial times and pulled away against Gasquet on Centre Court. Murray saved the first set point with an accurate, low drive into the corner but was helpless on the second when Federer drilled a return to his feet which the Scot could only nudge into the net.
Federer faces Djokovic in a Finals rematch on Sunday, July 12.
After losing the French Open final in heartbreaking fashion to Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic has returned to the form that has made him No. 1 in the world, mowing through what was considered to be a fairly easy tournament draw and playing relentlessly excellent tennis.
There is very little to separate the duo when it comes to their previous meetings, with Federer just edging Djokovic with 20 wins to the Serb’s 19.
Richard Gasquet eloquently summed up what it feels like to be an also ran at Wimbledon on Friday after an elastic-limbed Novak Djokovic bounced the Frenchman out of the All England Club in the semi-finals. In the third set, Murray was serving at 4-5, 0-15, and he hit a forehand that sent Federer far to his right, then pushed him way over to his left with a swinging volley.
“I felt like the crowd were getting pretty pumped at the end of the second set”, Murray said. For me, I dont really think about the match we played against each other past year….
“Definitely it was one of my best serving days of my career”, said Federer, who has been broken only once, by Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals, ending a streak of 116 service holds in a row going back to the warm-up tournament in Halle, Germany. Murray wasn’t unhappy with his own game but was disappointed not have put the veteran under more pressure. She has five Wimbledon singles titles and is in the final for the eighth time.
In the next game, he broke Murray’s serve to take the set and went on to win the Wimbledon semifinal 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 in a match that was much closer than the straight-sets score line indicated. “He’s the greatest ever”.
“I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve played in a loss or not”, Murray said Friday.
Federer wins the Davis Cup with Swiss teammates.
This is where (Federer) loves to play. “The first set could have gone his way, luckily it went to me”.
Djokovic, who also won Wimbledon in 2011, now has a remarkable 47-3 record in 2015 and one more win would give the reigning Australian Open champion his second Grand Slam of 2015. This is where he plays his best tennis. In the third game, Murray finally forced a deuce on Federer’s serve, but failed to convert. Its his court. He loves it. He usually rises up to the occasion.
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Roger Federer has taken the first set against Andy Murray in the Wimbledon semifinals.
