Third seed Roger Federer beat Croat Marin Cilic in a five-set behemoth to take a 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Croat ninth seed Marin Cilic today. Coming back from two sets down against his rival, Federer proved just why he is considered among the greatest of all time, holding on as Cilic squandered a number of match points.
The fourth set was the highlight of tonight’s match, with the players seeing a tiebreak within a tiebreak, one that Cilic had looked set to win before Federer grabbed it on his third set point, having picked up momentum after his third set win.
Coming back from three match points down, Federer put on a display of athleticism, with his 27-year-old opponent putting on a strong display as well. Cilic lost out on a number of key areas tonight, but in the end, Federer stated he had “won the mental battle” against his Croat rival.
It is Federer’s 11th Wimbledon semi-final, and the 10th time the Swiss has come back from two sets down to win.
Despite his recent struggles with injury, Federer put on a fine display of athleticism on Centre Court, managing to cover significant distances to flummox Cilic with some classic play, slicing the ball across the net.
Putting his nerves of steel on display, Federer stayed collected throughout the match; it was Cilic’s coach, 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, who appeared most nervous of all.
Federer has taken his 307th Grand Slam match win today, the highest of all time, surpassing the earlier record of 306, which was held by Martina Navratilova.
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