18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer is now within one match of claiming an eighth Wimbledon title after seeing off the 11th seeded Tomas Berdych, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 at the All England Club in London on Friday. This is the 11th time that the Swiss maestro has reached the summit clash at the hallowed grass court Slam and Sunday’s match will be the 29th Major final of his stellar career.
The 35-year-old is now the second oldest man in the Open Era to make it to the Wimbledon final after Ken Rosewall, who holds the record for being the oldest man at 39.
In the title showdown, Federer will face the former US Open champion Marin Cilic, who beat the Andy Murray-slayer Sam Querrey 6(6)-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-5 in the other semi-final.
Federer made his intentions clear right from the first game when he carved out a break point. With his movement serene as ever, the seven-time champion relentlessly attacked the Czech’s forehand and tested the defensive skills of the 2010 runner-up.
The 11th seed fought gutsily but the reprieve from the Federer onslaught only proved to be short-lived.
Federer soon made amends in the fifth game. Pounding his inside-out forehand with gusto, he managed to push Berdych out of the court and finished with a sublime drive volley to earn his first break for a 3-2 lead.
The racquet from Federer that was so far producing exquisitely beautiful tennis, put up an uncharacteristically shabby display in the eighth game that let the Czech come back into the set.
The serve deserted the maestro completely and even though he saved a couple of break points, a second double fault in that game on the third break point, gifted it to Berdych.
A hushed Centre Court watched in shock as the score was level at 4-4.
Berdych was made to work harder, saving some more break points as the set headed to a tie-break.
The former World No. 1 squeezed out a 3-1 lead only to slip again, ceding the advantage to his Czech opponent at 4-3. Berdych, however, failed to make use of his mini-chances and the set, quite expectedly, went the way of the reigning Australian Open champion.
Federer’s sharpness dropped a notch in the initial stages of the second set even though the intensity of his attack did not. His break point conversion rate looked an embarrassing 14% in the middle of the second set which validates the fact.
Berdych sensed his first opportunity at 3-3 where a blazing forehand from the 11th seed gave him a break point. The Czech was reminded again how uphill a task it is to actually convert a break point against a vintage Federer. The Swiss snuffed out all of Berdych’s hopes for a 4-3 lead.
The former runner-up was evidently moving more gracefully across the court but was unable to find the hammer blow against a confident Federer, who had the answers to everything that Berdych threw at him. A tie-break was the only possible conclusion to an entertaining set.
An aggressive forehand crosscourt return winner from the 18-time Grand Slam champion on the Berdych second serve was all that was needed for a 2-1 mini break.
Poise, power, control, conviction - Federer put on a masterclass with his forehands to race to 5-1 as all of Berdych’s hard work very much looked like a lost cause.
The third seed took a two-sets-to-love lead when Berdych’s backhand return found the net.
Berdych was left to rue his missed opportunities yet again in the third set. Serving at 2-3, the former champion suddenly looked vulnerable and his game very much penetrable. Just when the Czech sensed that the time had finally arrived with a bagful of break points in hand, the same story repeated itself.
Keeping Berdych guessing, the Swiss got out of jail with his ruthless serves.
That proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Czech and he was inevitably broken in the very next game. Federer’s incessant forays into the forecourt threw Berdych off his rhythm and the former World No. 1 seized the vital break of serve by drawing a Berdych error through a ferocious backhand-down-the-line.
It was only a matter of time before Federer shut the door on Berdych and sauntered into the final.
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