Roger Federer beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 Federer earned a record 32nd Grand Slam semifinal berth and moved closer to a record-tying seventh Wimbledon title when he beat Mikhail Youzhny on Wednesday,will play each other in semi finals Federer has a 14-12 edge against Djokovic, who is ranked No. 1.They've met in Grand Slam semifinals five times in the past two years, with Djokovic winning four of those matches.
Novak Djokovic beat Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday booked a Wimbledon semi-final showdown with Roger Federer as the defending champion.Djokovic recovered from a slow start to give a masterclass in the art of brutal baseline hitting and Mayer, the 31st seed, lacked the weapons to respond.World number one Djokovic can now turn his attention to a ninth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearance, a feat surpassed by only Federer, Rod Laver and Ivan Lendl.Djokovic's solitary defeat in his last 33 Grand Slam matches came against Rafael Nadal in last month's French Open final.And with Nadal back home in Mallorca after his shock exit, Djokovic, who has beaten six-time Wimbledon champion Federer in their last three meetings including the semi-finals of the US and French Opens, must fancy his chances of extending his Grand Slam dominance to four titles from the last five majors.Mayer admitted he had been completely out-classed by Djokovic after the first set.Under ominious grey skies, Djokovic made a hesitant opening on Court One as Mayer broke for a 3-2 lead, but the Serbian top seed sprung into life with a break of his own in the next game.After saving three break points following a 20-minute rain delay, Djokovic landed the crucial blow as he broke at 5-4 to take the first set.Mayer, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals eight years ago before fitness and motivation problems prompted him to take time out of the game, emulated his boyhood hero Boris Becker with some spectacular diving volleys as he tried to keep Djokovic at bay in the second set.But Djokovic -- bidding to become the first man since Federer in 2007 to retain the Wimbledon title -- was in the groove now and he unfurled a sublime crosscourt winner to break for a 3-1 lead before securing another break to take the second set.Djokovic had worn Mayer down and the 25-year-old produced a blizzard of winners to break for a 5-4 lead before serving out the win.
Andy Murray beat David Ferrer 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, The presence of royalty – that's tennis royalty Andre Agassi and his wife, Steffi Graf, though the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were also in the royal box – helped power Roger Federer into Wimbledon's semis. Or so the No 3 seed later claimed, expressing his delight that these "legends" were back in SW19.But such inspiration did not immediately rub off yesterday on Britain's No 1, Andy Murray, who faced his toughest test of the competition so far against the Spaniard David Ferrer, the seventh seed. Murray lost the first set on a tie-break, before rallying to win the second and third sets. The fourth was poised at five-all when a shower stopped play.As the anxiety ebbed and flowed on Centre Court, perhaps one man in the royal box was more conscious than most of the pressures Murray faced. Roy Hodgson, the England manager, knows a thing or two about quarter-final exits when a nation's expectations are high.Unlike Hodgson's England, however, Murray emerged after the rain to press home his advantage, winning the fourth set, and the match, on a tie-break. The game took just under four hours, the score Murray will now face the fifth seed, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the semi-finals.As rain yielded to hazy sunshine, middle Wednesday had begun at a brisk pace, with Federer swiftly dispatching Russian Mikhail Youzhny, seeded 26, in an hour and a half. The score was 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The latter found himself so outclassed at one stage he turned to the royal box and jokingly asked Agassi, who won the title 20 years ago: "Can you tell me what I'm supposed to do out here?"There was a wealth of experience to draw on in that royal box, with Rod Laver, Mark Philippoussis and Pam Shriver among former players in attendance. One day, perhaps Federer will sit there too.The Swiss player, who next meets Novak Djokovic, the Serbian world No 1, said after his win: "I really actually do enjoy seeing legends coming out. Royals coming out – I think it's inspiring too, in some ways, believe it or not."He added: "I met Kate for the first time. William I've met again after Australia. They were very nice, very friendly, I was very happy to meet them. Yeah, had a bit of a chat. What exactly is not so important I don't think."It's just nice to see that the royal box is always full. They're not here just to drink champagne and tea in the back. They really do come for the tennis. That's probably one of the reasons why I play well on Centre Court."Minutes after Federer's victory, Murray strode on. Fans without Centre Court tickets had settled on the damp grass of Aorangi Terrace to watch the Scot – and were immediately struck with a familiar sinking feeling as he dropped the first set. Murray glowered as fans giggled at his grunts.It was not an auspicious start. The duke and duchess did their best to get behind Murray – then left as he fought for the fourth set.Despite his win, perhaps there were moments during the match when Murray reflected on life before the drama, tension, frustration and sheer agony of professional tennis took hold. He features in a new book to celebrate the Olympics, in which he will represent Great Britain, and which launched at Wimbledon yesterday. In it, he is pictured after lifting the under-12 Orange Bowl. His memory? "Tennis was a lot more fun in those days."
