Roger Federer: The elegance and class of the Swiss maestro

"Not in my garden" would be something Roger Federer has been saying to his every single opponent he has faced at Wimbledon over the years. He has been showing his dominance and touch of elegance at The Championships for more than 15 years now. But recent injuries along with age have put shackles on Federer's game for quite some time now. He won his last Grand Slam some 18 months back at Melbourne Park. But soon after his triumph, his form kind of stooped to a new low.

People started talking whether this was the perfect time for the Swiss Maestro to retire. And like every single time as he has been doing all throughout his career, Federer stepped up his game at the very right moment, and guess against who, another all-time great, Rafael Nadal. "The King of Grass" has always been the favorite, every time he steps onto the Centre Court at this time of the year. Federer only spent a little less than 10 hours in his run to the semis, showing his good form, where he had to face the mighty Spaniard. It was their 40th meeting and their first time at Wimbledon since 2008.

Federer did lose his last encounter to Nadal at this year's Roland Garros semis in straight sets, but that was on clay; this time the contest was set up in Federer's own backyard. And to everyone's delight, Federer was at his very best. It was not just crossing the line for the Swiss star, for at times, he just eased past Nadal.

Federer's serve and volley, cross-court forehand, and the single-handed backhand were just too good for Nadal to handle. In the end, Nadal did save 2 match points on Federer's serve with some epic backhand winners, but that couldn't stop the 8-time Wimbledon Champion from gaining a 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. Till date, it is Federer's only win against Nadal at a Grand Slam semi-final.

Roger was at his elegant best, which very people hoped for given his age of 37 years. And now, he has only one hurdle to cross, to defeat the current World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Another top-notch performance, and who knows, we might be witnessing Federer lift his 9th Wimbledon Trophy.