Men's Semi-Finals, Part 1 Wimbledon

Creative visualisation, the process whereby mental images that provoke

negative feelings are substituted by those that elicit positivity. He is

making his way up to the players' box. I have never seen anything like

this before. Today, four men face off in two matches with different

views of the future. For the Canadian, Milos Raonic, the image

for him is reaching a first-ever Grand Slam final. Come on! Czech

Tomas Berdych knows what it is like to lose the Wimbledon final. His

motivator is to take the next step and win one.

Andy Murray was the Wimbledon Champion in 2013. In his mind's eye,

a second title is the aim. And for Roger Federer, who has won

seven times here, the vision is an eighth triumph.

Visualisation is over. Now, it is back to reality!

Time for the hard part. Pat Cash getting in the zone there,

with the 1987 champion highlighting the difference between winning and

losing is as much mental as it is physical. Who will have the strength

today remains to be seen. Not surprisingly, a ticket for today

is very much sought-after and those lucky enough to be here on Centre

Court should be in for a treat. If Wednesday's two quarterfinals on

that very court are anything to go by, we are all in for another

special day. From 128, we are now down to four and, by tonight, only

two will remain. So here are the players who are bidding to reach

Sunday's final. First up is Roger Federer, the Swiss

master has won seven titles here and is looking for a record eighth. In

his quarterfinal, the 34-year-old rolled back the years coming from

two sets down to reach his 11th semifinal. Federer's record here is

incredible. He's never lost a Wimbledon semifinal. The question

is, can he continue that record today?

Facing the force of Federer is this man, Milos Raonic, the big serving

Canadian is coached by John McEnroe and has come back here from being

two sets down. He is quiet, calm and uncomplicated but a player you

cannot underestimate. The second semifinal involves Tomas

Berdych, the man from the Czech Republic has the game for grass and

has proved that on his day, he can beat anyone on the surface. He

reached the final in 2010 but found Rafael Nadal too good. He has a

steely disposition on court and lets his racket do the talking.

Up against Berdych is Britain's Andy Murray, the 2013 champion came

through an epic five-setter against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday and

how much that has taken out of him remains to be seen. Murray is the

highest ranked player left in the draw and is the favourite. A win

today would put him in a third Wimbledon final and a third

successive Grand Slam final in 2016. So, first up on Centre, Federer

against Raonic. Then it is Berdych versus Murray. What a day it

promises to be. The atmosphere is palpable, anticipation is in the air

and regarding Andy Murray's supporters, there is an air of

expectation, too. And, don't forget if you can't watch

the matches live on TV today, download the BBC Sport app and you

can watch on your mobile device. Also video of our live coverage is

available on the BBC Sport website. If you can't access a computer or

laptop, you can listen to Five Live commentary.

This is where all the drama is going to unfold. This famous court, Centre

Court, four players remain in this Championship and joining me are two

men who know how to win Grand Slams and win here, Lleyton Hewitt,

welcome. Thank you. Boris Becker, welcome back, we have missed you!

Yeah, thanks for picking me up! I was out of a job this week! I was

happy that you called me yesterday. It hasn't been the Wimbledon you

were hoping for, has it? No, disappointing loss last Saturday,

but, hey, you can't win them all. He is human. He's won four in a row.

You have to give it to the other guy, Sam Querrey played great on the

day. With the rain interruptions, and they came sometimes at the wrong

time because Novak was starting to come back, but Sam played well under

pressure. And served to win it. You know about playing under pressure.

Getting the calendar Grand Slam, he held all four titles and coming

here, everyone was thinking, calendar Grand Slam, it is a lot of

pressure? Absolutely. It was a massive weight off his shoulders by

winning Roland Garros. He was able to hold up that trophy. Then the

next focus, a few weeks later, was back to the All England Club as the

defending champion, another added pressure, trying to win all four in

the one year, and he probably didn't play his best tennis. He still had

chances to take it to a fifth set. How is he now? He has a week off,

too. He is back home with his family. He is taking it easy. I'm

sure he is watching the semifinal today. I'm sure he is wishing all

the players the very best. Have you been out with your man, Milos

Raonic? I have been. I want to thank Boris for giving us this

opportunity! You promised me something special for my birthday!

