RICKY DIMON REPORTS FOR 10SBALLS – ANOTHER FIVE-SETTER SENDS MILOS RAONIC PAST ROGER FEDERER, ANDY MURRAY ROLLS INTO WIMBLEDON FINALS

Written by: Staff on 8th July 2016

RICKY DIMON REPORTS FOR 10SBALLS - ANOTHER FIVE-SETTER SENDS MILOS RAONIC PAST ROGER FEDERER, ANDY MURRAY ROLLS INTO WIMBLEDON FINALS

epa05415725 Andy Murray of Britain returns to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 08 July 2016. EPA/GERRY PENNY EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES |

In the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday, Roger Federer won a five-setter he arguably should have lost. During semifinal action on Friday, Federer lost a five-setter he probably should have won. Such are the excruciatingly small margins of tennis.

Federer, coming off a thriller against Marin Cilic in which he saved three match points, fell to Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 after three hours and 25 minutes. The 34-year-old led by two sets to one and had a 15-40 opportunity early in the fourth in addition to a 40-0 lead on serve at 6-5 in the fourth, but he could not get across the finish line. Raonic positively stole the penultimate set and then rolled through the decider with just a single break that came at 2-1.

Two double-faults at 40-15 and 40-30 in the 12th game of the fourth set started a downward spiral for Federer. When the seven-time Wimbledon champion dropped serve in the fourth game of the next set on a brilliant forehand pass by his opponent, it was all but over. Federer also had two chances to finish that game in his favor but could not convert.

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns to Milos Raonic of Canada in their semi final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 08 July 2016. EPA/ANDY RAIN

“Opportunities were all around the fourth set,” the Swiss reflected. “I think I pushed him on a few service games to get the break. But somehow I couldn’t get it done. Either he served well or he hit the line on the serve, or with the forehand; he did a great job there.

“It was always going to come down to a few shots here and there. Unfortunately they went his way today. It’s disappointing for me, clearly.”

“It’s definitely a great feeling, from many different aspects,” Raonic assured. “Today I sort of persevered. I was sort of plugging away; I was struggling through many parts of the match. He gave me a little opening towards the end of the fourth–I made the most of it. Then I sort of tried to run away with it.

“I did a lot of things well. The attitude kept me in the match. I think that’s what made the biggest difference. I was quite vocal, but I was always positive. I was always looking for a solution.”

The solution was not an easy one, and it won’t be on Sunday against Andy Murray. Wimbledon’s crowd favorite and 2013 champion rolled through a much more straightforward semifinal, demolishing Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Murray committed a mere nine unforced errors over the course of one hour and 58 minutes.

“I’m pumped obviously,” the second-ranked Scot said. “You know, I feel pretty calm just now, maybe because of the way the match went. It wasn’t too stressful a match.”