Another Federer finale
Swiss star will play for his eighth Wimbledon title
The Sultan of Swish can also slash.
We forget that sometimes, so awed and agog and revering of the masterful elegance package that is Roger Federer.
But, when necessary, the man is ruthless, in his Swiss swashbuckling way. Refined but ruthless.
At one point in his semifinal match Friday against Czech Tomas Berdych, when he was angry at himself over netting a forehand at deuce, Federer, who speaks German, French and English fluently — he’s passable in Italian and Swedish — lambasted himself in fruity Swiss-German. Perhaps the guttural Deutsch tongue is best suited for cussing. He had little cause to berate himself in any lingua. Here’s straight talk: “I was able to come up with the goods when it mattered.”
This was, if not quite vintage Federer, than Federer 2.0, laser-focused on a record eighth Wimbledon championship, with a whiplash forehand and a postsurgery improved rolling backhand and his ace-inthe-hole drop volley.
Berdych, an unexpected final four survivor as the 11th seed, had beaten Federer twice before in Grand Slam play, so a slam dunk by his opponent wasn’t necessarily in the cards. Except the Swiss maestro has been an unstoppable force at the All England Club over the past fortnight, not dropping a single set. Didn’t happen on this afternoon either, with a pair of tiebreaks the best Berdych could scrape off Federer in a three-set loss, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4.
So that’s an 11th Wimbledon final coming up for Federer on Sunday against Marin Cilic, a victor over American Sam Querrey.
“The breakers, I played good in the breakers,” observed the evergreen Federer, who turns 36 in less than a month but must be sipping from a beaker of youth elixir, so dramatically has he managed to turn back time at his favourite major, in his long-running love affair with the SW19 grass.
“Never played with any sense of panic, which is so important when it gets to crunch time.”
Does anybody recall a panicked Federer, ever? He doesn’t do panic. And with all of the big guns already knocked off — from compatriot Stan Wawrinka, the world No. 3, who crashed out in the opening round, to Rafael Nadal to a hip-hobbled Andy Murray to the elbow-excruciated Novak Djokovic, who withdrew mid-match on Wednesday — it was always a fat-chance scenario for Berdych, especially with Federer proceeding so serenely through the draw.
At his post-match press conference, Federer was asked how many times he’d made it to a Wimbledon final without losing a set. “Never before.” Wrong answer. Correct answer: Twice. “You see, I don’t know everything about my whole career.”
Well, how is the guy supposed to remember the details of 10 Wimbledon finals and 89 Wimbledon matches?
“I’m a little disappointed about that,” he kidded, because this seems a fitting occasion for another career first. “I mean, look, it makes me real happy, making history at Wimbledon. I love this tournament. All my dreams came true here as a player. To have another chance to go for number eight now, to be so close now at this stage, is a great feeling.”
He did cast his mind back to his earliest Wimbledon days, though, wincing slightly, if only because the young Federer was no Men’s Quarterly fop — back before Vogue editor and fashion dominatrix Anna Wintour got her hands on him. She is his biggest fan-girl from among the many celebrities, star athletes and royals who have watched his matches over the past two weeks, each one played on centre court.
It has been, however, five years since Federer last hoisted a grand slam trophy. As recently as last summer, when Canada’s Milos Raonic disposed of him in a five-set semi, it appeared like those glory days had petered out. Then came his 18th major triumph at the Australian Open in January — he humiliated Berdych there in the third round — plus two large-deal tour titles, Indian Wells and the Miami Open, and suddenly Federer was rising again like a phoenix.
“You make it sound like the gap is huge,’’ Federer protested. “I don’t feel like it’s that long ago. 2003 feels like ages ago, because of the ponytail, the beard. This one . . . I kind of look the same as back in 2012, or at least I hope so.”
The rat-tail locks have been trimmed.
What often goes unnoted, because it looks so pretty, is the cruelty of Federer’s game; the extent to which his creativity and precision and daring — pinpoint passing shots down the lines, a willingness to go for the winner every time, an essential killer instinct — can deflate and shrink the fellow on the other side of the net. Poor Berdych, his plan clearly to out-muscle his opponent, hit 31 winners, merely eight from the baseline and 22 fewer than his opponent. He was 1-for-6 in break opportunities, his only conversion at 4-4 of the first set when Federer double-faulted. The two tie-breaks were a chimera of parity.
Still looking for his first grand slam title, Berdych can take solace from what seems Federer’s fated invincibility this year. “He’s just proving his greatness in our sport. The guy doesn’t seem to be getting any older or slowing down at all.”
Federer will confront more of the same style on Sunday in the bighitting Cilic, a winner in the giants division against the likewise sixfoot-six Querrey, 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-5. The Californian seemed all done in by the fourth set, following three consecutive five-setters getting to the semi. That means no American in the final since Andy Roddick finished runner-up in 2009.
Cilic, from Croatia, did win the U.S. Open three years ago, straightsetting Federer in the semifinal.
The 28-year-old, addressing the prospect of a final with Federer (before the latter had won his match) said: “It it’s going to be Roger, over here in Wimbledon, I believe this is his home court, the place where he feels the best and knows that he can play the best game.”
Different tactics versus Cilic, countered Federer.
“I have to play offensive myself. If you give Marin time on the ball, he can finish points nicely. The court is still playing quite fast. It helps on my serve but it also helps him. I’m sure it’s going to be a close match. “I’m in for a tough one.” Wanna bet?