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By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 8, 2015

 
Roger Federer

Roger Federer surged into his 10th Wimbledon semifinal, dismissing Gilles Simon, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

Photo credit: CameraSport/Stephen White

A big-screen presence was looking over Roger Federer's shoulder from the moment he stepped on Court No. 1 today. Directing rallies with a declarative serve and disguised shots Federer stayed on script writing Gilles Simon right out of the Wimbledon quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

It is the 37th Grand Slam semifinal for Federer, who will play 2013 Wimbledon winner Andy Murray in a battle of former champions. The third-seeded Scot swept 2014 doubles champion Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Centre Court.

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Federer holds a 12-11 edge over Murray. The semifinal showdown will be their first grass clash since Murray overwhelmed Federer in the 2012 Olympic gold medal match played on Centre Court. That came weeks after Federer defeated Murray in the Wimbledon final.

"He played unbelievable in final of the Olympics; I'm not going to try to look back on that too much because he really dominated me so I will look at the other matches we've had in the past," Federer told the BBC after today's win. "It's gonna be a tough one for me, no doubt about it, but I'm obviously looking forward to it."

The Grand Slam king knows the importance of rehearsal in realizing the big picture. Shortly after capturing his eighth Halle title last month, Federer called it the "perfect preparation" for Wimbledon. He produced a near-flawless performance today. Facing one of the game's toughest returners, Federer served 73 percent, cracked 11 aces, won 60 percent of his second-serve points and broke five times.

Before a full house that included actor Bradley Cooper, who sat alongside the second seed's wife, Mirka, and coach, Stefan Edberg, Federer controlled the match from the start and didn't lose concentration despite dropping serve for the first time in the tournament and withstanding multiple rain delays.

"It's never easy for either player plus it was quite windy out there so stops and starts are quite tough, but I think I used them to my advantage," Federer said. "I think the breaks helped me rather than hinder me and I think I managed the conditions quite well."

The seven-time champion managed the match shrewdly breaking Simon in his first service game in both the first and third sets to apply scoreboard pressure from the outset.

Confronting a second break point in his first service game, Simon attacked the Federer backhand and seemed to be in good position at net. The Swiss was waiting and skipped a backhand off the tape and down the line off the tape breaking for 2-0. Federer consolidated for 3-0 when the rains came prompting a 40-minute delay.

Unchallenged on serve, Federer held for 5-2—his 111th consecutive service hold. Curling his fourth ace down the middle, he wrapped a tidy opening set in a half hour.

The slender Simon plays off pace extremely well, but can struggle to generate his own pace. Federer knows it and mixed in twisting slice backhands with the occasional drop shot, forcing the Frenchman forward at times. A forehand return winner down the line gave him a 0-30 lead in the seventh game. When Simon slapped a backhand down the line wide, Federer had the break and a 4-3 advantage.

Serving for a two-set lead at 5-4, Federer was down 0-30 when Simon blocked a two-hander return down the line for triple break point. Federer, who had faced just three break points the entire fortnight, sent a forehand wide and along with it went his streak of 116 straight holds, including 67 consecutive holds at The Championships.

It was a short-lived lapse. Cranking his forehand down the line, Federer broke right back at 15 exhorting himself with a "come on!" for 6-5. He led 6-3, 6-5, 15-0 when a second rain delay struck. It was a 41-minute rain delay and when play resumed it took Federer a half a minute to snatch a two-set lead, thumping his 10th ace to seal it in style.



The angle and direction of Federer's serve set up his first-strike effectively. Simon scored a tournament-best 23 breaks through four rounds, but apart from reaching 0-30 in the opening game and breaking on Federer's wobble at 5-4, the bearded Frenchman didn't make many inroads on return.

Luring his lanky opponent forward with the short slice at times, Federer made Simon play a high backhand volley and he bungled it badly pushing the ball wide to gift the break in the opening game of the third set. Federer broke again for 5-2.

One of Federer's few mis-steps came on his first match point when he unloaded a 114 mph second-serve that missed the center stripe. That was a prelude to a magnificent close as Federer snapped off a snazzy high backhand volley surging into his 10th Wimbledon semifinal after 98 minutes.

Though his serving streak came to an end, there's another streak Federer will strive to sustain: He is 9-0 lifetime in Wimbledon semifinals.


 

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