WIMBLEDON CROWD’S ROOTING FOR ROG
ROGER FEDERER will experience a Wimbledon love-in today in what could be his farewell singles final. Surely no player is more adored by British tennis fans other than Andy Murray. The cheers which will greet Federer will make his opponent Marin Cilic, 25 – making his first SW19 final appearance – very lonely. Federer will milk the moment because he knows that at 35 this could be his last hurrah. There will not be a dry eye in house if he wins a record EIGHTH men’s singles title. Even he admitted on the eve of his 11th final the sands of time are running out. He said: “Health has a definite role to play in my decision-making, no doubt about it. “As I move forward, I’ll be very much cautious of how much I will play, how much I think is healthy. “Then, of course, it’s just discussions I always have, continuous discussions, with my wife about the family, about my kids. “Is everyone happy our tour? Are we happy to pack up and go on tour for five, six, seven weeks? Are we willing to do that?” Federer, who had six months out himself through injury, has witnessed other stars like Murray and Novak Djokovic bowing to physical pain. If he defeats Croat Cilic today, Fed will be the first man to win eight All England Club titles, and become the oldest champion in the Open era. Federer, who won his seventh title back in 2012, added: “I’m unbelievably excited. I hope I can play one more good match. Eleven finals here, all these records, it’s great, but it doesn’t give me the title quite yet. That’s why I came here this year. “I’m so close now, so I’ve just got to stay focused. I feel very privileged to be in another final, I cannot believe it is true. “Last year was so difficult, just to stay calm and speak to the team and to decide we were going to sit out and wait longer. But I’m so happy I did it because my life continues after tennis, too. “And at this point it was more important than playing itself because I want to be a good dad and a good husband and a guy who can do sports later on. “I’m happy it’s paying off because of course there are doubts that maybe you won’t ever be able to come back and play a game on Centre Court.” Cilic said: “It’s unbelievable that I’m a Wimbledon finalist – especially the way this tournament unfolded, from the first round I played really great tennis and Friday was a really tough battle. “Sam Querrey played some high-level tennis. The way I’m playing, emotions help me and my team are supporting me, and we worked a lot on that.” Federer v Cilic, men’s singles final, BBC1, 2pm