<p>Roger Federer stands just two wins away from a record eighth Wimbledon title but faces a perilous trip through the land of the giants if he is to become the tournament's oldest champion.<br /><br />The 35-year-old Swiss has defied time and logic to reach a 12th semi-final at the All England Club where he will face Tomas Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, yesterday.<br /><br />If he gets past the Czech for the 19th time in 25 meetings, Federer will face either Sam Querrey or Marin Cilic in Sunday's final.<br /><br />The contrast between the 18-time Grand Slam title winner and the other three contenders could not be more stark.<br /><br />Federer stands 6ft 1in (1.85m) and weighs in at 187lbs (85kg); Berdych is 6ft 5ins (1.95m) and 200 lbs (91kg).<br /><br />Querrey and Cilic tower over him at 6ft 6ins (1.97m) and 210lbs (95kg) and 196lbs (89kg) respectively.<br />Federer, bidding to reach an 11th final at Wimbledon, is therefore aware of the physical threats posed by his rivals.<br /><br />"All three guys are taller and stronger than I am," said Federer.<br /><br />"I've got to figure out a different way, carve my way through somehow with my slice and my spins, my consistency.<br /><br />"Being the favourite or not the favourite doesn't matter. These other guys are all big hitters. I feel like they will have their say in the outcome of the matches.<br /><br />"They've got big serves, big forehands, they are big hitters."<br /><br />Federer has made the semi-finals without dropping a set and has been broken just three times.<br /><br />He even managed to match Milos Raonic -- who boasts the second fastest serve of the tournament at a blistering 142mph (228.5km/h) -- with 11 aces in his quarter-final victory.<br /><br />Federer is the second oldest semi-finalist after Ken Rosewall who finished runner-up in 1974 at the age of 39.<br /><br />He is also the overwhelming favourite after 'Big Four' rivals Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic suffered injury-hit exits on Wednesday and Rafael Nadal lost in the last 16.<br /><br />Federer is reaping the rewards of pruning his schedule with Wimbledon just his seventh event of 2017.<br />He skipped the 2016 and 2017 French Opens which were won by Djokovic and Nadal.<br /><br />After losing to Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, he shut down his season to rest a knee injury which had already required surgery earlier in 2016.<br /><br />He came back in January this year, won the Australian Open for his 18th Slam, added the Indian Wells-Miami Masters double before hibernating again through the clay court season.<br /><br />Former champion Boris Becker hailed Federer's new approach.<br /><br />"Federer is playing the best tennis ever at the age of 35 because he has got everything right in the rest of his life too," Becker told the BBC.<br /><br />Berdych, meanwhile, will not be overawed by facing Federer having defeated him in four sets in the 2010 quarter- finals on his way to his only appearance in a Slam final.<br /><br />Four years younger, 11th-seeded Berdych came to Wimbledon ranked outside the top 10 for the first time since 2009.<br /><br />He knocked out eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem in five sets in the last 16 before seeing Djokovic retire with a right elbow injury in their quarter-final.<br /><br />Berdych is in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second successive season after a poor year at the Slams in which he exited the Australian Open in the third round and Roland Garros after two matches.<br /><br />"Roger is an exceptional tennis player, he's the greatest of them all. It's a great challenge to have the opportunity to play him," said the 31-year-old.<br /><br />Querrey, meanwhile, has reached a maiden semi-final at the majors at the 42nd time of asking.<br /><br />The 24th-seeded American, who knocked out 2015 champion Djokovic 12 months ago, proved that was no fluke by downing defending champion Murray in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.<br /><br />The 29-year-old is also the first American man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Andy Roddick reached the Wimbledon final in 2009.<br /><br />Querrey trails 2014 US Open champion and seventh seed Marin Cilic 4-0 in head-to-head meetings.<br />Two of those clashes have been at Wimbledon -- in 2009 and 2012.<br /><br />The encounter five years ago was the second longest match in Wimbledon history at five hours and 31 minutes, something Cilic doesn't want to experience again on Friday.<br /><br />"Hopefully it's not the longest one ever," he said of a match decided 17-15 in the final set.<br /><br />However, with Querrey and Cilic having fired 231 aces between them at the tournament, a long afternoon cannot be ruled out. