Federer, Nadal to play for first time since 2008 at Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND >> All these years later, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet again at Wimbledon for the 40th installment of their terrific rivalry — and first at the All England Club since their memorable 2008 final.
“Such a long time,” Nadal said. They moved on to the semifinal showdown everyone’s been thinking about since the tournament draw by each overcoming a tough opening set Wednesday.
A 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kei Nishikori gave the No. 2-seeded Federer his 100th match win at the All England Club, the first man to reach that total at any Grand Slam tournament. Not long after that ended on Centre Court, the No. 3-seeded Nadal finished off Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 Court.
Friday’s other semifinal will draw far less attention: No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, against No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut, never before this far at a major.
Looking ahead to what comes next for himself, Federer said: “Obviously, I know people always hype it up.”
Well, why shouldn’t they? These are, after all, two of the greatest players in tennis’ long history, winners of more Grand Slam titles than any other men. Of Federer’s 20, a record eight came at Wimbledon. Of Nadal’s 18, 12 came at the French Open, where he routed Federer in the semifinals last month.
That gave Nadal a 24-15 career edge head-to-head, including 10-3 at the Slams. But that one was on the red clay Nadal rules. This one is on Federer’s territory: grass.
This is their fourth matchup at A quick look at Wimbledon: LOOKAHEAD TO THURSDAY
Still looking for that 24th Grand Slam title, Serena Williams will first have to get through the semifinals at Wimbledon. The seven-time champion will be second on Centre Court against Barbora Strycova. Former No. 1 Simona Halep will face Elina Svitolina in the earlier match at the All England Club. Williams needs one more major title to equal the record set by Margaret Court. With 23, she already holds the professional-era record for Grand Slam singles titles, one more than Steffi Graf. Strycova and Svitolina will both be playing in the first major semifinal, while Halep will be trying to reach her fifth Grand Slam final. THURSDAY’S FORECAST
Partly cloudy. High of 79 degrees. WEDNESDAY’S MEN’S QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat No. 21 David Goffin 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 Roger Federer beat No. 8 Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1,
6-4, 6-4; No. 3 Rafael Nadal beat Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2; No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut beat No. 26 Guido Pella
7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
STAT OF THE DAY
100: Number of match wins for Roger Federer at Wimbledon, making him the first man to reach triple digits at a single Grand Slam tournament. QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t think we would have thought that Novak, me and Rafa, all of us, was going to be so solid, so dominant for so many years.” - Roger Federer on the continued success of the Big Three well into their 30s. Wimbledon — and first that won’t come in the final. Federer beat Nadal for the 2006 and 2007 titles, but Nadal won the championship 11 years ago in a 9-7 fifth set as dusk descended.
“Well, we have a lot of information on Rafa, and so does he about us,” Federer said. “So you can either dive into tactics and all that stuff like mad for two days — or you’re just going to say: ‘You know what? It’s grass-court tennis and I’m going to come out there and play attacking tennis.’ And if he can defend that, that’s too good. And if he can’t, well, then, that’s good for me.”
It is the 13th time that the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are in the semifinals at a major tournament together. On 11 of the previous occasions, one of them claimed the title.
There were some shaky moments for each Wednesday.
“The beginning,” Federer said, “was brutal.”
The eighth-seeded Nishikori jumped out to an early edge by breaking in the very first game, enough to give him that set.
But Federer quickly turned things around in the second, conjuring up whatever he wanted, exactly when he wanted it.
His approach shots were beyond reproach. His volleys vibrant. His returns were timed so well, and struck so violently, that one knocked the net-rushing Nishikori’s racket plum out of his hands.
And Federer’s serve? Sure, he faced break points, but he never allowed 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Nishikori to convert another.
“Overall, I’m just very happy how I’m hitting the ball,” Federer said. “Feel good off the baseline, too, which is clearly going to be important, maybe, for the next match.”
Yeah, maybe. Nadal, of course, is still a ball-retrieving, shot-whipping machine at the back of the court.
He did have some trouble closing out the first set against Querrey, an American ranked 65th who was trying to reach his second Wimbledon semifinal.
Nadal wasted three set points at 5-3, then another before getting broken when serving for it at 5-4. Again serving for that set at 6-5, he erased a trio of break points for Querrey before holding — and finally was on his way.
“I definitely think he’s a guy that can win it again,” Querrey said about two-time Wimbledon champ Nadal.
Djokovic, eyeing a fifth trophy at the All England Club and 16th overall at Slams, used a 10-game run to transform what was shaping up as an even, entertaining quarterfinal into a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 romp against 21st-seeded David Goffin.
“I felt,” Djokovic said, “like I managed to dismantle his game.”
Down an early break, the defending champion grabbed control midway through the opening set and never let go. “He was everywhere,” Goffin said.
Djokovic did to Goffin exactly what he does to so many men on so many surfaces and at so many tournaments: He takes their best shot, deals with it and then wears them down.
Bautista Agut, a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist, is supposed to be on the island of Ibiza right now, having a bachelor party with a halfdozen pals ahead of his November wedding. Instead, he will play on after beating No. 26 Guido Pella of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
“Well,” the 31-year-old Bautista Agut said, “it feels better to be here in London.”