We are talking about the pressure and the expectation on Novak coming

in here, and he is proving he is human? Exactly. He's been

super-human, so has Serena, she slipped up, and it's proved it is

not so easy to win a Grand Slam. That is why it has not been done in

47 years. Boris has told him that four in a row is unbelievably

spectacular. That was an amazing effort. It has to end somewhere and

it opened the door for some other people. Let's say that! You were

talking at Queen's about the pressure put on Novak after the

Australian Open in the build-up to the French? He usually handles

pressure very well. After winning three in a row, and never having won

the French before, everybody, wherever he want, spoke about Roland

Garros, and to finally get the monkey off your back, a lot of air

goes out of the balloon and you start to relax a bit - rightly so.

You have done something historic, nobody has done that before. He was

sometimes a bit too relaxed and enjoying the moment too much, where

the top guys play best under most pressure. Did you notice that in the

build-up? I thought he was enjoying it too much and saying hello to

everybody. The top guys, you have to be a recluse and be your own little

group. He is human. Tell everyone to take a hike! That worked for a

while! OK. It certainly did. It has opened up the draw because it became

a different tournament once Novak departed? Especially everyone in the

top of half of the draw. We haven't seen it for such a long time. The

Australian Open, the French Open, the number one and two seeds make it

through to the final. It has opened up for Milos. Also, even though Andy

Murray was at the other end, he was pretty happy as well? There is no

question about it. If you notice, when Murray was playing Millman, the

score came up that Novak had lost, and he freaked out for ten minutes,

oh my God, I'm the favourite! Then he realised this may be a good

thing! He relaxed and started playing much better. Roger Federer,

I don't know if he really believed he could beat Novak at this stage.

His eyes started bulging, and everyone remaining thought, wait a

second, maybe this is my year. Maybe there is one more Slam! And he

proved that in his last match, didn't he? I mean, I thought that

was one of the greatest, amazing comebacks that I have ever seen. I

thought Cilic - that is the type of game plan where you try to do

against these players, it is so hard to do against Federer, Novak,

Murray, starting to take the racket out of their hand. Cilic was hitting

the ball a tonne off both sides, really playing well. I have done it

many times. He got tight and he choked when you get down to it. He

had some good looks. He should have put it away in three sets. He had

three match-points, three different times in the fourth set, so you knew

in the fifth set, Roger was going to, that magic was coming and here

we are! He is still around. It was a turning point in that seventh game

when Cilic had three break-points at 0-40, we can see them now. Cilic

missed some chances, didn't he? Roger stood firm. Absolutely. At

this stage, it looked like one-way traffic. As John said earlier, Cilic

came out with a perfect game plan and he overpowered Roger. He was

hitting his spots with his first serve but also his ground strokes

were so smooth. The side that gets a bit tight under pressure, the

forehand, that is what Roger started going after, especially on second

serves, on big points, and there were two forehand mistakes when he

had two out of those three match-points as well. We will see

them now. And also the roar that Roger did when he got back to deuce,

saying, I'm not beaten here, letting his opponent know he is still in the

fight. There is a reason he's won 17 Grand Slams. He smells when the

opposition gets a little tight. He's won too many matches like that.

Matches are not lost and won by the match-point, momentum switches and

that was a big chance for Cilic, he didn't take it. Obviously, he lost.

