Andy Murray and Roger Federer both won through to the semi-finals of Wimbledon in straight sets but, for British pulses in particular, that was probably a good thing. Instead the drama was provided by Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas, who both scrapped and scraped their way into the last four by beating obdurate opposition.
It would be wrong to suggest that either Juan Carlos Ferrero or Federer’s victim Ivo Karlovic made life easy for either of them. There is no doubt, however, that Roddick’s five setter against perennial battler Lleyton Hewitt and 31-year-old Haas’s feisty four-set win over world No.4 Novak Djokovic were the day’s stand-out matches.
Haas is certainly the surprise package of the last four, for though the German has been a grand slam semi-finalist before, he is at the point of his injury-ridden career when bright moments like this one come as a shock. And a shock it was to see him knock Djokovic out of the tournament, for the Serbian went into the encounter as favourite and did not play badly.
“These are the moments, you know. I mean, playing Djokovic, one of the best players in the world, you know, on Court 1 at Wimbledon, you know, these are the moments,” said Haas, whose physical troubles have included chronic back and shoulder problems.
“Playing the big stages, this is why, you know, you go and do rehab or you train hard. You know, you push yourself even more to try to get to these occasions and follow your dreams as a kid. We all know, I think, that tennis players have a short career. You know, some shorter than others. 33, 34, 35, you might be done. Then you have a whole life left. You want to be able to look back and say, Hey, I played the sport that I love as long as I could and I've tried my best. You look back at what you have accomplished and you want to be proud of yourself. “
Haas’s inspirational form was matched by Roddick, who joined the handful of players who have outlasted Hewitt in five-setters. It is a select group, because Hewitt is arguably the finest competitor of his generation and one of the most cussed and obstinate tennis players the sport has ever known. He is also one of its best returners and it set Roddick a serving challenge that the American met with aplomb. Put it this way, it was a great day to have tickets for Court No.1.
That is not to say that Federer and Murray weren’t thrilling in their own way. British tennis fans need no reminding of how exciting it is to have the British No.1 through to the semi-finals of his home grand slam and nor does Murray. Federer, meanwhile, is edging closer to a slice of history that, to neutrals, would be even more significant than Great Britain having its first male grand slam singles champion since Fred Perry 73 years ago.
You may not need reminding of this, but Federer matched Pete Sampras’s record of 14 grand slam titles by winning Roland Garros and will beat the record if he wins his sixth Wimbledon on Sunday. By beating Karlovic, Federer reached his 21st consecutive grand slam semi-finals, which is a measure of extraordinary consistency. Murray, for one, rates that virtue above all the others that Federer possesses. “The consistency at big tournaments is ridiculous,” said Murray of the World No.2. “Just to have no slip ups, to have no injuries, maybe he has, but recovered that well to not be really sick or to miss one event, one slam through injury, it's pretty incredible.”
Murray and Roddick will meet in Friday’s semi-finals, while Federer will face Haas, who was two-sets up on the Swiss at Roland Garros before being pegged back. The true drama of this year’s Wimbledon may yet be ahead of us.