Raonic beats Querrey in 4 sets to reach Wimbledon semifinals

Canadian Raonic produced an irresistible display of classic grasscourt tennis to overcome giant-killer Sam Querrey 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 on Court 1.

Furthermore, Raonic’s remarkable 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory against 11 seed David Goffin on Monday marked the occasion of his 37th victory in 46 matches since the start of the year; a run which has taken him to three ATP Tour singles finals (last at Queen’s Club three weeks ago).

Tha Canadian has never won a major tournament and has never advanced to final of a Grand Slam.

Federer, seven-time Wimbledon champion, continued his legacy after he fought back and eliminated Croatia’s Marin Cilic in an epic match that ended 6-7 (4-6), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 in three hours and 17 minutes. He’s the oldest man to get this far at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall finished runner-up in 1974 at the age of 39.

“I knew I was in so much trouble in the third, and then again in the fourth”, he said.

But playing his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the 38th attempt, Querrey was unable to reproduce the bold play that shattered Djokovic’s bid for a calendar Grand Slam.

World number two Murray, beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year, is looking to win his third major title and first since becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years.

Raonic will now face Federer in the semifinals. “I’m going to fight hard to try to win that match”.

So great was his control of the first two sets that he lost just seven points on his serve during that period and faced no break points, in a display at times reminiscent of American Pete Sampras in his heyday.

“[McEnroe] has added a little bit of demeanour change on the court, maybe helping me be a bit more positive and getting more energy out of me”.

“Our relationship’s pretty good”, said 21-year-old Kyrgios, who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014 on his way to the quarter-finals. The American missed a forehand volley on the final point.

Women’s 4th rd: Serena Williams (USA) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 7-5 6-0, Simona Halep (Rom) bt Madison Keys (USA) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3, Angelique Kerber (Ger) bt Misaki Doi (Jpn) 6-3 6-1, Venus Williams (USA) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (Esp) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

The second followed a similar pattern as Raonic served serenely, while making inroads into his rival’s service games with deep approach shots and glorious touch at the net.

But now fully healthy and having dropped just one set on his route through to the quarterfinals, Cilic is eyeing a repeat of his last meeting with Federer.

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