Federer proves his fitness in stunning fightback

Federer saved three match points and battled back from two sets down on Centre Court to beat Cilic 6-7 (4/7) 4-6 6-3 7-6 (11/9) 6-3 in the contest of the tournament so far.

It means the Swiss is now two wins away from overtaking Pete Sampras’s seven Wimbledon triumphs and he will now play Canada’s Milos Raonic for the chance to seal his 18th grand slam title.

At 34 years and 336 days, Federer is the oldest man since 1974 to make the last four at this tournament and his resilient victory sends a clear message to those doubting his staying power.

“What I like about being in a fifth set is you actually get really tested to see where your fitness is and where your mind is at,” Federer said. “Can your shoulder, your back, your legs, sustain three hours 17 minutes of just hitting big serves, running, being explosive? Can I handle it?

“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.

“That gives me a lot of confidence moving forward from here. I feel like I’ve clearly got a chance in the semis, even after a match like this.”

Knee surgery earlier this year and then a back problem before the French Open meant Federer arrived in SW19 with only 22 matches under his belt in 2016.

But, after cruising through his opening four rounds at the All England Club without dropping a set, Federer was handed his first real test by Cilic, and passed.

“I am surprised, I was very worried coming here,” said Federer, whose appreciative supporters included David Beckham.

“Next thing you know, you’re in the semis. You’re really deep into the tournament. I did surprise myself in quite a big way actually.”

For the best part of two and a half sets, Cilic simply outgunned the world No 3, but Federer came back from 0-40 at 3-3 in the third and then saved three match points in the fourth.

Grabbing a decisive break at 4-3 in the decider, Federer served out with an ace to confirm his 307th grand slam win, one more than Martina Navratilova’s previous all-time best.

“I remember just being in trouble the whole time,” Federer said of his comeback. “At one point, you’re used to it. It’s not like, ‘Oh my God, all of a sudden there’s a match point, all of a sudden there’s a break point to save’. It just was continuous.”

Cilic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic needed four match points to seal his shock Wimbledon title in 2001 and perhaps Cilic suffered a similar bout of nerves just when it mattered most.

Ivanisevic was tearing his hair out in the players’ box, particularly after Cilic’s squandered match points, two of which came on the Federer second serve.

“After the match, we didn’t speak. I hardly spoke a word since then,” Cilic said.

“I would say obviously in those situations, slight hesitation comes into your body. Legs start not to move, so you have to actually try to focus on the game that you need to play rather than the occasion.

“I believe I had pretty makeable returns on second serves. That was pretty much a shame.”

The challenge for Federer, meanwhile, is to recover in time for tomorrow’s meeting with Raonic, who knocked out Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Sam Querrey 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-4.

Raonic, sharpened by the coaching of John McEnroe in recent weeks, lost to Federer at the same stage in 2014 but can take belief from beating the Swiss at Brisbane in January.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity,” Raonic said. “Two years have passed since I played him here in the semi-finals. I’m happy that I have another shot at him.

“I’ll probably look at that one from the beginning of this year and what I did well. Probably from the mental side, I’ll look at what I wouldn’t want to repeat from two years ago.”

In the other half of the draw, 10th seed Tomas Berdych beat Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final since 2010.

Doubles world No 1 Jamie Murray saw his Wimbledon title hopes shattered in a thrilling five-set quarter-final.

The Scot and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares looked to be heading out in straight sets, but they saved three match points in the third and took it the distance before falling 6-4 6-4 6-7 (11/13) 6-7 (1/7) 10-8 to French opponents Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

A baying Court 18 crowd willed Murray and Soares to come through, and when the third seeds broke back after sliding 4-2 behind in the decider there was renewed hope.

But Murray had his serve broken in the 17th game, and after four hours and 30 minutes of a high-intensity contest, Roger-Vasselin slapped a volley through the British player’s defences to secure the win.