Federer holds off charge of youth
IF Roger Federer truly is past it, then Milos Raonic must have felt like he stepped i nto a time machine and travelled back a few years last night. By the end of the first game, the 23-year-old had already seen that huge serve broken. By the end of the second set he looked like a broken man. Thirty-three minutes later he was out of the gentleman’s singles, the uprising of youth obliterated by one of the oldest swingers in town.
What happens next, in a Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, remains to be seen. What can be in no doubt is that those directing Federer towards pasture will need to take a break.
The old back might not be what it once was, but the maestro can still play a handy tune. How romantic that after two years without a Grand Slam, the fourth seed, who fell to eighth this year, finds himself back where he showed most of his brilliant best. An eighth title at Wimbledon, a notion that seemed increasingly implausible this time a year ago, is now within his grasp.
‘I am very happy, extremely happy to be in another final,’ Federer said. ‘I played some great tennis under pressure because I didn’t go so well last year. I expect a lot of myself and I have got better here as the tournament went on. I got it done and now I can look forward to another match against Novak.
‘We always play good matches against each other — it has gone back and forth a bit recently.
‘I am unbelievably proud when I walk the grounds here. I will try to enjoy it as much as I can. The first final was special in 2003 and it has been a thrill ever since. To get another chance is great.’
It could not have started much worse for Raonic. He started with a grumble about the umpire’s call against his first serve of the match — Hawkeye supported the official — and delivered only his seventh double fault of the competition to concede a break point. With an errant forehand from Raonic, the greatest man to play this game was a break up.
This battle was always going to be determined by how Federer could cope with that booming serve, a delivery that has been broken only twice in the Canadian’s run to the semi-final. Of course, Federer can play a bit, too.
The Swiss sent over a second serve ace at the start of the second set and from there his victory never looked in doubt. Federer held break points in the fifth game, an issue Raonic solved with a 131mph ace, and the eighth seed had his own brief opportunity at 30- 40, 4- 3. Federer responded with one of those backhand winners across the court that naturally bring people to their feet. The set was won 6-4 moments later.
There is no such thing as a fairytale where Federer’s comeback is concerned. He has been too good for too long to count as a true outsider, particular with grass under his feet. It was Tim Henman, who knows Federer so well, that summed up the driving force. ‘He just enjoys playing tennis,’ Henman said this week. ‘He is out there because he loves to do what he is doing.’
Raonic, for some time, has been seen as a 23-year-old man close to the front of a youthful charge. Of all his qualities, his forehand is brilliant and his tally of 23 winners after two sets was greater than Federer’s 22.
But his backhand is his weakness and Federer knows better than most how to probe, chipping away until the resistance gave way. The pivotal moment in the second set came at 4-4, Federer pouncing to go 0-40 ahead. He broke with a backhand pass down the line, holding that high finish for an unnaturally long amount of time. Part of his genius is his grace, and that has not diminished with age and back problems.
With the set won, he pumped a fist to his entourage and then two of the four sides of the arena.
In t erms of Raonic’s body language, it was just about the last straw. At 4-4 in the third he was broken to 15 and a game later the semi-final was over.
Some said that about Federer’s career, not so long ago.