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Milos Raonic makes his Wimbledon semi-final date and will face Roger Federer, the comeback king

Milos Raonic makes his Wimbledon semi-final date and will face Roger Federer, the comeback king

 

WIMBLEDON – Even in Canada, Milos Raonic’s impressive win over American Sam Querrey on No. 1 Court at Wimbledon Wednesday went virtually unnoticed by some tennis fans, as there was a slight bit of drama going on a few hundred yards away on famed Centre Court.

A chap named Roger Federer was fighting back with all he had – and perhaps a few things he wasn’t even sure he packed for the trip to London – to come back from a two-set deficit against Marin Cilic of Croatia and win a five-set thriller.

Those fans will have no such torturous choice to make on Friday, because the seven-time Wimbledon champion will take on Raonic in one of the men’s singles semi-finals.

“I think it's definitely a step forward, the best match I played all the way through and through.  Other than a span of three games, everything was quite good.  I had quite a few looks.  I made the most of it,” said Raonic, who defeated Querrey 6‑4, 7‑5, 5‑7, 6‑4 and needed just 2 1/2 hours to do it.

Fair fight, well fought, as Raonic advances in four sets. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Fair fight, well fought, as Raonic advances in four sets. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Querrey did any aspirants to the Wimbledon title a big favour by eliminating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic from the equation in the third round last week. But as laconic as he may seem on the outside, that clearly wasn’t enough for the American and he kept his run going, until he was stopped by a seamless effort from the Canadian.

I thought Milos played great today.  I don't think I played poorly at all. I knew he had a big serve, obviously, but I was really impressed with his net game.  He really didn't miss a volley today.  He kept coming forward, kept the pressure on me, and I felt it,” he said. “Kudos to him for playing a very good, clean match.”

The notoriously sketchy Wimbledon official statistics have Raonic with 58 winners and 16 unforced errors, numbers to be taken with a grain of salt. But the Canadian went 35-for-47 at the net, a rate of 74 per cent. And even though Querrey was no slouch himself at 70 per cent, that will get it done. “I was efficient with it today.  Other than those three games, I think I had a very good percentage when I was coming in. So I'm proud of that,” Raonic said.

Querrey out-aced Raonic, slightly. Raonic was asked about that in his press conference. But the reality of his game is that he long ago abandoned the simplistic notion that the number of aces he toted up was the best measure of his serving efficiency.

When you add in the serve-volleying component that he’s incorporating to judicious effect here, the variety on serve speed, location and spin are serving him better than pure power would even if the numbers don’t look as flashy. It’s also better at keeping his opponents off balance.

Raonic said he wasn’t sure where Querrey would be receiving serve but once he realized that his opponent was going to be quite far behind the baseline, he adjusted his thinking accordingly. “If I take something off my serve, it allows me to get closer.  I think that's why, yes, I made a few good volleys, but most of them were pretty routine volleys.  I was always in a good position,” Raonic said. 

Federer pulled out some vintage belief in coming back from two sets down to defeat Marin Cilic in their quarter-final match Wednesday at Wimbledon.(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Federer pulled out some vintage belief in coming back from two sets down to defeat Marin Cilic in their quarter-final match Wednesday at Wimbledon.(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

As the Canadian was wrapping things up, Federer was engaged in a fourth-set tiebreak with Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who had been playing well enough to win the match in straight sets. It wouldn’t have surprised too many people if he had – at least those thinking with their eyes, not their dead-red Fed(erer) hearts. 

Except, Cilic didn’t do it when he had a chance.

Three match points came and went and once Federer got the fourth-set tiebreak 11-9, there wasn’t a fan inside the Centre Court who would have put a plug farthing on the Croat’s chances to win the fifth, even though he had never coughed up a two sets to none lead in his career.

These types of trends have gone out the window during this fortnight, it seems. Until he came back to defeat David Goffin in five sets in the previous round, Raonic had never come back from a two sets to none deficit in his career.

Raonic, who did get to see the fifth set of Federer-Cilic, had no rooting interest - although he did say he was closer to Cilic, a fellow Monte Carlo resident with whom he shares a language and with him whom he practices regularly. But he already was watching with an analytical eye towards Friday’s date. “I was just pretty much studying and seeing where guys are going on the important moments, what patterns to pick up, so you can try to cover up some things in those moments,” he said.

Despite that friendship, Raonic wanted Federer, against whom he put on a poor performance when the two met in the semi-final here two years ago.

“Yeah, that's what you want to face.  I have very clear objectives for myself, goals, that are beyond this tournament. To achieve those things, you have to face off against the best players at the best tournaments,” Raonic said. “You know, I hope I can (revel) in that opportunity."

Federer found the legs of his youth just in time, for just long enough, as if some sudden wave of reality washed over him. He may have sensed that at his favourite tournament, with Djokovic out of the picture, with his form uncertain coming in, there weren’t going to be better opportunities to add that elusive 18th major title.

Fifteen Grand Slams have come and gone without Federer winning one, and somehow he pulled it off Wednesday to the great delight of the fans in Centre Court, and the packed crowd up on Henman Hill.

“It was a big battle. Clearly it’s great winning matches like this, it’s rare, so when it happens you really enjoy them. Definitely felt like I got lucky to some extent today, always when you’re saving match points when you’re down two sets, 3-all, love-40,” Federer said. “I fought, I tried, I believed, and in the end I got it done. So it was great on so many levels.”