This is Roger saying... He said afterwards, I fought, I tried, I

believed. He never stopped. Again, he's won 17 Grand Slams for a

reason. I just am amazed how badly he still wants it. That is one of

the things that impresses me, he is willing to dig as deeply as he is

and he finds a way. He was getting outplayed and a lesser man would

have given into Cilic. This is a true all-time great, tied Boris

Becker for the most two set to love comebacks - ten! Hopefully, I will

keep the record for a little longer. Boris, out here, the court is the

same dimensions wherever you play. This is Roger's living room! Does

that make a difference or not at all? It makes a huge difference. The

Wimbledon Centre Court is the most special court in the world. You

either love it, you are comfortable, or you are not. There is no in

between. Playing on Court 2, it is still nice, it is still Wimbledon,

but that is the magic box, this is where history is made. For Roger,

having won so many important matches here, he's always 15-0 up because of

that and that is the difference sometimes between winning and

losing. What was it like when you won here? It was a dream. The first

time, I don't want to speak about that! The great man next to me, he

owned me in that match! It was a nice little introduction for me. It

was your first time? I didn't know that. Sorry to bring that memory

back! After that, it got a lot better. It's the greatest place to

play tennis on. As a kid, you always dream of having the opportunity to

play out here and for all three of us, to get our hands on that gold

trophy, on this Centre Court, in this arena, it is such a special

memory. That is what your man wants to do. You were late because you

were practising with him. How is he today? He is well prepared. He's

learned a bit. I'm hoping from two years ago. I felt watching it,

commentating on it, he was overwhelmed and tight. It is easy to

say sitting back, listen, enjoy it, you are ready this time, so don't be

tight. There will be eight people on his side is when this match starts.

So this is something that he's got to overcome. To me, he's got to show

the fans out here how badly he does want it, use a lot of positive

energy, the way Murray did in the fifth set against Tsonga and the

crowd will respect that and will be as one-sided against Roger Federer.

He has to start banging the ball from the first shot he hits. He is

6ft 5in. He's got an unbelievable serve, a great forehand. He's got to

play the way like Pete Sampras used to play. I thought how he played in

the Brisbane final against Roger earlier this year, that has to give

him so much confidence. He stuck to his game plan. A bit different than

Brisbane. A win is a win. At least in the back of his mind, he can go

against Roger. Since he has won two out of 11, definitely dwell on that!

You are absolutely right. Super coaches here. It is one thing for

Raonic to listen to the pearls of wisdom from Mac, but it is another

thing to execute it out there. You need to be mature enough. Milos

called you, he was in his mid-20s. Whatever we see, and whoever we are,

we can intimidate some of the younger players, so they have to be

mature enough to take in what we have to say. That could be a

difference, but the players are mature enough to accept it. Very

well said! You are not just coach, you are a hitting partner as well.

No, Carlos Moya, he's done a fantastic job with Milos. The best

that I ever saw Milos play was in the semifinals in the Australian

Open, played a fantastic tournament, he was up two sets to one on Murray,

he had some type of issue with his hip and it cost him to miss some

time. You don't know how much of that was mental, realising he could

get close, but either way he has a good team around him and he is

trying to do everything he can. The players are so professional now, you

have to try to learn from the Federers of the world, the Novak and

Murray, they leave no stone unturned and that is what Raonic is trying to

do, bridge that gap. This is a tall order for him, to beat Roger Federer

in the semifinal of Wimbledon. The pressure is on Roger's serve. He has

only developed two service games. He is not going to get a lot of

opportunities on Milos's serve. If he can hit his spot, it is playing

into his hands. Every time Roger goes around to his serve, he is

under pressure. 143mph, that is fast? Here. The difference will be

the second serve. How can he put pressure with his second serve on

Roger's return? Eventually, the ball will be in play, once the ball is in

play, Roger is a bit better technically. So how can you use that

to your advantage? What do you do with your second serve? Do you slice

it more? Do you kick it more? That will be the difference. Funny you

should say that, about the kick and the sliced serve. We saw Pat Cash at

the front of the programme, we have given him a new toy. We will have a

masterclass of serving. This is Cash Point!

Thanks, Sue. Today we will look at the secrets of the second serve. Why

is the second serve so important? The first serve is so dominant in

the men's game that the second serve is sometimes the only time where a

returner has a chance to get into the point. We will look at a couple

of big names in the game, Roger Federer, one to have great servers

of all time, and Andy Murray, whose second serve has improved over the

years, but still is a liability, in my opinion. So, let's have a look at

the second serves. This is out to the ad court, this is where the kick

serve comes into the element. If we look at Roger Federer here. This

ball bounces up really high. It's got speed, we look at this one here,

Andy Murray's serve has more slice on it and it comes into the hitting

zone of the opponent. Not so high bouncing and not so fast. Federer is

pulling his opponents out of court with this high, bouncing ball, which

is what he wants to do. So, why does Federer do this and not Murray? Why

can Federer do it and not Murray? There is a technical issue here. We

will have a look at through these two plays. They both do things very

well. They come up through the ball, they rotate, and they go forward.

The free motions of the tennis serve. They do that very well. It is

this position here that we will have a look at, the arm placement at

contact. Now, Andy Murray's arm there, most coaches would say, look

at that, isn't that fantastic, he reaches up, that is true in a way,

and his arm is straight. It is also the reason he doesn't get the kick

serve. If we look at Roger Federer, let's have a look at that elbow.

