Wimbledon 2016 - Gentlemans Semifinals

First topic message reminder :

Schedule and Live Scores.


Raonic v Federer - McEnroe feels his protege is ready to get to a Slam Final. On ESPN, he stated that emphatically.  Federer looks hungry, but Cilic feels Federer was missing shots that he did not miss in his heyday.

Berdych v Murray - Murray should find this a bit easier than his QF v Tsonga. Drop shots and good defense should also help. Baseline play may not get him much leverage with Berdych.

I'm a little surprised that individual tournaments have any responsibility for keeping stats. I would have thought there would have been a centralised body for that.

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:Maybe converting BPs was never his forte, but his sheer dominance concealed it.

Safe to say he didn't have much trouble converting in his heyday .....

What a volley!

Raonic coming up with stuff I haven't seen from him before. All credit.

And coming up with it at the most vital times ......

Impressive.

Disaster if this goes to a fifth

Carlos Moya looks sick with worry - I'd like my coach to betray less emotion of that sort.

The legend of Roger Federer goes on and on. Weeks shorts of his 35th birthday, the greatest reaches yet another Wimbledon final. No Nadal or Djokovic to deny him this time. #18

I'm a little torn watching this match. Massively prefer Fed over Milos, but my true loyalty lies with Andy and, for whatever reason, I'm more worried about Fed being across the net in the final. On balance though, I think I'm still rooting for Fed. The prospect of a Raonic-Berdych final sends shivers down my spine.

No need to worry emancipator.

He's rubbish, remember .....

Jermaine2015 wrote:The legend of Roger Federer goes on and on. Weeks shorts of his 35th birthday, the greatest reaches yet another Wimbledon final. No Nadal or Djokovic to deny him this time. #18

Am I watching on time delay or have you just paid Milos a Bung?

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:The legend of Roger Federer goes on and on. Weeks shorts of his 35th birthday, the greatest reaches yet another Wimbledon final. No Nadal or Djokovic to deny him this time. #18

Am I watching on time delay or have you just paid Milos a Bung?

Pre loaded comment which I wasn't trying to post just yet

My goodness - where did Raonic get all this from?

Damn it man. Don't di that to man who can't watch it

You might want to check out his posting history ....!

And what a time for Fed to start looking so vulnerable....

It does seem weird McEnroe commentating on this one. Hard to see how he can speak candidly while being in Raonic's pay. Sure he has some great insights, but no way can he blab these on live TV.

Awful from Fed to lose serve from 40-0.

I think that #18 went just there - Federer has a series of brain farts from 40-0 up and Raonic plays some of the best points all match.

Oh boy, I have to make sure my nerves can take this....

Jesus. Jermaine that's a heck of a curse you just put in Roger

Time to wheel out the emoticon.....

emancipator wrote:Awful from Fed to lose serve from 40-0.

This really, really, really (did I say really?) annoys me.

But I am not surprised....

Right, where's your money then? Fed has had a few warrior comebacks over 5, but I think his 5th set record is relatively poor. Potentially uncharted territory for Milos.

Fed.

But he's now had the worst prep possible for the final

Serving first could prove a huge advantage for Milos.

Yup this pretty much guarantees that Fed will be nackered in the final - if he gets there.

Lags - I think we'll find out how 'good' Milos is if he plays Murray in the final.

Scraping past a slow, old and out of form Federer should not be too difficult for someone with aspirations of being a slam champion.

barrystar wrote:My goodness - where did Raonic get all this from?

With respect barrystar .....the Raonic believers have seen it coming, as he gets closer & closer to making a major Final.

Those who prefer to trash him maybe didn't want it to come.

Federer guilty of so many errors, sure. But even he began to feel pressure after seeing so many BP's fended off. And well saved, must be said.

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:Right, where's your money then? Fed has had a few warrior comebacks over 5, but I think his 5th set record is relatively poor. Potentially uncharted territory for Milos.

