D55507B3-4F64-418F-AE8A-2D6C6F1D59EF
By Richard Pagliaro
© Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA
(June 30, 2010) Roger Federer, a master magician in conjuring so many mesmerizing Wimbledon moments, ran out of escape acts today.
Firing flat forehands that threatened to bend back blades of grace with their force, Tomas Berdych upstaged Federer in pulling off the most powerful performance of his career in making the six-time Wimbledon king disappear.
The 12th-seeded Czech surprised Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, to hand the top-seeded Swiss just his second Wimbledon loss in his last 54 matches at The Championships.
"So far this is the biggest (win), but I am still hoping the biggest one is to come," said Berdych, who will face third-seeded Novak Djokovic for a spot in Sunday's final. "It was a really tough match today. I was playing really great. I think the mind game was really important. I did almost everything I said with my coach we need to do. I was serving well and I can still be aggressive with some control. I was playing really confident. It was a great match for me."
It marked the second straight major that Federer failed to reach the final four following his four-set French Open quarterfinal loss to Robin Soderling, another flat-ball hitter who forced him to play defense, earlier this month. That defeat snapped Federer's record run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances — a streak that dwarfed any other in the sport.
A slightly out-of-sorts Federer never looked sharp during this fortnight, fighting back from the brink of an opening-round loss to Alejandro Falla and increasingly relying on his brilliant defensive skills.
While Federer entered this encounter with an 8-2 career record against Berdych, he was playing catch-up from the start and found himself robbed of reaction time and stretched wide at times trying to hit on the run against the big-hitting Berdych.
The loss marks Federer's earliest exit from The Championships since 2002 when Mario Ancic upset him in the opening round and means he will drop to No. 3 in the world rankings, his lowest rank since November, 2003, as semifinalist Novak Djokovic will surpass Federer as the new World No. 2.
"It was brutal for me. Every time he had a chance, he took it. On the break points, he played great on those," Federer said. "Then when I had chances early on, I was actually not too bad. I just felt like I got the unlucky bounce once in a while, you know. 30‑All he got it on the line over and over again. I just felt like I couldn't create enough chances to really get the breakthrough. When I did have chances, I played poorly. It was just a frustrating match the way it all went."
A disconsolate Federer, who had won 80 of his last 82 matches grass-court matches since 2003, said he was both pained by the loss and by nagging back and leg injuries that diminished his mobility.
"From my end obviously I'm unhappy with the way I'm playing," Federer said. "I couldn't play the way I wanted to play. I am struggling with a little bit of a back and a leg issue and that doesn't quite allow me to play the way I would like to play. It is frustrating to say the least and I am looking forward to some rest."
The seismic series of upsets continues as Federer's streak of seven straight Wimbledon finals was snapped by Berdych, who blasted his way into second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.
"It's really tough to describe what I'm feeling right now — it's amazing," said Berdych, who pushed Robin Soderling to five sets in the French Open semifinals earlier this month before falling. "To play such a great player as Roger on this court and to come here as a winner is amazing."
Make no mistake, Federer was not nearly at his best — his formidable forehand frequently failed him and he sometimes left his second serve short in the box for Berdych to punish — but Berdych boldly took the match to Federer and outplayed him from the outset.
The reigning Wimbledon champion had one last gasp when he earned a break point in the final game. But Federer, who converted one of eight break points in the match, could not crack Berdych.
Sprinting into a full-stretch defensive lob that curled inside the sideline, Berdych transitioned from defense to offense to to put away a backhand volley. He slide a slice serve winner out wide for match point. Federer worked his way to net and blocked a backhand volley winner to save the first match point.
As the crowd roared its support, the champion tried to summon yet another run.
Federer scorched a deep forehand off the baseline that sent a running Berdych into a slide as he fell flat on his back trying to track down the shot. Berdych stared up at the sky for a moment knowing he would arise to face a break point.
Missing his first serve, Berdych showed some guts in firing a 133 mph flat serve up that middle that surprised Federerer whose blocked forehand return fell into the net.
Berdych blasted another biting serve out wide to earn a second match point.
Staring down the most monumental point of his career, Berdych, who has a history of tightening up in major points, faced this one fearlessly.
Reaching back for his biggest serve fo the match — a 138 mph missile — Berdych drew a short return and blasted his 22nd forehand winner to close out the most important victory of his career.
"If I can just go through my career so far this was toughest game to serve and close out the match," Berdych said. "And this one can just move me ahead. I'm very happy for it."
The 12th-seeded Czech is playing the boldest tennis of his career in contesting his second consecutive major semifinal. But Djokovic has beaten Berdych in both of their prior matches, which were contested on hard court, and has won all four sets they've played.
Additionally, Djokovic will play his eighth Grand Slam semifinal, he has the experience of winning a major and is a better mover than the 6-foot-5 Berdych.
"He just won easily in the past, but this one is going to be completely different," Berdych said. "To play a semifinal in a Grand Slam it is a completely different match. We are both playing really well. He beat a couple of great players me as well. Both of us are very confident."
Berdych is a bigger, flatter hitter and has been effective driving the ball down the lines off both forehand and backhand. He will certainly seek to take the first strike in rallies as he did against Federer today and avoid getting into running rallies with Djokovic.
Djokovic said Berdych is a much better player than the man he's swept in their prior meetings.
"He has improved I think a lot from the baseline," Djokovic said. "He had the powerful strokes and shots always, but he was making a lot of unforced errors before. Now he's cutting that to the minimum. He's becoming more patient. Of course, physically he's very strong, very compact. And, of course, serve is always there. So if he serves well, he can be very dangerous."