Jo-Wilfrie Tsonga beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in 2 ½ hours to set up the tantalising last-four confrontation with Murray.His first confrontation with the Scot on grass was staged as long ago as 2004, when Murray was just 17, at an indoor Challenger event in Nottingham. “We played indoors finally because of the good weather,” Tsonga said, drily. But the Murray supremacy has since been firmly established between the pair on this surface, first by a four-set triumph here at the All England Club in 2010 and then by a three-set victory in last year’s final at Queen’s, where Tsonga earned a match point.What unnerves Tsonga about the prospect of facing Murray is the sheer strength of the world No 4’s returning game. “Andy’s one of the guys I don’t like to play, because he’s returning really well and can make some great passing shots,” the 28 year-old said. “He’s quick, and all the time he’s on the ball, so it’s tough for me.”The pressure that Murray will endure Friday in front of a rapt and partisan Centre Court crowd is not lost on Tsonga. After all, he held an opportunity of his own to reach the last four of his home grand slam only last month, but squandered four match points against Novak Djokovic in their French Open quarter-final.“It’s difficult for Andy because he’s alone,” he said. “All the eyes are on him.”While the received wisdom holds that Murray has his clearest opening yet to move into a Wimbledon final, after the shock first-week exit of Rafael Nadal in his half of the draw, Tsonga knows how to exploit his deficiencies. That much was evident when this lethal server swatted him in four sets at the 2008 Australian Open en route to a first and, to date, solitary appearance in a grand slam final.Tsonga offered a powerful display yesterday to eclipse Kohlschreiber, sending down 17 aces and at one stage reaching 136mph with his serve. It was with an ace, aptly enough, that he claimed the opening tie-break after a tense first set lasting 47 minutes.His German opponent mustered an instant riposte in the second, stretching him with prolonged rallies and breaking him with a delightful forehand return in the second game.After wrapping up the set 6-4, Tsonga entered further characteristic baseline battles with Kohlschreiber in a cat-and-mouse third set. There were touches of flamboyance, too, not least when he executed a Boris Becker-style dive to try to parry a smash. He resorted to a more conventional bombardment of groundstrokes in the tie-breaker and profited from several forehand errors by his opponent to take it 7-3.The fourth proved more comfortable for Tsonga as his superiority over the 27th seed began to tell. Even the diving acrobatics were effective as he delicately angled one volley beyond the despairing Kohlschreiber. In the eighth game one luscious crosscourt volley was sufficient to ensure his progress.As he reflected upon the moment, Tsonga talked eloquently of second comings. He was deflated, after his rousing recovery to beat Roger Federer in five sets 12 months ago, not to have offered a better demonstration of his talents in the ensuing four-set defeat by Djokovic. But as he surveyed the view as a Wimbledon semi-finalist once more, he indicated his relish at what was to come. “Before I was not consistent enough in my head,” he said, acknowledging a flakiness in long matches that he has since erased by dispatching both Kohlschreiber and Mardy Fish in close contests this week.“Many times I lost concentration, but now I have turned my head, in the good sense. This is another chance for me.”
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