Right, well the Wimbledon championships for this year are now drawing to a close, so this post will look at the men's semi final matches that took place yesterday. So let's see how they went on who made it through to the final....
MENS FINALS
Marin Cilic vs Sam Querrey
First up was this match between Marin Cilic, the 7th seed and the surprise finalist, Sam Querrey, who knocked out Andy Murray, the defending champion in the quarter finals. So, this match promised to be quite an interesting encounter even though Cilic had the commanding lead in their head to head 4-0 going into this match.
And the match itself didn't disappoint as both men played a high quality match from the first point that saw the 1st set with both men locked into battle that went to a tiebreak, which was disrupted by someone in the audience taking ill. This distraction happened while Cilic was about to serve and it ultimately cost him the set as he was clearly distracted by the event that let Querrey go on to win the tiebreak and the 1st set.
In the 2nd set however, Cilic fought back as he broke the big serving American at 3-3 to go ahead and serve out the set to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set it was now starting to become evident that Querrey was beginning to tire as Cilic broke him to take the lead for the first time in the match. However the break was short lived as Querrey showed his class and broke back and play again went to a tiebreak, which this time Cilic won to grab the two sets to one lead.
And in the 4th set, things took another twist as Querrey managed to break Cilic to move ahead in the set and a 5th set looked to be on the cards. However, Cilic once again managed to break the American back and he then went on to break Querrey yet again at 6-5 to seal the match and his place in his first Wimbledon final with an impressive 6-7, 6-4, 7-,6 7-5 win.
This was definitely one of the best, high quality matches on the men's side of the tournament and it was great to see both men bring it to centre court with neither man showing a great deal of nerves. Querrey also showed great form in the match, despite his loss, he said afterwards he wasn't that nervous playing in the biggest match of his career but ultimately Cilic was just better than him. And for Cilic its hard to argue with this as he clearly was the stronger player as the match wore on, despite a couple of dips, it was inevitable that the big Croatian would emerge the winner and deservedly so.
Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych
So, next up was this match between the 7 time champion, Roger Federer and the 2010 finalist, Tomas Berdych, who defeated Roger in their previous Wimbledon encounter back in 2010 enroute to the final. However given Roger's red hot form this season, having already won the Australian open, he looked to be the favourite in a match that could easily have been one-way traffic.
However the match itself was quite a close, tight encounter with both men playing very well and Berdych did his best to bring it to Federer throughout the match. The 1st set however saw Federer quickly go up a break, which looked inevitably like he was going to run away with the set. Berdych, however managed to break Roger back and pushed play into a tiebreak, which Roger went on to dominate and finally grabbed the 1st set. The 2nd set was more of the same as Fed and Berdych were locked in another tight battle that went to a tiebreak but again it was Roger that came out on top to grab the two set lead.
And in the 3rd set, Roger continue to keep up the pressure on Berdych, however the big Czeck did managed to grab two break points on Roger's serve at 3-2 but they were quickly snuffed out by two aces. And from here it was Rog that put the final squeeze on Berdych's service game and he broke the big Czeck for the second time in the match and that was all he needed as he went on to serve out the match to seal his place in his 11th Wimbledon final with a 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 win.
Well, this match was actually a much closer, hard fought affair then I had initially anticipated myself and I think Tomas Berdych himself deserves alot of credit for how he played and I think he couldn't have done anymore than he did because at the end of the day, Roger was just too good for him. So, this means that Roger will now play for his 8th Wimbledon title, which would break the record that he and Pete Sampras holds for the most Wimbledon titles and given his current form you could certainly see him do it.
MEN'S FINAL
So, looking ahead to the men's final it is now set between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic and this promises to be a very interesting match as both men played a thrilling five setter last year in which Cilic lead two sets to love against Roger before the seven time champ fought back and won.
So, it all begs the question: who will win this time????
Well, looking at both men's tournament's so far, they have both been in very impressive form with Cilic not dropping a set going into the quarter finals but he then had to battle his way past an in form Gilles Muller in five sets and Sam Querrey in four sets to get to the final. Roger Federer on the other hand has gone into the final without even dropping a single set, despite being pushed to a tiebreak on five occassions in the whole tournament so far, he has won them all. So, clearly Roger has the edge here in terms of having spent less time on court and having dropped no sets so far.
As for the final itself, well this will come down to serve, aggressive play and mental belief and in that department, Roger Federer is short on none of these and he has not only won all his matches in straight sets here but also in Halle where he won his record 9th title there. Cilic also however has exhibited a great deal of belief and he himself is a terrific server, who had drastically improved his serve under the time he was coached by Goran Ivanisevic and it is now a dangerous weapon. Cilic also has won the US Open three years ago where he actually beat Roger enroute to the final in their semi final match there.
However as for who I actually see winning......well I have to really go with Roger on this one, as he has simply been unstoppable throughout this tournament so far and been in magnificent form from the first point he has played up until now. And I think it would take something extra, extra special from Cilic to derail the 7 time champion and deny him his chance to win a record 8th Wimbledon title. However, Cilic has already shown that he can beat Roger on the big stage at the US Open, so I don't mean to entirely dismiss his chances but it is hard to look past Roger winning in all honesty.
So, as for my actual prediction I will go with Roger winning this one in four sets and I do think Cilic has more than enough in his game to nab a set off him here, so I can see Rog finally drop his first set in this match. However given Roger's superb form I wouldn't be surprised if he did go on to win the title in straight sets, which would be the first time ever that he would have won a Wimbledon title without dropping a set. But hopefully for Cilic he won't go away from this final without a single set to his name and I think we could still be in for a close match here and let's hope it is.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the results of the ladies final and we will see who won the dual between Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza.
So, till then its bye for now!
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