Roger Federer hails Wimbledon SF victory as one of his greatest performances
Roger Federer has played exactly 1,269 matches in his illustrious career, yet the Swiss pointed to his Wimbledon semi-final victory over Andy Murray as one of his greatest performances ever.
“Definitely one of the best matches I've played in my career,” Federer said following a clinical 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 win over the Scot.
There are moments when superlatives simply fail to do a performance justice. Such was the case on Centre Court on Friday, as a 33-year-old Federer turned back the clock, proving that age is just a number. Murray played a strong match, but the seven-time champion executed his game plan without flaw, turning in a spellbinding serving and shotmaking exhibition that had many tennis greats in awe.
Accolades poured in on Twitter from the likes of Carlos Moya, Robin Soderling and Mahesh Bhupathi, while former British No. 1 Tim Henman said, “It is one of the best performances I have ever seen from Roger Federer.” Former World No. 4 Pat Cash remarked: “Absolute masterclass by Federer. Possibly the best tennis I've ever seen from him.”
Federer was unflappable on serve, facing just one break point against one of the greatest returners in the game. He would turn aside the lone chance, firing 20 aces and converting on 84 per cent of first serve points. It marked his highest ace total in 24 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Murray. In the second set, in particular, he won all 19 first serve points, while attacking the net at a 77 per cent success rate.
“I served very well,” added the seven time champion. “I served a very high first-serve percentage plus going big. So definitely it was one of my best serving days of my career.
"Today I was clearly able to play very well from the start. The beginning was always going to be an important part of the match. I had to save a break point first, then I was able to start rolling on my serve… I don't remember point by point, but it was definitely really, really solid."
Federer took the racquet out of Murray’s hands in not allowing the 2013 champion to establish a rhythm from the back of the court. To employ such a dominant performance against a longtime rival on Centre Court at Wimbledon made the achievement even sweeter for the Swiss.
“It's an amazing feeling when you come back from the match and everybody's so happy for you. Even on the inside of the Royal Box when I was walking back, there was applause all the way to the locker room. It’s something I don't remember really having, except maybe on one of the wins I've had here. I just feel overall that people are very happy for me and at the same time I'm very pleased how well I'm playing.”
Federer will have a similar test against another great returner, Novak Djokovic, in Sunday’s final at the All England Club. He carries a slim 20-19 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage into their 40th encounter, a reprisal of the 2014 Wimbledon final won by Djokovic in five gritty sets.
“I need to keep it up for one more match to really make it the perfect couple of weeks.”
Roger Federer has played exactly 1,269 matches in his illustrious career, yet the Swiss pointed to his Wimbledon semi-final victory over Andy Murray as one of his greatest performances ever.
“Definitely one of the best matches I've played in my career,” Federer said following a clinical 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 win over the Scot.
There are moments when superlatives simply fail to do a performance justice. Such was the case on Centre Court on Friday, as a 33-year-old Federer turned back the clock, proving that age is just a number. Murray played a strong match, but the seven-time champion executed his game plan without flaw, turning in a spellbinding serving and shotmaking exhibition that had many tennis greats in awe.
Accolades poured in on Twitter from the likes of Carlos Moya, Robin Soderling and Mahesh Bhupathi, while former British No. 1 Tim Henman said, “It is one of the best performances I have ever seen from Roger Federer.” Former World No. 4 Pat Cash remarked: “Absolute masterclass by Federer. Possibly the best tennis I've ever seen from him.”
Federer was unflappable on serve, facing just one break point against one of the greatest returners in the game. He would turn aside the lone chance, firing 20 aces and converting on 84 per cent of first serve points. It marked his highest ace total in 24 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Murray. In the second set, in particular, he won all 19 first serve points, while attacking the net at a 77 per cent success rate.
“I served very well,” added the seven time champion. “I served a very high first-serve percentage plus going big. So definitely it was one of my best serving days of my career.
"Today I was clearly able to play very well from the start. The beginning was always going to be an important part of the match. I had to save a break point first, then I was able to start rolling on my serve… I don't remember point by point, but it was definitely really, really solid."
Federer took the racquet out of Murray’s hands in not allowing the 2013 champion to establish a rhythm from the back of the court. To employ such a dominant performance against a longtime rival on Centre Court at Wimbledon made the achievement even sweeter for the Swiss.
“It's an amazing feeling when you come back from the match and everybody's so happy for you. Even on the inside of the Royal Box when I was walking back, there was applause all the way to the locker room. It’s something I don't remember really having, except maybe on one of the wins I've had here. I just feel overall that people are very happy for me and at the same time I'm very pleased how well I'm playing.”
Federer will have a similar test against another great returner, Novak Djokovic, in Sunday’s final at the All England Club. He carries a slim 20-19 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage into their 40th encounter, a reprisal of the 2014 Wimbledon final won by Djokovic in five gritty sets.
“I need to keep it up for one more match to really make it the perfect couple of weeks.”
