Talk about resiliency. Roger Federer came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals, 6-7 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3. It was the 10th career comeback for the Swiss maestro after trailing two sets to love and only the third time he has been forced to save match points in a Grand Slam event. Federer knows fully well that he can’t let this major opportunity pass by after Novak Djokovic’s surprising exit early in the tournament.
That urgency will be a key weapon for Federer heading into his semifinal clash with Milos Raonic. For Federer to reach yet another Wimbledon final, he will need to continue his excellent play on the service end. He put into play 63 percent of his first serves against Cilic with Federer winning 79 percent (84/106) of those points.
To further illustrate Federer’s dominance in this department, he actually hit more aces than the hard-serving Cilic (27 to 23) and saved seven of eight break points in their epic quarterfinal. Federer will need more of the same against Raonic who won just 38 percent of his receiving points in his last-eight clash against Sam Querrey.
For Raonic to grab the massive upset against Federer, he will need to bring his patented aggressive style and continue his highly-efficient play in the semifinals. The Canadian star hit 58 winners and committed just 16 unforced errors in his quarterfinal victory against Querrey. Raonic is averaging a whopping 54 winners in this tournament thus far. Raonic will also take comfort in the fact that he’s serving the ball beautifully in this year’s tournament. He won 87 percent of his first serve points against Querrey.
That being said, Raonic has to be aggressive right from the get-go for him to stand a chance against the seven-time Wimbledon champion. Raonic will need to put pressure on the Swiss legend and he can do that by employing his highly-effective net play. He won 35 of his 47 net points in the previous round against Querrey. For the tournament, Raonic has won 67 percent (145-of-216) of his total net points.
Raonic is 9-1 in his last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction: Federer (-170) barges into another Wimbledon final with a tough four-set win.
