Wimbledon men’s semis: All you need to know

But he roared back with some audacious attacking tennis and Britain’s 2013 champion Murray, for the first time in a tournament that had been stress-free before, seemed close to buckling.

But Tsonga gathered himself and as the error count dropped on his part, it rose for Murray who coughed up the third set quite feebly.

He earned three break points by smacking a forehand passing victor.

Roger Federer was forced to come from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic in a five-set epic on centre court this afternoon. On No. 1 Court, No. 10 Tomas Berdych was playing No. 32 Lucas Pouille.

Two years ago, Raonic reached a first Wimbledon semifinal and lost to Federer. Had he not succumbed to injury, Raonic might have defeated Andy Murray in the Australian Open semifinals rather than lose in five sets. He hasn’t won a Grand Slam trophy since 2012. “Somehow everything went very quickly and I had great focus”. He put his foot to the floor and nearly broke the Croat in the first game of the fifth set.

“It’s a great feeling. Probably not the biggest, but a big one”.

Federer saved three match points in a 6-7 (4/7), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 victory over Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic as the world number three reached a record-equalling 11th semi-final at the All England Club.

Raonic – the first Canadian to make the last four at the All England Club a couple of times blitzed Querrey who had knocked out Novak Djokovic in the third round.

He had match points in the 10th and 12th games of the fourth, as well as the tie-break, before Federer fought back, breaking Martina Navratilova’s record for most singles match wins at grand slams.

Since Raonic brought John McEnroe into his coaching circle before the French Open, the Canadian has been more aggressive, working his way into net when he can.

After withdrawing from the French Open to rest his ailing back and failing to win a title in either Stuttgart or Halle, Federer entered Wimbledon with more questions than answers about his form.

However, on the hallowed grounds of the All England Club one of Wimbledon’s favourite sons produced a masterclass performance to secure a come-from-behind victory; no, Roger Federer will not go quietly.

That would also be an understatement.

Afterwards, Raonic was likened to Pete Sampras, victor of seven Wimbledon titles, on television, a comparison he appreciated.

Pouille had never won a grass court match before this year’s Wimbledon. The American put put the World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, and at least backed up his win against Nicolas Mahut before stumbling against the much improved Canadian. Cilic blew Federer off the court that September day, winning in consecutive sets and going on to claim his first major championship. Federer also spoke about his unbelievable comeback and said it was huge. Federer and Nadal have great respect, and basically, I think there is also admiration, a friendship base. “On the serve, I couldn’t read his serve”. Or 10 minutes and two games later, when Cilic again was a point from winning.

Murray and Tsonga played an exhilarating tiebreaker of their own in the first set, with two aces and 10 winners across 22 points, including a 20-shot rally that Tsonga won with a backhand volley victor. “I have to play yesterday, today, and tomorrow and then maybe Monday”.

Querrey is playing the tournament of his life, reaching the quarterfinals of a major for the first time while beating top-ranked Djokovic along the way. Cilic was done. Federer sealed the game, set and remarkable match with an ace. In 2014, Raonic advanced to the semifinals, where he lost to Federer.

“I think that he was serving pretty well in the fifth set. It’s like a day of practice”, Berdych said.