That elbow is bent. Why is that bent? Well, that helps him to get

the kick, the rotation of the shoulder and get the sidespin. The

sidespin is what pulls the ball wide and hits the court and kicks. A

top-spin one gives the bounce. The kick is the sidespin right into that

corner and pulls the opponent way out of place. So, if we look further

ahead... Roger is not the only player that does this. We have

Raonic, Cilic, Tsonga, Sampras, the names go on and on. Let's look at

what Roger does here. We will see where his arm is heading out to. His

arm is heading in this direction. No, it's not. It is heading in THAT

direction! That is how he gets his kick serve. That is where his arm

goes. That gives the sidespin on the ball. That is why he is able to hit

it so accurately. So what does that mean? What it really means is, that

Andy Murray's serve is coming in to a certain area where players feel

very comfortable about attacking. Now, this is the area here where

Andy Murray really wants to hit the ball, but look, there's very few

balls out there... The only one that he did lose was his best serve! Most

of them are right in the hitting zone. These guys right here, nice

and juicy, they will attack that. As we look forward a little bit, here

we will see exactly what has been done by various players over the

years. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third and fourth set in the

quarterfinals. Roger Federer has done it as well over the years. And

that's just not good enough second serve. Tsonga has done it. Federer

has done it over the years and maybe Tomas Berdych will do it today.

We have repositioned behind the net. Discuss, Boris, what did you think

of that? Well, we are playing on grass this week. And usually a good

sliced serve on grass is more effective, into the body or out

wide. He had one of the great slice serves in the world. You have a good

sliced serve. The kick serve sits up, so the great returners...

Wouldn't you rather return a kick serve than a slice? Absolutely. On

grass, that sliced serve is coming in and it stays lower as well, which

makes it tough. Boris is right. The good returners, if it is sitting up

and propping off a kick serve, it can sit there and ready to be hit.

The kick serve is more predictable. You can see it coming. That is one

of the things I have said to Milos, if you see that coming, stand out,

don't let that ball jump away from you. If anything, take a step

further to your left to deal with that. If it is sliced, into his body

obviously, it is harder to extend the arm. If he slices it to his

forehand t -- the way he did to Cilic, he needs to force them to get

you to hit something you want to hit as opposed to them... I think Roger,

along with most other players, they like to pull you off the court, and

then they see this wide-open area and there is no way you can get the

ball, so that is why the kick can work. If you don't hit the slice,

they will destroy it. He hit a good sliced serve into the body as well.

All these big guys are so good when they have a swing on the ball. If

you are trying to block them up, they can only push it and you will

get the short ball. And not the angle. Andy Murray's second serve

was a weakness before. He has improved. Whether it's a kick or a

slice, it doesn't matter. You have to hit the ball. Roger naturally has

one of the best second serves of all time because he can vary it with the

kick and the slice. It is so good. Do you think it is all mental? You

had one to have best second serves. You and Pete were the best ever,

that you had the will or the guts to go for it? It was more a natural

serve the slice because I'm tall. A kick serve would be more risky for

me. I felt more comfortable slicing it than kicking it. Murray's made

the changes, the technical changes. It is having the belief to do it on

the big occasion? I think Ivan has seen that as a problem. I was

surprised that he had only served one double fault leading up to the

quarterfinals. That has been an Achilles heel. He throws in doubles

at bad times for him. He's cut that out at the moment. The big test will

be in the semifinal and the final, whether he can believe and go after

it. The first two sets against Tsonga he was cruising, and then the

old Andy crept in. Jo upped his game? I wouldn't say just cruising.

Tsonga was up 6-5 in the tie-break, hitting 132mph. 6-1 the second

set... Jo tapped out a little after losing that first set. Murray

definitely stepped up his game when he needed to. I was happy that

Tsonga played as hard as he did after giving the second set away.

The will and the intensity that Murray showed in the fifth set broke

him. Jo gave up that second break and you can't beat these guys, it is

tough enough with one break. After winning the fourth set, why would

you switch the momentum and go to the bathroom? He was really on the

win... He really had to go! Maybe another 20 minutes and the match is

over. That is what I said before about the momentum switches. This is

when a match is won or lost. Break-point in the first game of the

fifth... He slipped over and he didn't get in the right position...

