Tired, battered and bruised, Canadian Vasek Pospisil said after his loss to Andy Murray in the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals Wednesday that he was off to have some MRIs, notably on his right hand.
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Roger Federer has sailed into the Wimbledon semi-finals thanks to a comfortable straight-sets win over Gilles Simon.
While he was spending three hours on court, defending champion Djokovic, who is his semi-final opponent, seven-time victor Federer and 2013 champion Murray hardly broke sweat as they took their expected places in the last-four line-up.
Federer will be meeting Murray at Wimbledon for the first time since the magical summer of 2012 when he beat the Scot to land his record-equalling seventh title there before Murray turned the tables in the Olympic final.
Andy Murray of Britain returns a shot to Vasek Pospisil of Canada, during the men’s quarterfinal singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Wednesday July 8, 2015.
With Milos Raonic out, there is very little chance to win the tie particularly given it’s outdoors on clay.
Federer has never lost in the Wimbledon semifinals, holding a career 9-0 record.
Federer said he was aware of the streak but wasn’t fazed about it coming to an end, delighted it last so long.
He trails Federer 5-2 in career clashes.
“I kept fighting. That made the difference”.
The only surprise came when Simon broke Federer – at love no less – to draw even at 5-5 in the second set.
“Yeah, just all the matches we’ve played against one another. I’m hoping it can come out now in the semi-finals”, the 28-year-old said.
“I don’t agree with that time when he did it. Maybe the second one, yes, but not that, not at five-all, 30 all”. But neither reached the final in either event that year.
LONDON (AP) – Roger Federer and Andy Murray ran into each other Wednesday morning in the champions’ locker room at the All England Club, then walked together over to the practice area to prepare – on adjacent courts – for their respective quarterfinals later in the day.
Djokovic, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, hit 27 winners and committed just 12 unforced errors without allowing a break point to Cilic. The match remained a lot closer and heated than the scoreline suggested but Murray was able to make the most of his time on Centre Court and keep his home crowd happy.
After breaking in only the third game of the match, rain threatened to disrupt Murray’s momentum as the players were forced off for nearly 40 minutes. “I had a couple physical issues, as well, which I have to look into right now”, Pospisil said.
Bidding to become the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon titles since Fred Perry, who lifted the trophy from 1934-1936, Murray has extended his winning streak on grass to 10 matches.
Pospisil was also frustrated by a time violation in the third set, for which he was penalized a first serve.
“I feel like I’m playing better tennis than I was then but I don’t think those matches that we played here in the past will have too much bearing on the outcome”.
Murray had to overcome two rain interruptions on Centre Court but while Pospisil played above his lowly world ranking of 56, the Briton’s victory was never in doubt as he came through 6-4 7-5 6-4. The only time he had a break point was in the very last game, when Murray realised that he was on the verge of a spot on the last four and suddenly snatched at a few wayward groundstrokes. “I’m the worst when you see Federer, Djokovic and [Andy] Murray and me but I want to enjoy it”.
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But despite Wawrinka clawing his way back, the 29-year-old claimed victory on a third match point when, for once, the Swiss star’s fabled one-handed backhand let him down.
