Wimbledon: Sam Querrey Knocked Out, Roger Feder Reaches Final

Roger Federer advanced to his 11th Wimbledon final on Friday by defeating Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4.

Wimbledon Sam Querrey Roger Federer semifinals

The Swiss — and No. 3 seed who is seeking a record eighth title at the All England Club — will face seventh seed Marin Cilic in Sunday’s men’s singles final, after the Croatian beat 24th-seeded American Sam Querrey 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in Friday’s first semifinal.

Berdych, the 11th seed from Czech Republic, beat Federer in three sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2010. The Swiss — who will be 36 in three weeks — was eliminated from the tournament in London last year after losing in the semi-finals.

On Friday, Federer seemed to easily win the first set but then delivered a shaky start in the second set. However, he ultimately prevailed 7-6(4).

The Swiss varied his shots a lot, using many slice backhands among other types of hits. Federer double faulted twice at 4-3, including on break point, to give the break back. Tied 5-5, Berdych wiped off two break points with a pair of aces.

In the second tie-break, Federer teed off on a Berdych second serve to earn a small break at 2/1. The Swiss then hit consecutive forehand winners to lead 4/1.

Berdych gave up a break point at 2-2 in the third set but then recorded two break points in the following service game to remain alive in the match. However, the Czech hit very few balls in that game due to powerful shots from Federer, who recorded two aces, a service winner and another ace to hold. He would break the following game.

Federer will be seeking his 19th Grand Slam title on Sunday morning.

Cilic — the 2014 U.S. Open champion — will be playing in his second Grand Slam final on Sunday.

Cilic, 28, beat San Francisco native Querrey, 29, in a high-quality match that featured several strong winners from both 6-foot-6 players. The Croatian fought back from a break down in the last set and sealed his victory with a powerful forehand down the line on his second match point.

Querrey gained the lead following a short delay late in the first tiebreaker. When the score was tied 6-6 during that game, one woman in the stands was briefly tended to by stewards.

That pause lasted only a few minutes, and Querrey won both of the next two points on missed backhands from Cilic, to win a set where neither player had a break point.

Cilic finally recorded the first serve break in the second set, and then led by another break in the third. However, Querrey broke back to force another tiebreaker.

In the fourth set, the Croatian rallied back and then broke for the fourth time in the final game.

“After that (first tiebreaker), I was just a little bit better on the return games,” Cilic said. “I was making him (play more) on his service games.”

In total, Cilic recorded 25 aces and won 88 percent of his points on his first serve. The Croatian also finished with 70 winners and 21 unforced errors, while Querrey recorded 46 winners, 26 unforced errors and 13 aces.

Cilic had lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals the last three years. He previously defeated Querrey twice at All England Club: in 2009 and 2012, both times in five sets.

Querrey was looking to become the first American to advance to the men’s singles final at Wimbledon since Andy Roddick, who lost to Federer in five sets in 2009.

Following Andy Murray’s semi-final loss to Querrey in five sets on Wednesday, the World No. 1 earned the adoration of female athletes everywhere when he stood up for what many perceived to be a sexist slight. In the post-game press conference, one reporter claimed that Querrey was “the first U.S. player to reach a major semifinal since 2009,” and Murray deftly interrupted by correcting “male player.”

“I beg your pardon?” the reporter asked.

“Male player,” the Scot repeated.

Murray was right to interject: though in the context of just the ATP, Roddick is the only American to reach the Wimbledon semifinals or further, dozens of U.S. women have reached the semifinals or finals of other major tournaments several times since 2009. Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe have all recently made major semifinal appearances since 2009.

In fact, American women have reached the advanced rounds of Grand Slam tournaments 28 times since 2009, while Williams alone has reached major semifinals or beyond 20 times since 2009.

Venus Williams — the tenth seed — and 14th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza will face off in Saturday morning’s women’s singles final.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand during the Gentlemen’s Singles semi final match against Tomas Berdych of The Czech Republic on day eleven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon at Wimbledon on July 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)