Roger Federer’s 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 semi-final victory over Andy Murray in the Wimbledon 2015 semi-finals was a masterclass in grass court tennis on the big stage. The Tennis Review looks at five remarkable things from the win.
1. Federer’s pacing. Federer cruised and cranked his way to this win. He cruised through his service games- he did not face one break point the entire match- and kept to his aggressive game plan during the Murray service games, going for his returns and attacking the net, robbing Murray off any rhythm.
Then at the end of each set, with Murray serving to stay in, Federer cranked things up aggression wise, piling the pressure on Murray, whose second serve was a liability at key moments.
The Swiss broke Murray to take each set, and, in the process started each set with his own incredibly strong service game.
2. The serve. Federer struck down 20 aces, had a first serve percentage of 76, won 84 percent of those points, and won 55 percent of his second serves. A weapon like that, which can win him free point after free point from just one stroke, is invaluable for a 33 year old a month away from turning 34.
Even more so when you consider Murray’s return of serve is one his biggest weapons.
3. The Swiss’ winner to error count. Federer clearly reaped the benefits of his fine serving by saving plenty of energy which he used in some of the match’s extraordinary rallies.
However, the seven time champ kept most points short with his aggressive, high risk game. That game paid off, too, as Federer hit 56 winners in total to 11 errors. That is a positive differential of 45 over three sets, an average of 15 a set.
4. That net game. Federer won 29 points at the net from 42 attempts, a percentage of 69. The grass may be slower than it once was, but the ball still bounces lower and dies quicker than on other surfaces, and Federer made that fact work for him, and made it look easy, too.
5. Federer is now into his tenth Wimbledon final- a record. Federer made his first final back in 2003, the start of a run of seven consecutive finals until 2010 when Tomas Berdych stopped him in the quarters.
Federer made his eighth appearance in the final in 2012, a winning one and his last Grand Slam victory, and then made his ninth appearance last year when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic.
Ten final appearances at the same Major is a record. The tennis world now waits to see if Federer can break his own record on Sunday- winning his eighteenth slam, and if he doe, he will achieve another record, too- becoming, at 33 and 338 days, the oldest male Slam winner in history.
Remarkable, yes, but for Federer being remarkable is very, very ordinary.
Commentary by Christian Deverille.
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