Crowd goes mad as Murray moves on
Andy Murray has sent British fans into a frenzy as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic set up a Wimbledon semifinal showstopper on an electrifying day at the All England Club.
Striving to end Britain’s 76-year men’s grand slam title drought, Murray recovered from a set and service break down today to move into the semifinals with a stirring 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over world No 5 David Ferrer.
The Scottish braveheart will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday for a spot in the championship match after the French fifth seed crunched 43 winners and 17 aces to oust German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
While Federer and Djokovic, each in straight-set routs, and Tsonga cruised, Murray had to pull out all stops to move to within a match of becoming the first British man to make the Wimbledon final since 1938.
All up, Murray had to fight off 10 break points to keep his dream alive after 3 hours and 52 tensionfilled minutes – plus an anxious half-hour rain delay at 5-5 in the final set.
The big home hope was on the brink at a set down and then 5-2 behind in the pivotal second-set tiebreaker.
‘‘It was a very tough match, a long match, a lot of tight moments,’’ fourth-seeded Murray said.
Federer earlier had the celebrity-filled royal box in raptures with his spellbinding 6-1 6-2 6-2 quarterfinal win over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Rod Laver and the first couple of tennis, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, were among the dazzled dignitaries treated to a majestic display from Federer.
‘‘I think it helps when royalty shows up and other legends of the game see me play,’’ Federer said. ‘‘It’s inspiring.’’ So utterly dominant in fact that his vanquished opponent at one point turned to the royal box and sought advice from the great Agassi.
‘‘What do I have to do here?’’ Youzhny shrugged.
But the Russian was utterly powerless to stop the 16-times major winner from inflicting a 14th defeat from 14 encounters with his career contemporary.
Prince William and Kate were also impressed as Federer set yet another record that may stand the test of time.
The 30-year-old surpassed Jimmy Connors for most grand slam semifinal appearances after qualifying for the 33rd of his in- comparable career.
Now Djokovic stands in his way of the tantalising chance to join Pete Sampras with seven titles at the All England Club after seeing off German Florian Mayer 6-4 6-1 6-4 to confirm his 11th grand slam appointment with the Swiss master.
And giving their semifinal an extra edge, should he win and then lift the trophy on Monday, Federer would also supplant Djokovic as world No 1 and equal Sampras’s all-time record of 286 total weeks atop the rankings.
‘‘Obviously it’s a big deal. No denying,’’ Federer said.
Federer will be the sentimental favourite on Saturday, but 25-yearold Djokovic holds a clear edge over his senior rival in recent grand slam meetings.
Although the Serb trails Federer 14-12 head-to-head overall, Djokovic has had his measure in four of their past five grand slam showdowns, including in straight sets at last month’s French Open on clay.
But the two tennis titans have never previously clashed on grass.
‘‘We don’t know quite what to expect,’’ Federer said.
After numerous rain delays New Zealand junior Emily Fanning has combined with Ukrainian Oleksandra Korashvilli to score a three-set victory in the first round of the junior doubles.
In her first Wimbledon Fanning, 17, who hails from Timaru, teamed with Korashvilli for a 6-4 3-6 10-8 win over Aliasksandra Sasnovich (Belarus) and Donna Vekic (Croatia) in a match which was initially scheduled for the previous day and then was a leftover match to be allocated when a court became available. The contest finished with dull light close to 9pm London time.
They will next take on the seventh seeded pair of Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) and Ana Konjuh (Croatia).
Fanning lost to Bencic in the first round of singles.