London – Roger Federer put on a classic display with a crushing 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) defeat of Milos Raonic on Wednesday, as the Swiss icon’s goal of an eighth Wimbledon title moves closer.
Holder Andy Murray fell victim to his hip injury, with the top seed exiting 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1 against Sam Querrey in a quarter-final surprise.
The day’s biggest shock came as injured second seed Novak Djokovic retired down a set and a break to Tomas Berdych, with the Czech advancing 7-6 (7-2), 2-0.
Berdych moved to his second straight Wimbledon semi and third overall; he also ended a 12-match losing streak against three-time champion Djokovic.
Djokovic has been treated for shoulder problems over the course of the fortnight.
2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic booked his spot as he dispatched Rafael Nadal’s conqueror Gilles Muller 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 to next take on Querrey.
Federer, playing his 100th Wimbledon match, was untouchable as he dominated Raonic, winning for the 10th time from 13 meetings in the series to reach his 42nd grand slam semi, most on the all-time list.
“I cannot believe I’ve had 100 matches here,” Federer said. “That’s a lot, I’m happy my body has kept me going over all these years.
“I’m so so happy to be in another semi-final.”
The lop-sided victory was revenge for a semi-final loss to the Canadian at Wimbledon a year ago, the last match Federer played before taking the last six months of the season off to properly heal a knee injury.
He has returned in 2017 on fire, winning four titles so far.
The match was the eighth straight victory for Federer against top 10 opposition.
“I’m happy my dream run continues, we will see what happens next.
“I’m very pleased with how I’m playing, you don’t feel the same every day, but you adjust to conditions.
“You can’t produce your best every day, but you want to keep your average as high as possible,” the 18-time grand slam winner said.
Murray had never lost to anyone ranked as low as number 28 Querrey at Wimbledon. His previous lowest loss was against 19th-ranked David Nalbandian in 2005.
“Sam served extremely well at the end of the match; he was going for his shots. Nothing much I could do,” Murray said.
“The whole tournament I’ve been a little bit sore. But I tried my best right to the end, gave everything I had. I’m proud about that.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose at Wimbledon. There’s an opportunity there, so I’m sad that it’s over.”
Querrey iced the upset on the second of three match points with a 25th ace; the outsider fired 68 winners in two and three-quarter hours. His semi-final success came after playing in 42 grand slams.
“It’s a really big deal, my first [grand slam] semi-final,” Querrey said, “To beat Andy, to have it be at Wimbledon, was even a little more special.
“It was just … an incredible match. I’m just so happy right now.
“After losing the first set, I just kept swinging away. Everything fell my way in the fourth and fifth sets.”
Defending champion Murray’s loss was his first to a US player in 25 meetings, with Querrey reaching his first career grand slam semi-final.
Querrey is the first US man to get to the last four at a major since Andy Roddick finished Wimbledon runner-up in 2009.
Murray had led the series with the 28th-ranked Querrey 7-1, including a 2010 Wimbledon success and an Australian Open victory in January.
-dpa
