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For the 24th time, and third on grass at Wimbledon, Roger Federer and Andy Murray will battle in an ATP event in the semi-final at the All England Club.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of the match from midnight AEST. This time – the last two times were in the final – they will be battling for a spot in the Wimbledon final.
The history between the two has been fierce, and competitive, since their first meeting in Bangkok in 2005. On that day Federer would win the match in the final.
In the early stages though, head to head, the Scot dominated. Murray won 6 of the first eight clashes between the two but lost the 2008 US Open final to the Fed Express.
It was Murray’s first ever Grand Slam final. After the first eight matches, Federer has dominated, winning 10 of the last 16 between the two.
At Grand Slam level they have played five times, tonight is the sixth meeting. Federer leads 4-1 with three of those wins coming in the final of a Grand Slam.
The only time Murray won was at the Australian Open in 2013 in the semi-final. One of those losses in the final came at Wimbledon in 2012.
Federer would win that encounter 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 for his last title at the All-England club. 5 weeks later, at the 2012 London Olympics, Murray would beat Federer on the same courts in the final to take gold.
Now they face for a third time on grass tonight.
Predicting what will happen in this match is hard to do. They are almost 50-50 in meetings – 12-11 to Federer – and both have similar records this year.
Murray stands at 46-6 with Federer at 39-6. In terms of titles this year, Federer has won four and Murray has won three They also have different games.
Federer likes to hit winners and move his opponent. Murray, on the other hand, likes to counter punch. He uses the power of the opposition to attack through the backhand and forehand.
He is also one of the best scramblers in the game. His aim is to make the opponent play another shot during a point.
We will see both players utilise those styles tonight. Who gets on top will be one of the fascinating battles of the night.
The serve is also vital. Federer, in his later years, has struggled at times under pressure on his serve. He showed that against Sam Groth, in the third round, when he served a double fault at a critical moment during the tiebreaker.
Murray will pounce on that if he gets the chance too. The Brit also has trouble at times on his second serve. That is the area he struggles most when he is put under pressure.
Federer will punish that if Murray doesn’t deliver on the second serve. This match is tough to call. It could genuinely go either way.
I predicted Murray at the start of the event and he will win if the crowd gets on his side. It wouldn’t surprise me though if Federer won. Expect this match to go to five sets.
Prediction – Murray 3-2
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