If he hadn't gone to the bathroom, maybe he would have been more

desperate... Who knows? Your assessment of Andy Murray. He said,

I'm not going to lose his match, that was a message to Ivan. It was a

message to the whole stadium, the whole of England. He is very

determined. He doesn't... This is not England versus Iceland. Germany

lost last night! Bad luck, Boris(!) He is very determined. He doesn't

leave one stone unturned. He wants to win this tournament more than

anything else in the world and he lets everybody know. Murray played

well in that match? He had to. As John said, Jo really brought it out

of him. He came up with a clutch return of serve and that was the

passing shot to get back on serve and kept the momentum going in the

second set. As we said, he let it slip a little bit after going up 4-2

in the fourth set and wasn't able to close it out. This was great. We

loved this. Showing some emotion out there. It was all positive emotion,

too. Jo, he is the kind of player, he has his ups and downs, and he had

too many lapses. He is Scottish, when you keep mentioning the England

football team, he is proud to come from Scotland. You are saying he was

happy they lost? No! He's played so well and the attitude, his fitness,

he talks about how he trains. He does two hours on court. He does so

many more hours getting fit. He can rely on his body for five long sets.

I have news for you, Boris knows a thing or two about the one guy, that

is why people's eyes lit up. The only guy that he doesn't believe he

is fitter than, mentally and physically, is Novak. This is why he

was pretty happy too when Djokovic... I think his best shot to

do that, to bridge the gap and beat him would be here. Because I think

he would have the crowd on his side, the style of his play suits this

court better. Deep down in his heart of hearts, what do I have to do to

get fitter than this guy? He doesn't have to worry about him. He does

have to worry about Tomas Berdych, though. Tomas is a dangerous player

on grass. He has a big game, big serve. He is not the best of mover

with his 6ft 5in frame. Andy will want to move him from side to side.

Tomas has nothing to lose. He is expecting Murray to be the

favourite. He is number nine in the world. He has been in a Wimbledon

final before. That is what makes this match very dangerous for Andy.

He played four hours against Tsonga. Four hours is four hours. You will

feel it the next day. That is the second semifinal but

here comes your man, John, Milos Raonic. It is all done by the clock

here. They are not allowed to come out before one o'clock. If you have

when it seven times do get to go second. You go out whenever you want

to go out! He desires at that respect. I saw he is 10-0. These are

not the statistics you want to show a semifinal opponents. Roger is 10-0

in Wimbledon semifinals. Wonderful ovation. Everybody really

appreciating all over the years what Roger Federer has numbers

particularly what he did in that last match against Marin Cilic. With

Milos Raonic, we know this match is going to come down to some crucial

moments. We know what to expect from Roger that we are now going to find

out what Milos can do. He has been there before so we have to see how

we can experience this. I was really impressed in his match against Andy

Murray in the semifinal at the Australian Open. After the third set

he had Andy Murray in all sort of trouble. He was moving so much

better than I had seen him move in the past. We all know how well he

can hit his forehand when he has time. He was giving himself time by

moving around and hiding his backhand as much as possible. He is

a very imposing figure and he has to take it to these guys. He doesn't

want to get pushed around and get into a lot of long rallies. I think

he has actually got some good hands. He has done better. He is getting a

sense of where to position himself a little bit better and that is going

to really help him in a match like this. He also did coming here at

Wimbledon that I think had helped in, he was in a really tight match

against David Goffin. He wasn't himself. That was around the time

but Novak Djokovic was out of the tournament and all of a sudden he

was the favourite to getting the semifinals and he really played

poorly in the first couple of sets but he stepped it up. He had never

come from two sets down but he was able to pull that out and it has

given him confidence and belief, which he is going to need against

this guy. This is coming back from two sets- zero King, Roger Federer.

He had a big serve, Cilic, Federer said he wasn't even reading it but

he was anticipating a better in the next three sets so in some ways it

is similar position today. Similar game, similar game plan, probably.

