Wimbledon is rushing to its end having the men's singles semis scheduled for today. If Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych are set to write another chapter in their solid head to head, on the other side Marin Cilic, and Sam Querrey will be constructing their fifth showdown. The 28-year-old Croatian, as well as the big American, are for the first time in the semifinals of Wimbledon. So, the stakes are huge on each side of the field. Cilic may have the upper hand as he is a former Grand Slam champion ( 2014 US Open winner), but Querrey can produce a high-quality tennis when things are working in his favor, especially that huge serve he possesses in his arsenal.
So far, Cilic has won all their previous four meetings, so that gives a motivational factor to Querrey who may want to cross the line for the first time against Cilic.
Marin Cilic seems to be favorite
By reaching the semifinals, Marin Cilic broke the curse of his participations' history at Wimbledon. He stopped in the quarterfinals three times in a row before getting to the next level. And that's just a part of the incentive as he is on a collision course with Roger Federer in the final. Last year, Cilic had Federer in his net, but he failed to convert several match points he had over the Swiss tennis star. With Querrey, things will be simpler as they both rely on their big, powerful serve. It won't be a surprise if all the sets go to a tie-break.
En route to his first Wimbledon semifinal, Cilic got past Philipp Kohlschreiber (round of 128), Florian Mayer (round of 64), Steve Johnson (round of 32), Roberto Bautista-Agut (round of 16) and Gilles Muller in the quarterfinals. So far, the seventh seed lost only two sets (against Gilles Muller). It's an impressive record that gives him a solid background entering the next encounter.
Sam Querrey had not dig deep
For the other actor involved in the match, things were a bit trickier. In the opening round, he got past Thomas Fabbiano in straight sets. In the round of 64, he needed four set to get on top of Nicoloz Basilashvili. From that point on, he had to play each time five setters. One by one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson and Andy Murray had to give credit to this guy for his willingness to keep on fighting.
That rough trajectory might take its toll against Cilic as the Croatian has spent less time on the field. Cilic vs. Querrey will be the first event of the day on Centre Court at Wimbledon. The winner of the match will book a spot in Sunday's final.