Roger dodger
LONDON — The match, and Roger Federer’s bid for a record eighth Wimbledon championship, essentially should have been over after a little more than 1½ hours Wednesday.
Already trailing two sets to none, he was down love-40 while serving at 3-all in the third.
Once that problem was solved, his quarterfinal against Marin Cilic really could have concluded 45 minutes later, when Federer faced a match point at 5-4 in the fourth. Or 10 minutes and two games later, when Cilic again was a point from winning. Or another 10 minutes after that, when Cilic held a third match point.
Through it all, Federer, a month shy of his 35th birthday, would not go away. And Cilic, who beat Federer in straight sets en route to the 2014 U.S. Open title, could not close the deal. Saving that trio of match points, Federer eventually emerged with a don’t-look-away-or-you’ll-miss-something 6-7 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 victory over Cilic to reach his 11th semifinal at the All England Club.
“I fought, I tried, I believed,” Federer said after his 10th career comeback from a two-set hole, equaling the most on record. “At the end, I got it done.”
When he capped his escape with a pair of aces at 126 mph and 115 mph, the third-seeded Federer thrust both arms overhead and violently wagged his right index finger. He’s no longer ranked No. 1. He hasn’t won a Grand Slam trophy since 2012. He dealt with knee surgery and a bad back this season, the first since 2000 that he arrived at Wimbledon without a title.
“To test the body, to be out there again fighting, being in a physical battle — and winning it — is an unbelievable feeling,” said Federer, who could become the oldest man to win a major since Ken Rosewall did it at 37 at the 1972 Australian Open. “Yeah, I mean, it was an emotional win.”
On Friday, Federer faces No. 6 Milos Raonic, a 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 winner against No. 28 Sam Querrey, the man who surprised No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round.
On the other half of the draw, No. 2 Andy Murray, the 2013 champion, barely avoided the same fate as Cilic and held off No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1. Murray’s seventh Wimbledon semifinal will come against No. 10 Tomas Berdych, who eliminated No. 32 Lucas Pouille 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.