Friday’s highlight of The Championships at Wimbledon will be the Men’s Singles Semifinals on Centre Court, with Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic, as well as Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych, battling for a place in Sunday’s Final.
American Querrey is the surprise package of the final four, having reached the penultimate round thanks to a stunning victory over home favourite Andy Murray. The 29-year-old claimed the last two sets of their five-set Quarterfinal 6-1 6-1 to reach this stage of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. His opponent will be Croatian Marin Cilic who fought back from two sets to one down to defeat Gilles Muller 3-6 7-6 7-5 5-7 6-1. Querrey and Cilic have met in four previous matches (three of them on grass) and the latter has a 100 percent win record, making him the clear favourite to advance into his first Wimbledon final.
The other match pits new tournament favourite Roger Federer against Tomas Berdych. Both had relatively comfortable Quarterfinals: Federer overcame Milos Raonic in three sets, while Berdych was a set and 2-0 up against an injured Novak Djokovic, who retired with a right elbow problem. Federer and Berdych have been regular combatants down the years, with their 24-match rivalry stretching back as far as 2004. The ‘Fed Express’ has dominated with 18 wins, but Berdych has claimed some notable victories, not least in Wimbledon 2010 and the US Open in 2012. However, Berdych has not beaten the Swiss master since 2013, with Federer enjoying a seven-match winning streak against the Czech player - including victories en route to winning both this year’s Australian Open and Miami Masters.
Men’s Singles - Semifinal matches
Sam Querrey [24] v Marin Cilic [7]
Roger Federer [3] v Tomas Berdych [11]
Head-to-head stats
Sam Querrey v Marin Cilic
Overall matches: 4
Querrey wins: 0
Cilic wins: 4
Matches on grass: 3
Querrey wins: 0
Cilic wins: 3
Last meeting: Washington 2015 (hard) - Cilic beat Querrey 7-6 7-6
Roger Federer v Tomas Berdych
Overall matches: 24
Federer wins: 18
Berdych wins: 6
Matches on grass: 3
Federer wins: 2
Berdych wins: 1
Last meeting: Miami 2017 (hard) - Federer beat Berdych 6-2 3-6 7-6