Less than a month shy of 36 and bidding for a record eighth Wimbledon men’s title, Roger Federer will play in the semi-finals against 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Federer is the only member of tennis’ Big Four left; No 1-seeded Andy Murray, No 2 Novak Djokovic and No 3 Rafael Nadal are all gone. And Federer has been quite impressive over the past two weeks. He hasn’t lost a set, while winning 63 of 66 service games. He’s made only 49 unforced errors in five matches. The third seed is two victories away from moving clear of Pete Sampras and William Renshaw at the top of the list of men’s Wimbledon champions. For his part, 11th seed Berdych will be looking to improve on his 2010 performance when he made it all the way to the final but was beaten by Nadal in the showpiece match. The 31-year-old has said he will attempt to play with self-belief and produce his best form against Federer but acknowledges the scale of the task ahead. In the first semi-final, 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia faces 24th-seeded Sam Querrey, the first US man in a Grand Slam tournament’s final four since 2009. Querrey and Cilic are among the most prolific ace masters in the tournament, having fired down 126 and 105 respectively on their way to the last four. Cilic, 28, will be the favourite against Querrey, the Croatian has a 4-0 head-to-head record against his 29-year-old opponent. The 2014 US Open champion, who said his triumph at Flushing Meadows transformed his confidence levels, believes Querrey’s lack of experience on the biggest stage could have an impact on the outcome of their match. “Sam hasn’t been at this part of the tournament… maybe that can have a small part in playing that match,” he said. Order Of Play for Day 11: Centre Court (Play begins at 01:00 PM local/ 05:30 PPM IST) Sam Querrey (24), United States, vs Marin Cilic (7), Croatia Roger Federer (3), Switzerland, vs Tomas Berdych (11), Czech Republic
Wimbledon 2017, men's semi-finals, highlights: Roger Federer beats Tomas Berdych, will face Marin Cilic
The Wimbledon men’s semi-finals feature Marin Cilic vs Sam Querrey, followed by Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych. Follow our live blog for scores and updates.
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Here’s the Order of Play for Centre Court on Saturday: (starts at 2 PM BST/ 6:30 PM IST)
Garbine Muguruza vs Venus Williams
Kubot/Melo v Marach/Pavic
Chan/Niculescu v Makarova/Vesnina
Before we sign off, here’s our image of the day!
So the Wimbledon 2017 men’s singles final is set:
Roger Federer (3) vs Marin Cilic (7).
Take a look at the final starts from Federer’s win:
Records galore for Federer with this win.
The winning point!
Roger Federer reaches the Wimbledon final without dropping a set.
On Sunday, he will play for his EIGHTH title here and 19th Grand Slam title overall.
Roger Federer defeats Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach Wimbledon final.
29th Grand Slam final for the Swiss ace.
Federer holds at 15 to win!
He is through to a record 11th Wimbledon final.
Berdych holds for 4-5.
Berdych serving to stay alive in this quarter-final at 3-5.
He gets ahead 40-0 but Federer pulls two points back – he played an incredible no-look passing shot.
But Berdych holds! Federer will now serve for a place in the final.
Federer has been quite disgruntled throughout the match. But he consolidates his break with a comfortable hold. 5-3.
Berdych broken, now trails 3-4.
Federer creates a break point (his 9th of the match) on Berdych’s serve.
Federer lands a decent deep return to Berdych’s second serve and Berdych’s forehand strays wide.
Federer gets the break and is now just two games away from an 11th Wimbledon final.
Federer just produced FOUR unreturnable serves to get out of a big hole.
Federer saves two break points to make it 3-3.
Two break points for Berdych as Federer plays a couple of horror shots.
Federer has now lost six of the last seven points.
Federer saves both with two service winners. Deuce.
Another big serve and it’s advantage, Federer.
Federer wins the game with an ace down the T.
The third set starts off with four straight holds and then Berdych saves a break point to make it 3-2.
