• Imperious Swiss No2 seed breaks 16-year-old serving record
• Routine 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 victory sets up meeting with Andy Murray
The streak started at Halle, in the first round against Phillip Kohlschreiber. That was on 15 June. It lasted through matches against Ernests Gulbis and Florian Mayer, Ivo Karlovic and Andreas Seppi. At Wimbledon it stretched further still –Damir Dzumhir; Sam Querry; Sam Groth; Roberto Bautista Agut – eight players, 23 days. And in all that time no one had managed to break Roger Federer’s serve, not once.
In the first set of his quarter-final against Gilles Simon, Federer won his 112th consecutive service game, and in doing so broke a record set by Wayne Arthurs back in 1999. And then, in the 10th game of the second set, it finally happened. The streak snapped at 116, after Simon played what the Frenchman later described as the perfect game.
What is interesting about all this is not the fact itself – Federer could hardly have cared less and, if anything, seemed relieved that he would not have to answer any more questions on the topic – but what it says about the shape his game is in. I don’t serve in the 140s, let’s be honest, Federer said. I have to work my way through those service games.
Because he is not firing bullets, his serve, as Federer explained, is only as good as his baseline game. So the streak just goes to show what I’m doing now off the baseline on my serve, or serve-volleying, the way I’m hitting it and placing it now seems to work, especially on the grass now. In other words Federer feels in fine form before his semi-final with Andy Murray on Friday.
Simon was dispatched in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. And it was more straightforward than the scoreline makes it sound. Simon, wiry and spry, had been brilliant in the fourth round, when he beat the 29-year-old Czech Tomas Berdych in straight sets. He relies on his quick feet and cunning mind. But Federer is not an easy man to outwit and it was obvious from the start that Simon was entirely outmatched.
Federer had the air of a man doing just enough to win and no more. There was a time when Simon had Federer’s measure – he won both of the first two matches they played against each other, back in 2008. But he had lost all the five matches they had played since and he never looked like challenging for this, the sixth.
From the first point in the match he served perfect, Simon said. He never gave me any occasion. The only break I did was really good. I just played a perfect game to break him. But I really felt it would be hard to break him. On my serve he was returning. We were playing a lot of points on the baseline. So the general feeling is it was a matter of time before I will lose my serve. It was hard to have a grip on him. Federer broke Simon’s opening service game of the match. He did it with a stupendous backhand passing shot down the line as Simon came in to the net. Soon after, the match stopped while a rain shower passed overhead. And after that, the set went with serve.
The second set was the best of the match, and included a few stunning baseline rallies, the kind that draw forth great sighs of appreciation and shrieks of excitement from the crowd. In the 10th game came that break. Federer went wide one side with a forehand, wide on the other with a backhand and watched a fine return whistle back past him between the two errors. He was 0-40 down, so Simon had three shots at the break. He needed only one. That made it 5-5, Federer having already broken Simon earlier in the set.
Before the match Federer, mindful that Simon has one of the better returns around, had predicted that he would likely break the streak. What mattered, he explained, was what happened next. And what that was, it transpired, was Federer slipping his game up a gear and breaking Simon right back.
Moments later, another rain shower arrived. Federer was 15-0 up and serving for the set. The break did not disrupt his rhythm. He returned to court and served three straight aces. Federer made winning the third set look similarly simple, his only hiccup a double fault that cost him his first match point.
Federer’s forehand from the back of the court was not firing quite as well as it can do but otherwise his play was pretty much immaculate. I’m very happy to be in the semis again, said the seven-times champion. The road is long getting here but I still feel like I’m fresh and I’ve got energy left in the tank for, hopefully, a great match with Andy. Then we’ll see. But I’m looking forward to it. So is everyone else.