Roger Federer edges Rafael Nadal in yet another Wimbledon classic
They’ve not met at Wimbledon for 11 years … but Federer’s epic win over Nadal was worth the wait.
Having dismissed a legend Rafael Nadal in a thriller, Roger Federer will play for a ninth Wimbledon crown on Sunday against another icon of tennis in Novak Djokovic.
Less than a month shy of his 38th birthday, the Swiss superstar is playing superlative tennis, but he needed to when edging his greatest rival Nadal 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-3 6-4 in 3hr 2min.
It was a remarkable match that had everything bar a deciding fifth set, but no-one would argue with the quality of the spectacle served up.
It was breathtaking. And right to the very last point it seemed one last twist might occur, such was the will with which Nadal fought to extend a high-quality affair into a classic.
The long-awaited first meeting at Wimbledon since the epic 2008 final did not disappoint.
Yet again, this contrast in style between the two champions led to a stunning match resplendent with sublime shotmaking and displays of great nerve when under pressure.
The pair were welcomed to centre court with a rousing reception reserved only for the greatest.
And it was louder still when they departed together, a capacity crowd well aware of the masterclass the maestros had provided for them and, perhaps, mindful these meetings are becoming rarer by the year. It was a victory for the sport overall.
“It was a joy to play today,” Federer said on exiting the most famous court in the world.
And everyone who witnessed it, be it live, on Murray Mound on site or on televisions around the world, will feel the same for having seen it.
Given the tightness between the trio on all-time record list, this truly could prove a significant weekend when it comes to deciding the greatest player of all time.
"It was a joy to play today."
— 7Sport (@7Sport) July 12, 2019
- Roger Federer after his semi-final win over Nadal #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/BpQmjw4rBi
Federer has the chance to move to 21 major titles, Nadal will remain on 18 and Djokovic could tighten the margin further if successful in claiming a 16th.
The Spaniard dealt with, the Swiss turns his attention to the Serb. And it is unlikely to be an easier task. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 25-22, having claimed their past three outings.
He was also victorious in their past two meetings on grass, the Wimbledon finals of 2014 and 2015, while Federer claimed a semi-final at the All England Club in 2012.
Serve reigned supreme through the early stages of a classic semi-final. Federer held the solitary break point at 4-3, but it went begging after a particularly testing rally.
The elder man continued to return from near or just inside the baseline. When he read the serve, the quality of his returning placed Nadal under pressure.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion dropped just five points on serve in his opening six games. And he pressed Nadal again on return as the Spaniard, who dropped only nine, was serving to force a tie-breaker that was high in drama.
The left-hander struck the first blow with a deft passing shot landed when at full stretch.
But Federer responded immediately. A backhand error again gave Nadal a mini-break for 3-2. And again the second seed retrieved it immediately.
The margin between the pair was wafer thin, just as it had been through the entirety of the set. Then Federer struck with a thunderclap forehand to edge ahead. And a leaping smash, strong serve and ripped forehand winner later and the first set was his.
EPIC. It lived up to all the hype, and then some.
— 7Sport (@7Sport) July 12, 2019
Roger Federer is THROUGH to the #Wimbledon final after beating Rafael Nadal in four sets 👠pic.twitter.com/EJgsfrn4a8
To emphasise just how high the standard was, the 18-time major champion made just four unforced errors in the first set, yet found himself behind.
The pair have claims to being the best shotmakers the sport has seen and this was first strike tennis at its finest.
It took until 1-love in the second set for Nadal to truly test the Federer serve but, despite playing a superb game that conjured two break points, he could not convert.
The roles were reversed in the following game but this time it was the Spaniard who found a way out of trouble in a superb test of each other’s temperament.
Having played at an immense level, Federer’s concentration suddenly dipped.
After 15 service games and a tie-breaker, Nadal struck with the first service break — and to love to boot — to lead 3-1.
From 15-40 at 1-all, the 12-time French Open winner claimed 12 of the next 13 points to edge towards levelling the match.
From nowhere, Federer suffered the shanks on serve to drop again and effectively gift Nadal the second set.
Was Federer foxing? Perhaps he was taking a leaf out of the Nick Kyrgios book by clocking off mentally when the set appeared out of reach?
Outstanding. Just outstanding. Federer never looked like winning this point ... and then he did #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/z4DwF5n42V
— 7Sport (@7Sport) July 12, 2019
Nadal’s level remained spectacularly strong but the change in momentum was staggering.
After 90 minutes, it was effectively a best-of-three set encounter for the right to play the defending champion.
And given Federer’s sharper start to the third set, it appeared the lack of resistance in the latter stages of the second set was clearly an aberration.
And the Swiss surged back into the lead when breaking Nadal for a 3-1 lead courtesy of a remarkable backhand winner on the run, followed by a forehand winner and then a backhand volley winner after a rally that had both men stretching.
That brought the crowd to their feet. Nadal challenged strongly immediately but Federer dug even deeper.
He was under significant pressure several times in a break point rally that lasted 23 shots but eventually he found enough to force his rival into error.
The quality of the Federer defence is often overlooked given his overall brilliance but it truly came to the fore on this point against his greatest ever rival.
And it was his ability to win the longer rallies — unusual against Nadal — that proved critical in the set.
The second seed held two further break point opportunities on the Nadal serve to claim a vice-like grip on the set but the Spaniard was able to stave them off with quality.
After just over two hours, Federer nailed another service game to love to clinch the advantage heading into the fourth set.
In a third set where both players clubbed the felt off the ball, the eight-time champion made only two unforced errors in a remarkable display and claimed 14 of the 17 rallies lasting beyond five shots.
When Federer clubbed a backhand return they clipped the baseline and drew an error from Nadal to break for a 2-1 lead in the fourth, he was edging toward a 12th finals appearance at Wimbledon.
There was a bizarre moment as Nadal served to stay in the match at 3-5. At deuce, the Spaniard drilled a serve that was returned with interest by the Swiss, forcing him into error. But in a self-sabotaging move, Federer had already challenged the serve. When it was ruled in, it meant that instead of holding a match point, it was advantage Nadal.
A Friday night to remember...#Wimbledon | @rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/3w2wf5ovFl
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2019
The superstar did have another two opportunities that went begging in the game but was forced to do one of the hardest challenges in tennis — step out to serve our a match against Nadal.
And it proved particularly tough in a dramatic finale.
When Federer shanked a smash off a particularly high lob at 30-all, all of a sudden the Spaniard held an opportunity to extend the thriller.
The rally that followed was tense but ultimately Federer drew a backhand error from a sliced backhand that skidded low.
A match point that followed on the Federer was serve with epic, with Nadal finally clubbing an off-forehand winner to stay alive. Then he whipped a backhand pass cross court to save a fourth match point.
But when Federer finally prevailed, he reached to the heavens in delight, fitting given the miraculous tennis match that had just ended.
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