Duel in semis for Federer, Djokovic
BY HOWARD FENDRICH July 4, 2012 11:31PM
Roger Federer of Switzerland during a quarterfinals match against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Wednesday July 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Updated: August 6, 2012 12:17PM
WIMBLEDON, England — After curling in a 102 mph ace to grab a two-set lead a mere 56 minutes into his Wimbledon quarterfinal Wednesday, Roger Federer casually pulled an extra tennis ball from his pocket and strolled to sit in his changeover chair for a sip to drink.
No fist pump. No yell of excitement. No energized jog to the sideline.
There still was work to be done; nothing to be taken for granted. Motivated by the bitter memory of quarterfinal losses at the All England Club the last two years, including a wasted two-set edge in 2011, six-time Wimbledon champion Federer bullied 26th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach his record 32nd career Grand Slam semifinal.
“Feels great being back in the semis. ... Haven’t been here in the last couple years,” the third-seeded Federer said. “So this is nice, to be back to a place where I’ve been so many times before.”
He’s two victories away from a seventh Wimbledon championship, which would equal a mark set by William Renshaw in the 1880s — back when the defending champion received a bye directly into the final — and tied by Pete Sampras in 2000.
“I know I’m playing really well,” Federer said. “I am aware things are going to get complicated in the next match.”
That’s because he’ll face a familiar foe Friday: No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, who didn’t have too much trouble while beating No. 31 Florian Mayer of Germany 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
This will be the sixth semifinal in the last eight Grand Slam tournaments, and 27th meeting overall, for Federer and Djokovic, and their first at Wimbledon. Federer leads 14-12, but Djokovic won six of their last seven matches.
The other men’s semiwill be No. 4 Andy Murray of Britain against No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Neither has won a Grand Slam title or been to a Wimbledon final.
Cue “Murray Mania,” as it’s known around these parts. He is trying to become the first British man to earn the trophy at the All England Club since Fred Perry in 1936; the last to even make it to the title match was Bunny Austin in 1938.
“If you think too much about it, and you read the newspapers and you watch the stuff on TV that’s said about you, it would become far too much,” Murray said. “But if you shield yourself from it all and just get into your own little bubble, only listen to the people that are around you, then it’s something you can deal with.” AP
