Defying age, Federer wins to earn shot at record

Every year, by the last few days of the Wimbledon championships, the grass on Centre Court becomes chewed up and much of its former emerald gleam fades to a dingy graybrown. The process is an accelerated horticultural version of the aging process that all athletes ultimately face.

But one man who stood on that patchy turf Friday has mostly defied the normal expectations brought on by age and natural deterioration.

Roger Federer, who will turn 36 in a few weeks, won his 18th Grand Slam tournament in January on the hardcourts of Melbourne, Australia. Now he is within reach of his second major title of the year.

Seeded third, Federer beat No. 11 seed Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4, to earn a place in his 11th Wimbledon final as his evergreen assault on the record books continues.

“I don’t see anything that would indicate, really, Roger is getting older or anything like that,” the vanquished Berdych said. “I think he’s just proving his greatness in our sport.”

On Sunday, Federer will play No. 7 seed Marin Cilic, who outslugged No. 24 Sam Querrey, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5, in the earlier match on Centre Court.

If he wins, Federer will become the only man to have won eight Wimbledon singles titles, and he will add one more to his men’s record of 18 major championships.

He would also become the first man to win, at 35 or older, two major tournaments in the same calendar year in the Open Era, according to research by the International Tennis Federation men’s information team.

Ken Rosewall, who watched Friday’s matches from the Royal Box, is the only other player to have won a Grand Slam tournament at 35 or older. Between 1970 and 1972, Rosewall did so three times, but he never won two in the same year.

Federer, who won his first major tournament at Wimbledon in 2003, is on the precipice of that latest achievement.

“It makes me really happy making history here at Wimbledon,” Federer said.

“It’s a big deal. I love this tournament. All my dreams came true here as a player. To have another chance to go for No. 8 now, be kind of so close now at this stage, is a great feeling.”

Federer came into the tournament among a quartet of champions all jockeying for consideration as the favorite, including No. 1 Andy Murray, No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Rafael Nadal, who, with Federer, make up the Big Four. But only Federer, who had significantly lightened his workload, made it to the semifinal stage.

He took half a year off last year to properly rehabilitate his left knee after his loss in the 2016 Wimbledon semifinals and then skipped the clay court season this year to concentrate on grass and Wimbledon.

At times this year, especially during the past two weeks, Federer looked as sharp and as fluid as he did in the previous decade, when he vacuumed up the bulk of his trophies.

He has not lost a set in his first six matches at the All England Club. He has lost only two matches all year, having also won at Miami and at Indian Wells, California, two of the most prestigious Masters-level tournaments.

“The first three, four months were just like a dream, really,” Federer said. “So this is something I was working toward, Wimbledon, to be in good shape. I’m happy it’s paying off here now. But the first bit was unreal.”

Most times when Federer takes the court, fans witness an array of some of the most graceful and even stupefying shots, especially on grass, where he has excelled with a variety of skills more than on any other surface.

Although he was not perfect Friday - and even displayed some irritation with himself - he did unleash some of his usual balletic backhands that sizzled down the line, and some acutely angled forehands, too.

During the second set, Federer stretched to reach a deep ball on his backhand that seemed destined to become a Berdych point.

But using only his wrist, Federer flicked the ball on a short hop. He did not just put it back in play; he hit a winner past a stunned Berdych at the net.

Berdych, who advanced when Djokovic had to stop playing in their quarterfinal match because of an elbow injury, had stepped into Djokovic’s shoes for the match, and not just figuratively.

“I’m wearing Novak’s shoes,” Berdych said of the Djokovicbranded Adidas shoes, because his other shoes did not fit well.

However he was shod, Berdych was not going to catch up to some of Federer’s dazzling running forehand winners down the line.

Still, Berdych played well, forcing Federer to engage in two tiebreakers, and he even provoked Federer into some frustrating moments. Federer had a break point at 2-2 in the third set, able to sniff a decisive moment that he could ride to victory.

WIMBLEDON Aims to become only man to win eight titles at SW19 It is what it is. You take it, you accept it, and you move on with it. I’m always ready that they put me on the secondbest court or any other court they want

The first three, four months were just like a dream really. So this is something I was working towards, you know, Wimbledon, to be in good shape

It’s a big deal. All my dreams came true here as a player. To have another chance to go for No. 8 now, be kind of so close now at this stage, is a great feeling