Roger Federer has assured his fans that his back twinge, which saw him well below his best in his fourth round match against Belgium player Xavier Malisse, will not hamper him from progressing further in pursuit of a seventh crown at the All England Club.
His fans must have been having heart palpitations on Tuesday, that a 2011 déjà vu was about to happen when after winning the first two sets, and seemingly in control, Federer lost the third and went behind a break in the fourth.
Federer let a two to love set lead slip and lost in five in the 2011 quarterfinals to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That fact may have been playing on his mind as he dug deep and stopped the match going to a decider against the 2002 semi-finalist, Malisse. Federer took the match 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, Andy Murray’s next opponent may be the biggest hurdle of the dream final of Federer and Murray coming to fruition.
The big hitting and serving Croat Marin Cilic moves ridiculously well for such a big man and has the variety in his game to worry Murray. Cilic’s movement and smoothness is very reminiscent of the Czech Miloslav Mecir, who was nicknamed the Big Cat.
While the focus of the first week has been on the early exit of Nadal and of course local favourite Murray, world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic has been going about his business quite ruthlessly and without much fanfare.
The seedings have Federer and Djokovic set to meet in the semi-final of the top half of the draw.
This pairing has been the glitch of Federer while he has been at number three in the world, clashing in semi-finals against the Serb. The Swiss champion has lost the last two US Open semi-finals after having match points in both.
It would be a dream final should it be Murray and Federer, but the world number one and the fickle, cold English summer weather just might spoil that.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Alex de Minaur has missed out on the chance of a lifetime to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in successive tournaments, blown away by…
Former Wimbledon champion, double grand slam winner and Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 30.…
Rafael Nadal has hailed the brilliance of Alex de Minaur, calling him "a great player" after the Australian forced the Spanish legend to say…
The clay season promises to be one of high level and tight margins. With the Monte Carlo open just around the corner, it will…
In incredible scenes, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz's quarter-final clash with Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells was halted abruptly due to a "bee invasion." Less…
Marathon man Jordan Thompson has finally clinched his first ATP Tour title, with the Australian upsetting Norwegian Casper Ruud to lift the trophy in…