I think Roger has to rely on Raonic's serve to fail him and then he has to make sure he does not lose serve after being 40-0 up in games.

Fed had the court much more open on the other side on the set point. Was he anticipating Raonic starting to run and then putting it behind him? Poor shot choice, although easy to say in retrospect.

Can't get much more sickening than being broken from 40-0 up at 5-6 on a grass court. Fed needs to push the reset button and move on quickly. He cannot afford a lapse early on in the decider.

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:It does seem weird McEnroe commentating on this one. Hard to see how he can speak candidly while being in Raonic's pay. Sure he has some great insights, but no way can he blab these on live TV.

Maybe.

But can't say I've noticed any significant difference in his approach to this commentary, or his overall tone.

Henman Bill wrote:Fed had the court much more open on the other side on the set point. Was he anticipating Raonic starting to run and then putting it behind him? Poor shot choice, although easy to say in retrospect.

A bit reminiscent of the Tsonga-Murray match, where Tsonga's BH was surprisingly good on the pass. Hard to blame Fed for going for the percentage play, but the approach was a bit safe and I guess Milos knew it was coming.

Is there a possibility that Federer starts to feel the pressure a little more when his biggest opponent has gone?

If you look at the last couple of years, when it's been Djokovic in the final at the US Open or Wimbledon, Federer had got there. But when Djokovic lost Federer was bombed out of the US Open by Cilic, and here at Wimbledon struggling against Cilic and Raonic.

There was also the famous Thomas Haas match at RG, wasn't it the day after Rafa exited.

I wonder what the odds are on this going beyond 6-6. There's only been one TB and quite a few missed BPs, so breaks haven't been that hard to come by. However, with tiring limbs, if both players hit their spots, we could be in for the long haul.

Fed has been missing routine rallying shots from the baseline. In fact every time he lines up to it from the baseline it feels like he's gonna miss or shank.

Oh no. Was that the bad knee?

Henman Bill wrote:Is there a possibility that Federer starts to feel the pressure a little more when his biggest opponent has gone?

If you look at the last couple of years, when it's been Djokovic in the final at the US Open or Wimbledon, Federer had got there. But when Djokovic lost Federer was bombed out of the US Open by Cilic, and here at Wimbledon struggling against Cilic and Raonic.

There was also the famous Thomas Haas match at RG, wasn't it the day after Rafa exited.

If Djokovic was Raonic's opponent in this match, this match would have been over an hour and a half ago, and in Djokovic's favour.

Class from Fed to stave off the BP.

Is that fair enough to go and sit down there at break point etiquette wise?

Was foot not knee

emancipator wrote:

.................................

Lags - I think we'll find out how 'good' Milos is if he plays Murray in the final.

Scraping past a slow, old and out of form Federer should not be too difficult for someone with aspirations of being a slam champion.

Yes, we will. And yes, Murray will be the clear favourite, no doubt. And Raonic looks a near-certainty to make the Final now.

But his points tally on grass in the Queens Final v Andy was 49 % v 51%, so a perfectly respectable showing over the three sets.

I jinxed Fed the other day by talking about this champion second serves. More double faults than usual today.

What's up with his foot?

What a point from Raonic! Fed will have nightmares. Now it's just a question of Raonic's nerve.

And that, ladies and gentlemen is the coup d'grace

Henman Bill wrote:Is that fair enough to go and sit down there at break point etiquette wise?

I don't know - I suspect that he was spooked and needed to be told that he wasn't going to hurt his knee?  It was v. quick.

Raonic is playing like he expects to win now, and I think he's right.

Oh dear, this may be it. Well played from Milos on the break point. Really stayed cool.

Now. The ultimate test of nerve...

It's almost a white elephant moment for Fed to take one injury break, never mind two

Shows, that he's clearly on the edge with his body. Last thing he wants is to make things worse, but it is Wimbledon I suppose

I've not been that impressed by Raonic. To me it's been more about Roger's level - which isn't quite the same as normal (i.e. last year)