Wimbledon Championships have now reached a highly tense period as the men's singles semis are set for later today. While Sam Querrey will test Marin Cilic, Roger Federer will face Tomas Berdych. These are two interesting showdowns only a few would have anticipated at the start of the tournament. A series of upsets and injuries made it an impossible run for other top players. Among these four survivors, Federer is widely regarded as the main favorite at this edition of Wimbledon. To get there, he must pass two more tests. He will meet Berdych first.
The Czech player might be heading to the end of his professional career but he remains a dangerous opponent especially on the grass court and at Wimbledon in particular.
Roger Federer might want to seize the opportunity
Roger Federer, a seven times titlist at Wimbledon, will appear in his 12th semifinal here. It's the same phase where he was stopped last year by Milos Raonic. This time around he ousted the Canadian in the previous round. The Swiss tennis star hasn't had an easy path to the higher stages as he bumped into well-known players like Mischa Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov. However, he cruised past every single one of them and reached the semis without dropping a single set.
When Federer resumed his schedule a few weeks ago, he seemed a bit rusty after spending several months away from the competitive arena.
But that complete run in Halle where he beat Alexander Zverev in the final gave him the burst he needed. Wimbledon is also a place where in the darkest moments, Federer always managed to find a certain type of inspiration, just enough to take his game to a higher level.
Tomas Berdych as the unexpected glory seeker
Ranked 15th in the world at the moment, the Czech no.
1 will turn 32 later this year in September. Despite heading to an imminent end, his career has been a solid one. Ranked inside the top 10 for years, his best result at a Grand Slam occurred at Wimbledon back in 2010 when he made it to the final. Despite losing that edition to Nadal, that run has a special place in his heart.
Along the way, he got past both Roger Federer ( in the quarterfinals) and Novak Djokovic (semis). Seven years later, there are similarities to talk about. This time, it was Djokovic in the quarterfinals and Federer for the semis.
In head to head stats, Federer leads Berdych by 18 to 6. In 2017, they had two showdowns and both times Federer emerged as the winner. But Berdych remains one of the few who can brag about beating up the mighty Roger Federer on all surfaces, including the grass court at Wimbledon in 2010.
