Andy Murray fought gallantly against the big-hitting Sam Querrey on Wednesday, despite clearly being hampered by an injury. Giles Muller fairytale run ended despite pushing Marin Cilic to a fifth set decider. Things were altogether a bit more straightforward for Tomas Berdych, who advanced past a retired Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer who was a straight sets winner over Milos Raonic.
\r\n\r\nTodays games...
\r\n\r\n13:00 - Querrey (24) vs Cilic (7)
\r\n15:00 - Berdych (11) vs Federer (3)
\r\n\r\nSam Querrey vs Marin Cilic
\r\n\r\nSam Querrey is becoming something of a champion killer at Wimbledon. Last year the big American eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic which helped pave the way for Andy Murray. He wasn't so kind to Murray this time around, adding him to the list of defending champions he's beaten. Marin Cilic reached this stage of the tournament after a five-set battle with Giles Muller who once again refused to die. This two are likely to have had it taken out of them more than Federer and Berdych and they could be in for another five-set affair here.
\r\n\r\nMarin Cilic may or may not be aware that he has won all four previous meetings with Sam Querrey. That's not the sort of thing that will phase the smiling assassin from stateside, who may remember that all of their Wimbledon meetings went the five-set distance and had their moments when the tie could have spun either way. Cilic showed some flaws in his quarter-final tie with Muller but he's a firm favorite here and had looked impeccable through the earlier rounds.
\r\n\r\nIf you're Sam Querrey then I suppose you're motivation comes from the fact that you have absolutely zilch to lose up against a world number seven and the momentum of knocking off defending champion Andy Murray is on your side. Querrey cruised through the earlier rounds but has played five sets in his three matches since, with each of those producing at least one enthralling tie-break game. It's hard to put your finger on a sure fire winner here despite the form of and odds on Cilic, but a five-set thriller looks something to consider.
\r\n\r\nTomas Berdych vs Roger Federer
\r\n\r\nBerdych and Federer are going to be the fresher pairing after Berdych advanced after Novak Djokovic retired in the second set. It feels like Wimbledon has been plagued with disappointing retirements on center court in the past week, although Tomas Berdych won't mind too much. Roger Federer had to go the distance in his game with Milos Raonic, but that distance was only three sets. Federer won 3-0 and had no issues against the Canadian, winning 6-4, 6-2 and 7-6.
\r\n\r\nWe've grown used to watching Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer meet on the big stage and unfortunately for the big Croatian, we're used to seeing Roger Federer dominant. Federer has won 18 of 24 meetings with Berdych and although Berdych has won six games of his own and taking Federer to a deciding set on many occasions, it just looks like the Swiss legend is in unbeatable form at the moment. Federer has looked fit, confident and aggressive in all of his games so far.
\r\n\r\nYou woud be forgiven for thinking that Milos Raonic didn't play well when Federer recorded a 3-0 victory to reach this semi-final, but you'd also be wrong. Roanic forced Federer in to a tie breaker but the Swiss had an answer for every question that was asked of him. Raonic played some pretty good shots earlier in the game and did well on his serve, but again, Federer was the one who profited in each and every single crucial moment. With the way he's playing at the moment, is it near impossible for any of these remaining players to stand between Federer and a piece of history?
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