Roger Federer is not one for booking flights back to Switzerland before The Championships have reached their conclusion.
He quipped he’d rather stick around than do as much after narrowly navigating a path past Marin Cilic on Wednesday.
Fortunately for the Swiss, he has only had the option of jumping on that plane before the final Sunday three times in the past 13 years. Milos Raonic is intent on making that happen a fourth time.
When the pair meet for the 12th time on Saturday it will mark Federer’s 40th Grand Slam semi-final. The Swiss holds an overwhelming 9-2 ledger in his favour against the 25-year-old, including two previous clashes on grass.
For Raonic, this will be just his third slam semi-final, although his second this year after his run in Australia, where he led Andy Murray two sets to one before a leg injury helped seal his fate.
Where the 34-year-old Federer will have history and the crowd overwhelmingly in his favour, much has changed since their 2014 Wimbledon semi-final clash.
That was the Canadian’s first appearance in the last four and he was soundly dealt a masterclass in grasscourt tennis 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The scoreline even made the sets appear closer than they actually were that day.
Fast forward to their most recent tussle and the 25-year-old’s improvements start to become apparent. Raonic claimed that one in straight sets, admittedly against a flu-afflicted Federer, in the Brisbane final this past January.
While that booming serve has always been key, significant inroads in other aspects of his game are emerging – namely his movement coming forward, his belief and his net game.
Much will hinge on how often Federer gets a play on Raonic’s second serve and how he backs up after his five-set quarter-final defeat of Cilic. After all, the season hasn’t been especially kind to him. He returned from knee surgery only for a bout of the flu to put him back on the sidelines. Then a back complaint ended his run of 65 straight Grand Slams on the eve of the French Open. Federer is managing a body starting to show signs of age. It is the first time since 2000 he hasn’t won a title before Wimbledon.
Despite all this, the Swiss maintains his comeback from three match points down against Cilic was the perfect litmus test of where his game was at.
“What I like about being in a fifth set is you actually get really tested to see where is your fitness, where is your mind at,” Federer said. “That's why I was very intrigued, pushing myself a lot in the fifth to get over the finish line, because I was feeling as good at the end as I was in the beginning, other than I just wasn't getting a read on his game really in the beginning.
“That gives me I think a lot of confidence moving forward from here. Yeah, so I feel like I've clearly got a chance in the semis, even after a match like this.”
Raonic is reeling in the super coaches this year at a rate of knots but it is the most recent appointment – three-time former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe – which could prove pivotal to his chances.
McEnroe joined fellow former No.1 Carlos Moya and the experienced Riccardo Piatti on the Raonic roster in time for the French Open.
The American’s further emphasis on net-rushing is paying off. Against Querrey, Raonic won 33 of 42 serve-volley points and 35 of 47 net points. That won’t be so easy against Federer.
“Definitely a great opportunity,” Raonic said of facing the No.3 seed, before admitting he will view footage from both their Brisbane final and the Wimbledon semi-final defeat two years ago.
“I'll probably look at that one from the beginning of this year, what I did well,” he said. “Probably from the mental side, I'll look at what I wouldn't want to repeat from two years ago.
NoSuchKey“He can come up with great things. Obviously, the terms are to bring the match on my racket, sort of take away rhythm and timing from him. That's what I'm going to be striving to do.”