Federer gets to 15-30 on Berdych’s serve. The Czech swings a forehand cross-court to make it 30-30.
Federer wins the next point with a smash volley at the net. BREAK POINT.
Federer sends his forehand into the net and it’s deuce. Federer not happy with himself. He screams “How did I miss that shot?!” in Swiss-German.
Berdych produces a great serve down the tee and wins the point with a backhand winner down the line. Game point for the Czech.
Another big serve helps him hold.
Time to look at the stats from the second set. Federer doing marginally better in all the departments.
Tomas Berdych has never come back to win a Grand Slam match after losing the first two sets. Will this be the first time that he achieves this feat?
He has been playing well, but Federer has stepped up during the most important points. Federer’s forehand was on fire in the tie-break — he hits four straight winners off the forehand wing that ultimately helped him clinch the second set.
Roger Federer takes a 2-0 lead over Tomas Berdych by winning tow tie-breaks. 7-6(4), 7-6(4).
The 3rd seed is on the brink of making the final.
Federer wins the tie-break 7-4.
Berydch holds to make it 2-5. Federer double faults and it’s 5-3.
Federer brings up set points with a winning volley at the net. 6-3.
A short return from Federer helps Berdych win the point, 4-6. Two more set points.
Berdych nets his backhand return and Federer clinches the tie-break. 7-4.
Tie-break time! Federer leads 5-1 at change of ends.
Federer starts off with a good serve, Berdych responds with an ace. 1-1.
Federer slaps a Berdych second serev cross-court for a winner. First mini-break to Federer, who leads 2-1.
Federer again hooks a forehand that just clips the line. 3-1. On the next point, Federer hits a perfect cross-court forehand to pass Berdych at the net. 4-1.
Federer fires a huge forehand that Berdych can’t return and it’s now 5-1 to the Swiss.
Berdych holds to love and we are once again heading into the tie-break to decide the outcome of a set.
The serving has been top class from both players.
Looks like the cold is still bothering Federer.
Check out this amazing passing shot from Federer on full stretch.
Federer edges ahead 6-5, Berdych to once again serve to stay in the second set.
Berdych is testing Federer well but Federer is coming up with brilliant shots to stay ahead. He is whiping the forehand really well and wins the first point of his service game with a sweet drop shot.
Two big serves and it’s 40-0.
Federer serves and volleys on game point and holds comfortably.
Berdych holds for 5-5.
Berdych falls behind 15-30.
Then he comes up with a big serve to make it 30-30.
The Czech moves Federer from one end to another and then smashes away a short return to set up game point.
He hits an ace to make it 5-5.
Berdych comes up with a quick hold, and Federer follows suit. The Swiss player is up 5-4, and the second set is on serve. Shadows are beginning to creep across Centre Court.
Crucial time in the set again. Berdych needs to serve under pressure to stay alive in the second set.
Federer’s serve comes to his rescue, he save a break point and makes it 4-3.
Federer falls behind 0-30 on his serve after hitting two returns out.
The Swiss fires two perfect serves – one out wide that Berdych barely got a racquet on and the other a clean ace down the T. 30-30.
Federer’s serve rescues him again and he makes it 40-30.
Berdych continues to return quite deep and gets a short reply from Federer that he neatly tucks away at the net with a drop shot.
Berdych hits a forehand return winner to create break point.
Federer saves that with an astonishing cross-court forehand that he whips just above the net. Deuce. Excellent point from the Swiss!
Two big serves and Federer is out jail. Holds for 4-3.
Berdych holds to make it 3-3.
Confident service game from the Czech, holding at 15 and winning the final point at the net with a volley.
The 11th seed is playing a lot more freely now and his game has improved as the match has gone by.
Two quick holds to start off the second set.
Federer is yet to drop a set in this tournament.
Time for the numbers! Federer hit 17 winners to Berdych’s 10.
Look at Federer and his box celebrate!