Roger had biceps to practice against that type of Serbia other day. From

-- Roger had the chance to practice against that type of serve the other

day. Once the king gets going it is difficult to stop him. Even though

he is nearly 35 years old. It is important for Milos Ali on to serve

big, be aggressive and take his chances -- for Milos early on. The

problem with Roger is you are not sure what he's going to do. He may

take it to Milos himself, serve and volley more. He was passive against

Marin Cilic but he has the ability... The fact that you are not

sure what you're going to get makes people around Raonic's camp uneasy.

But Raonic needs to keep the scoreboard pressure early on.

Absolutely. He needs to keep holding serve. If he turns down a break he

will find it difficult. He will be playing more on the edge than he

came out at the start. He has to look to attack as much as possible.

It is one area of his game he has worked on is not only his volleys

but where to come into the net. I don't know whether that is down to

you John, but that is one thing I have noticed. I'll take the credit!

Even where to cut their because he has such a big wingspan. That is

what you said was missing from his game because he is such an imposing

figure at the net. I would say the same thing about Andy Murray's game.

He doesn't use his skills in that enough. It would have helped him win

a lot of Majors. Whether or not I was consulting with him that is the

type of style. Lleyton is right about positioning himself. He is a

very intelligent man. His parents are engineers. If you speak to him

in a geometric way about the court, he gets it. This is actually where

that can come in handy. The mathematician at work on the tennis

court! Also, how much of the crowd a factor? You three always got great

crowd reaction. They are going to be, let's face it, on Roger's side.

Is that a factor? Even when Novak plays he expects the crowd to be

fair Roger. I think Roger deserves that. He has won the most. That is

just part of it. You had to deal with it. You have to take it to your

advantage of playing against the crowd and showing you are just as

good or even better and hopefully turn them around. But obviously

going to the match he expects every time he is against him. But I would

say is they are not against you, they are for Roger. They don't want

to disrespect you, they are just supporting Roger. That was something

he deserves. I played him for two years in the semifinals in the road

that when Novak played Roger and he was a 15-30 down in New York he was

so upset with the crowd because the crowd was really so for Roger that

it was upsetting to him and he hit that forehand like, screw you and

somehow it went in. He was about to do something negative and somehow he

did something positive and the crowd started to rally because they

respected his effort and I think that moment when he could turn

lemons into lemonade one that. Then he was up before. I think we had a

phone call before that! How big a factor is the weariness of Federer?

The emotional and physical draining of that match against Cilic? I think

physically he will be fine because it was a wake-up call. This won't be

the longest match. It will be a lot of short poems. A lot 1-2 points

where there are lots of short points. It is how much mentally it

took out of him. To dig deep and come back to days later against

another quality player. He has a key, explosive step. That is where I

would think if he is human that it may be a little bit more difficult

to spring out to some of these very quick shots he will had to deal

with. On the other side I been up until the last match Roger played he

didn't know physically if he was fit again. He played a couple of quick

matches he didn't have a long match at all, so to play five sets and it

was hot on Wednesday, to come back, I think it gives them confidence.

Physically he may be feeling it a little bit, he should be, he is

human, but emotionally I think he is riding a high right now because he

has another chance. They are calling time so he was going to win? I think

Roger Federer. I am going to say Roger Federer but it could be long.

I'm not answering that! I didn't think you would? !

I'm not answering that! I didn't think you would? Wonderful to see

you again. John is on his way to join Andrew Cotter. It will be

fascinating to get his insight today. This man going for his 11th

Wimbledon final. Ominous for his opponent. Ten times he has got to

the semifinal and ten times he had been through to the final. At this

stage of the proceedings the great and good come out. Europe watching

on. Five times, five straight victories here. And the excitement

around Centre Court you do hope that they can live up to the drama and

tension of the quarterfinals. What lies in store that this still quite

young man? A huge talent. Enormous opportunity here. UMPIRE: First set.

Milos Raonic to serve. Ready. Play. Not a huge amount of double faults

throughout the tournament from Raonic. Some birds, perhaps. -- some

nerves, perhaps. You get a pretty good idea when a

guy hits it that hard at your body you don't have a whole lot of time

to react. I'm amazed that players don't do it more often and serve

this big. That will do to close it out and

settle him in. He will settle down. Carlos has really done a great job.

He played the best of his life down in Australia, got to the semifinals

there. He has a good team around him. Prepare him well, Milos Raonic.

