Anderson stuns Federer in quarterfinal cliffhanger • Nadal gets past Del Potro

LONDON (Reuters) – Roger Federer’s hopes of a ninth Wimbledon title bit the dust as South African Kevin Anderson recovered from two sets down to win a quarterfinal thriller 2-6, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 on a tension-filled Court One on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old Swiss, not playing on Centre Court for the first time since 2015, displayed his usual panache as he strolled through the opening two sets to stretch his streak of consecutive sets won at Wimbledon to 34.

But after squandering a match point in the 10th game of the third set Federer’s game frayed at the edges and an inspired Anderson powered back to claim victory in four hours 14 minutes.

It was the biggest shock in a tournament already brimming with surprises, especially as Joahannesburg-born Anderson had not even won a set in their four previous meetings.

While top seed Federer was only at his scintillating best in the first set nothing could be taken away from Anderson, who will become the first male player representing South Africa to contest a Wimbledon semifinal since Kevin Curren in 1983.

The 32-year-old, who reached last year’s US Open final, will face John Isner in the semis.

American Isner recovered from a slow start to overcome Canadian 2016 finalist Milos Raonic 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 42 minutes in their last-eight clash.

Isner’s 41 attempts at reaching a first Grand Slam semifinal is the second-most in the Open era after fellow American Sam Querrey, who made the Wimbledon last-four in 2017 on his 42nd try.

“Down 2-0 I tried my best to keep fighting and was able to scrape through and by the end I thought I did a great job. I was in the flow of the match,” eighth seed Anderson said.

“Beating Roger Federer at Wimbledon will be one I remember. As the match went on, I gave it my all. I’m very ecstatic.”

It is the second time that 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer has lost at Wimbledon from two sets ahead, suffering the same fate against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2011 quarterfinals.

I had my chances and blew them, so... That’s my problem really,” said the 36-year-old Federer. “I had my chances and I blew it.”

Federer had breezed into the quarterfinals and was imperious in the opening set.

Anderson, the first South African to reach the last-eight since Wayne Ferreira in 1994, was steadfast though and did what no man had done at Wimbledon since last year’s semi-final when he broke Federer’s serve early in the second set.

It snapped an 85-match run of holds by the Swiss but he did not flinch, hitting back to take the set on a tie-break.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic felt he was a different player to the Wimbledon winner of old but comparisons were inevitable on Wednesday as the Serb rolled into the semifinals for the first time since 2015.

The former world No. 1 and threetime champion played some sublime tennis, and showed plenty of fire in altercations with the umpire, as he swept past Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 6-2.

Djokovic looked in impressive form, particularly as he closed out the final set.

“It’s kind of hard to copy anything, right? I don’t like that,” he said. “I usually like to recreate something. I know, as everything in life, we are evolving. I’m a different person, different player today.”

Djokovic, 31, is through to his eighth Wimbledon semifinal, an achievement bettered by only three players in the Open Era.

It will be the 32nd Grand Slam semi of his career and first since the 2016 US Open but, given what has happened since his previous one, a special feeling.

“Obviously it’s different coming into semifinals this year, taking in consideration 15 months behind, what everything that has happened, my results that were not up to the standard that I was doing before, that I was expected to play on,” he said.

In late action, it was a case of down but definitely not out as a Rafael Nadal kept picking himself off a slippery and dusty Centre Court surface to storm into the semifinals with a pulsating 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Juan Martin Del Potro.

After Nadal squandered four set points in the third set tie-break, with a double fault on one of them, Del Potro made him pay as he pounced on his first chance to raise the prospect of another astonishing upset.

But the second seed stayed alive by taking the fourth set before the gripping drama continued in an electrifying deciding set in which both players were left diving after volleys and slipping over as they chased after blinding winners.

Nadal ended the four hour and 48 minute thriller with a backhand volley winner past a lunging Del Potro, who ended the contest lying flat on his stomach.

Next up for the Spaniard is a blockbuster last-four showdown with Serb Djokovic.