Sports

Federer rallies to beat Cilic at Wimbledon

Published

8 years ago

July 7, 2016

Roger Federer, Wimbledon, grand slam, cilicRoger Federer looked like he would lose badly at Wimbledon on Wednesday. A little later, he looked like he would lose nobly. Then he looked like he would lose a heartbreaker.

But somehow, Federer did everything except lose against Marin Cilic. He dropped the first two sets. He faced strings of break points. He saved three match points. He even made a timely instant replay challenge, in the fourth-set tiebreaker. It all added up to a 6-7(4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(9) 6-3 victory for Federer, and an 11th trip to the Wimbledon semifinals, tied with Jimmy Connors for the most since 1968, when Open era tennis began.

Read Also : Serena, Venus in the Wimbledon semis

“A lot happened out there,” Federer told the BBC after his victory. “I feel sorry for him, but for me obviously the dream continues.”

The 34-year-old Federer has won this title seven times. He has now won 307 singles matches at Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in the sport’s history. Martina Navratilova had been tied with Federer atop that list with 306.

The last two years, Federer lost in the final, to Novak Djokovic. But Djokovic is out of this year’s tournament after a third-round upset, and Federer, struggling all season with injuries, is determined to make the most of his chance.

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