You know that Federer's forehand is superior to his backhand but you

don't want to go to the backhand too often he has a tendency to lean over

there. He understands what people are going to try to do against him.

We know about the damage that Raonic's serve can do but Federer's

serve can be just as effective. Federer very quickly down to

business. A full cast and crew in the players's box. Federer's

coaching setup, Severin Lewsey and Ivan Ljubicic. There he is, sitting

in the back row. Ivan Ljubicic used to work with Rios Routledge. --

Milos Raonic. That is a key shot for Raonic, that

slice to the Federer forehand. He's got to make Roger feel like he's

going to hit that shot. Be willing to go to the forehand sometimes.

Federer often hits passing shots right at opponents. You have to be

ready for that. We talked about a willingness and they need to come

into the net editor bit more from Raonic.

A need to keep Federer guessing. As Federer will do to him, mix up your

service, don't be predictable. Classic Raonic. That is classic a

lot of players on the men's 12. A big serve and then go for it on the

forehand. A comfortable service game. So much

of this, John, I imagine, we had that semifinal between these 22

years ago. He has that experience in the bag, Milos, and today is about

settling into the match. He had held his first two service games and he

can move on from there. He understands, he is a very

intelligent young man. In the early stages of this that it is going to

be critical and he was upset with him serve a couple of years ago.

Understandably tight to play a Wimbledon semifinal. He is much

better prepared now. He has more belief, a better all-round player.

When he looks at the other side he has immense respect. Who doesn't?

But you also have to say he is not quite the same player as he was,

certainly that is what Raonic is telling himself. Roger is moving

better as the tournament has gone on but it is not Roger in his prime. He

will have some uncertainty in his mind. He isn't going to give up. Two

years on it takes Raonic to 25 and Roger to 35.

You don't want to be in this position at a rule against Federer.

-- at all against Federer. He likes to pull you out wide on

both sides of the court to open things up for him.

When he gets up 30-0 he will have more of a tendency to go up the

centre to keep you honest. A very smart server, is Roger Federer. He

has a point against the Federer serve.

A blast because Federer made a mistake? He is human! That is a

great Ezdihar by Raonic right there. Good deep sense. -- that is a great

peril by Raonic right there. Good defence. First break point.

Well, Raonic have the first break. It is his plan to start cheering.

That will be a huge boost to the confidence of Raonic. To see Federer

fail, find the net and double fault on break point.

Absolutely amazing to see Federer just give that to Raonic. He didn't

even make him hit a return or a shot.

Just keep it that double fault and break point in context. Only 24

Roger Federer in the championship. Already for one force errors as

well. Raonic had to much time there. He

could have taken that with two hands and ripped it.

Good serve again right into the body of Roger Federer. Look at how

Federer returned it. Back of the line.

Not often you hit it at a mph and lose the point.

The standard of returning from Federer.

Even at high speeds you want to hit the ball in the corners if you can.

I think he needed to. An amazing returned by Roger.

Milos a little confused as to what he wanted to do there. He realised

he couldn't get around the forehand. His footwork went off.

Nicely done by Raonic. A little bit of how up from the net cord. That

should have been a put away. It had break point written all over it.

Raonic a bit lucky there to get a second look.

Finished with an ace. Hard-working from Milos Raonic. He backs up that

break. Just about to... You're saying, you're keeping a close eye

on Raonic but looking at Federer's movement, and is the quite the

player he used to be, we were talking about his demise for years

but do you think of the injury earlier in the season, he didn't

play a huge amount of tennis. He was out for a couple of months. That has

to take its toll. It is hard to get fit again. That is part of why he

chose to pass on the French Open. The physicality of that but mentally

this can be tough but it is physically more difficult in Paris.

This guy within a couple of Wimbledon finals, played some great

tennis against Novak Djokovic. I just don't know about can beat this

guy in the best-of-5. Watching this match it would be very low bods.

There is my great friend and rival. Doesn't he look terrible?! It would

be Federer who has had the slow and tighter start, surprising here. Is

he feeling some after-effects of the five set match? He hasn't played a

lot of tennis, as you said. I would be surprised if he didn't feel

something. Of course, it is Roger Federer.

