Unfortunately for Berdych, he was no match for genius
The Swiss maestro gave us a master class of tennis that had the crowd united in incredulity
Roger Federer threw the smallest tantrum in this match, belting a ball way up in the air to admonish himself. It landed in, of course, right in the corner. Even his strops are accurate. It would be tempting to report from Centre Court that Federer has returned to his prime. But did his prime ever slip away? Not since 2012 had he won a Wimbledon final. Yet here he is again, in his 11th, aiming for a record eighth men’s singles title at the All England Club. The pomp never ends. And while Tomas Berdych played admirably in this second semi-final, “admirably” is no match for genius: a label no sane witness could deny to Marin Cilic’s opponent this weekend.
There was a hard landing this week for the crowd on Centre Court. First, Andy Murray limped to a quarter-final defeat to Sam Querrey, then Jo Konta ran into a resurgent Venus Williams. But the audience soon found somebody else to love. Federer’s straight-sets victory over Berdych brought oohs and aahs of delight and incredulity. Some of his winners had a circus feel. The last man standing in the Big Four of men’s tennis savoured the role of lone royal in a semi-final line-up of 19 Grand Slam crowns – 18 of them his.
This is how good he was: Federer’s first error of the match, a backhand that plopped halfway down his side of the court, made the crowd laugh.
They were chuckling at the absurdity of him slipping from the standard he has set at this year’s tournament. Perhaps we ought to rein back a bit, and say that Berdych, who usually finds his limit at this late stage, has now lost eight in a row to Federer, who seemed particularly relaxed, despite Berdych’s persistence in taking him to two tie-breaks before succumbing 6-4 in the third.
Federer’s mission is to nip ahead of Pete Sampras and William Renshaw (in the 1880s), who also won seven Wimbledon titles. Thus the showdown with Cilic assumes historic proportions. Rafa Nadal has won 10 French Open titles, but eight at Wimbledon would feel grander, somehow – certainly measured against Sampras’ seven. This is Federer’s 29th Grand Slam final in all; at 35 and 342 days, he is the oldest finalist in the open era since Ken Rosewall (39 years and 246 days) in 1974, and he would be the oldest winner in that period.
High on the list of his assets is his ability to save himself when he really needs to; his capacity to go cold when the situation demands precision. He has a shot you might call The Extricator: a whipped cross-court forehand winner, or a fizzy one-handed backhand drive, where he tames the unruly ball. All great players have these get-out-of-trouble shots, but none can deliver them as gracefully as
Federer. Instead of tensing him up, single-shot pressure seems to loosen him. His whole frame flows into the stroke. This is intensely demoralising for his opponents, who might have him two break points down, only to see an ace whistle past their ears, or an exquisite forehand fly down the line.
So the natural athletic talent supports the mental strength. Perhaps it created the mental strength in the first place. A predicament loses its capacity to terrify, because Federer can always trust his body to come up with an answer. Thus the one-handed backhand looks like a wand being waved.
In the tie-breaks, his tactical mastery shines. He controls the pace and intensity of the exchanges, catching the opponent off guard with quick, sharp attacks.
“All of my dreams came true as a player here,” he said later. “Eleven finals here – these records are great, but it doesn’t give me the title yet. That’s why I need to stay focused.” Lurking is the knowledge that is that his last win came five years ago, though Federer made light of it after defeating Berdych:
‘All of my dreams came true as a player here, 11 finals. But it doesn’t give me the title yet’
“You make it sound like the gap’s huge. It doesn’t feel that long ago.” Cilic is a threat to him. He is the 2014 US Open champion and will probably harass him more than Berdych was able to. So this final is no formality, however much Centre Court would like it to be. But the void left by Murray and Konta would be nicely filled by that eighth triumph. He has reached this finale remember, without losing a set, which he thought was a first, until somebody told him he had done it twice before.
For support and comfort, Cilic had better bring family, friends and every Croatian in London, because everyone else will be against him. Centre Court wants to see history made, age defied, creativity rewarded. Murray and Novak Djokovic took the title away from Federer, seemingly for ever, from 2013 to 2016. But now he is on the verge of reclaiming it with his matchless elegance. His faith in his own talent, his own longevity, has never wavered. Now we can all see why.