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Roger Federer stands just two wins away from a record eighth Wimbledon title but faces a perilous trip through the land of the giants if he is to become the tournament's oldest champion.<br /><br />The 35-year-old Swiss has defied time and logic to reach a 12th semi-final at the All England Club where he will face Tomas Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, yesterday.<br /><br />If he gets past the Czech for the 19th time in 25 meetings, Federer will face either Sam Querrey or Marin Cilic in Sunday's final.<br /><br />The contrast between the 18-time Grand Slam title winner and the other three contenders could not be more stark.<br /><br />Federer stands 6ft 1in (1.85m) and weighs in at 187lbs (85kg); Berdych is 6ft 5ins (1.95m) and 200 lbs (91kg).<br /><br />Querrey and Cilic tower over him at 6ft 6ins (1.97m) and 210lbs (95kg) and 196lbs (89kg) respectively.<br />Federer, bidding to reach an 11th final at Wimbledon, is therefore aware of the physical threats posed by his rivals.<br /><br />"All three guys are taller and stronger than I am," said Federer.<br /><br />"I've got to figure out a different way, carve my way through somehow with my slice and my spins, my consistency.<br /><br />"Being the favourite or not the favourite doesn't matter. These other guys are all big hitters. I feel like they will have their say in the outcome of the matches.<br /><br />"They've got big serves, big forehands, they are big hitters."<br /><br />Federer has made the semi-finals without dropping a set and has been broken just three times.<br /><br />He even managed to match Milos Raonic -- who boasts the second fastest serve of the tournament at a blistering 142mph (228.5km/h) -- with 11 aces in his quarter-final victory.<br /><br />Federer is the second oldest semi-finalist after Ken Rosewall who finished runner-up in 1974 at the age of 39.<br /><br />He is also the overwhelming favourite after 'Big Four' rivals Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic suffered injury-hit exits on Wednesday and Rafael Nadal lost in the last 16.<br /><br />Federer is reaping the rewards of pruning his schedule with Wimbledon just his seventh event of 2017.<br />He skipped the 2016 and 2017 French Opens which were won by Djokovic and Nadal.<br /><br />After losing to Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, he shut down his season to rest a knee injury which had already required surgery earlier in 2016.<br /><br />He came back in January this year, won the Australian Open for his 18th Slam, added the Indian Wells-Miami Masters double before hibernating again through the clay court season.<br /><br />Former champion Boris Becker hailed Federer's new approach.<br /><br />"Federer is playing the best tennis ever at the age of 35 because he has got everything right in the rest of his life too," Becker told the BBC.<br /><br />Berdych, meanwhile, will not be overawed by facing Federer having defeated him in four sets in the 2010 quarter- finals on his way to his only appearance in a Slam final.<br /><br />Four years younger, 11th-seeded Berdych came to Wimbledon ranked outside the top 10 for the first time since 2009.<br /><br />He knocked out eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem in five sets in the last 16 before seeing Djokovic retire with a right elbow injury in their quarter-final.<br /><br />Berdych is in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second successive season after a poor year at the Slams in which he exited the Australian Open in the third round and Roland Garros after two matches.<br /><br />"Roger is an exceptional tennis player, he's the greatest of them all. It's a great challenge to have the opportunity to play him," said the 31-year-old.<br /><br />Querrey, meanwhile, has reached a maiden semi-final at the majors at the 42nd time of asking.<br /><br />The 24th-seeded American, who knocked out 2015 champion Djokovic 12 months ago, proved that was no fluke by downing defending champion Murray in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.<br /><br />The 29-year-old is also the first American man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Andy Roddick reached the Wimbledon final in 2009.<br /><br />Querrey trails 2014 US Open champion and seventh seed Marin Cilic 4-0 in head-to-head meetings.<br />Two of those clashes have been at Wimbledon -- in 2009 and 2012.<br /><br />The encounter five years ago was the second longest match in Wimbledon history at five hours and 31 minutes, something Cilic doesn't want to experience again on Friday.<br /><br />"Hopefully it's not the longest one ever," he said of a match decided 17-15 in the final set.<br /><br />However, with Querrey and Cilic having fired 231 aces between them at the tournament, a long afternoon cannot be ruled out. <br /><br /></p>