Wimbledon Tips Day 11: Men’s Semi Finals

The quarter finals went far from according to plan with Murray and Djokovic both being eliminated. The Wolf was not surprised and the pair have been a shadow of themselves in recent months. As a result Federer has one hand on the trophy and we are likely to see a final contested between The Wolf’s pre-tournament picks – Federer and Cilic.

Sam Querrey v Marin Cilic

Twelve month ago Querrey shocked the world when he beat world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the 3rd round. A year on and he was at it again, taking down the world’s number 1 ranked player for the second year in a row. This time it was Andy Murray, the local hero and defending champion. The win places him in the semi’s of a slam for the first time and he will fancy his chances against Cilic. He may be 0-4 against the Croat but they have had some remarkably close encounters. This will be their 3rd encounter on the Wimbledon grass courts. Cilic came out on top in the first two but both were epic 5 setter, most notably the 15-15 5th set in 2012. Their encounter in Queen’s went the distance and their most recent encounter in Washington (2015) was settled by multiple tiebreakers. Both men have been serving lights out! They rank 1st and 3rd in aces for the tournament with Querrey on 126 and Cilic on 105. They also rank on the pointy end of the scale for first serve points won – both men in excess of 83%. The Wolf cannot see either man winning more than 35% of return points and that means very few breaks of serve. With all four of their previous matches going down to the wire The Wolf is expecting a 5 set epic with Cilic to sneak his way into the final.

Best: Over 40.5 games ($1.80)
Other: 1st Set Correct Score 7-6 ($2.15)
Value: Sets Total – 5 Sets ($3.30)

Roger Federer v Tomas Berdych

The Wolf is running out of words when it comes to Roger Federer. How he could win a 19th Grand Slam and his second of the year at age 35 is beyond all belief. He continues to defy the odds, especially when you look at the list of former number 1’s to retire early is a long one. Roddick (30), Safin (29), Rafter (30), Sampras (31) and Borg (26) are among the men to pull up stumps early but at this rate we could see Federer continue to play, and win, well into his 40’s. He is 18-6 against Berdych and has won the last 7 meetings. Federer has won 16 of the last 18 sets they have contested and he has left Berdych with more than just mental scarring. Federer was flawless in a straight sets win at the Aus Open earlier this year and followed that up with another win over the birdman in Miami. The Wolf says that encounter holds considerable significance. Berdych had 2 match points in the third set breaker and served a double fault to hand Federer the match. His 1-5 record in slam semi’s is further evidence that he fails to play his best on the big stage. Look for Berdych to stay in the contest early but once Federer gets a set under his belt it will be smooth sailing. Federer is 14-2 in his last 16 tiebreakers – the definition of clutch! Federer has a 10-1 record in the semi’s here and he will only improve it. Raonic was the ideal warm-up for the match-up with Berdych and after breaking serve at least 3 times in each of his matches at The Championships The Wolf says Federer will be in top gear.

Best: Sets Federer 3-0 ($1.85)
Value: 1st Set Scorecast Federer 7-6 ($4.80)