Federer, Nadal advance to rare match in England
Roger Federer became the first man to win 100 matches at the All England Club, setting up his first Wimbledon match against Rafael Nadal since 2008.
Hard to believe, perhaps, but when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet in the Wimbledon semifinals, it’ll be their first matchup at the All England Club since their memorable 2008 final.
Federer and Nadal set up their 40th career showdown by each overcoming a tough opening set in the quarterfinals Wednesday before moving on.
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 unseeded Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 at Court No. 1.
“Obviously, I know people always hype it up,” Federer said of his rivalry with Nadal.
Well, why shouldn’t they? These are, after all, two of the greatest players in history, winners of more Grand Slam titles than any other men who have played tennis. Of Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles, a record eight came at Wimbledon. Of Nadal’s 18 major trophies, 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.
This is their fourth matchup at 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 grasscourt 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.”
The other semifinal will draw far less attention: No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut.
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.
THURSDAY’S MATCHES
Looking for her 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 their first major semifinal, while Halep will be trying to reach her fifth Grand Slam final.