UMPIRE: Mr Raonic is challenging the call on the right far side line. The

ball was called in. The scoreboard is blinking, that is

why Roger is not playing. He is not questioning the call. They have

turned off the scoreboard behind Milos Raonic. Now he will get a

first serve. UMPIRE: Second serve. I guess the

phone call didn't show it on the screen. It was wide. We saw it.

Roger is trying to will him self into it.

He can trick Raonic into thinking he was going to drop and he went back.

All along, he was preparing to hit that.

You can always get a vibe and we talked about this beforehand, Milos

Raonic, he will know all the support is largely going to be behind

Federer. He will be aware of that. That is a shot that Andy Roddick

plays, that short, sliced backhand, he has to jump on that.

UMPIRE: Mr Raonic is challenging the call on the left far side line. The

ball was called out. Good call.

UMPIRE: Second serve. UMPIRE: Mr Raonic has two challenges

remaining. The ball jumped off the court.

Believe it or not, he took something off it. 128mph sliding away from

you. Just easing back(!) It is so impressive.

UMPIRE: Mr Federer is challenging the call on the left service line.

The call stands, 40-30. Mr Federer has two challenges remaining.

From 0-40, an exhibition of serving from Milos Raonic.

UMPIRE: New balls, please. Very impressive from that position.

Raonic leads 5-2. One of the things that we noticed

when Milos played against Sam Querrey was that he had settled into

a groove and he took Ito to Querrey, which is what everyone in his camp

wanted to do. If you looked at his stats in terms of miles per hour,

they were off, as we take a look at one of the great serves you will

ever see. Maybe 10mph or more than we had seen in previous matches. And

so it was strongly encouraged - and I think you can see - he is hitting

the advice, and you have to bring everything you have got against this

guy, and he is bringing it all right now. That serve is scary how big it

is, what he's got going, as you could see from those last four

points. He was at the Masters as well. Retirement is good. Jose

Mourinho is in the grounds as well, not in the Royal Box.

One of the things the umpire has done over the years, players change

rackets at odd times so they give the players... Mark Carney, the

Governor of the Bank of England, supporting Milos Raonic.

Always wonder when a guy is playing that well, serving so big, why they

would want to change from that racket.

I would be cuddling that like a little baby.

There's some pretty good pace on that passing shot.

He wants to make sure at the very least he makes Raonic serve this out

so he gets to start serving. I'm sure he has bigger things in

mind. Federer is going to change racket.

It was only very recently that he went to the bigger-headed racket

that all the modern players play with, 98 square inches, some are

100. He decided to change from the smaller head. 2015 wasn't a good

season, he had injuries... That would be a good idea trying to deal

with these type of servers, a bit more margin, a sweet spot area.

He wins the battle of the net there, Raonic.

Raonic kept it deep, forcing Federer to come up with something

unordinary. Unusual. That's a good job to stick with it.

All of a sudden, we are in a game here at 30-30.

Sometimes you have to have the guts to go to the Federer forehand. He

did there and set-point for Raonic. What a point from Federer! A stroke

of brilliance from the master to keep fighting in this first set.

That is a tremendous get by Raonic. Both guys stepping up. That was

where he may have thought differently.

He gives himself another chance. So hard for Federer with the pace he's

seeing on the serve to put a lot on the return. Set-point once more,

Raonic. He takes it this time! It's Raonic

who takes the first step towards the final. A long way to go, but the

first set goes the way of the number-six seed.

Once again, Federer is going to have to do it again from behind. As he

did against Cilic. ? That is no question about that,

Raonic has really brought his A-game out. He's taken it to Federer. It

goes without saying that that serving is huge, but he's done a lot

of other good things, including moving well. He's covering the court

and that has got to Roger just that little bit. His father on the left,

and mother beside. They supported Milos, and enabled him to get to

coaches in Toronto and take to tennis. But they didn't interfere

with the coaching, that was left to others. They are intelligence enough

to realise that there are people who could help this guy and he's a

student of the game. It is starting to pay off. You see right now that

he's a tough guy to deal with on a court like this.

UMPIRE: Time. Federer has got to shake off

whatever tightness he has physically and mentally right now. The numbers

from that first set. Expect and anticipate that Roger is

going to start moving forward more often.

That backhand is on fire. It is not going to be easy for Federer, as we

have already seen. He has to battle from behind again. A bit of pace

from Raonic. Just couldn't put it away. He is going to try to get

Roger Federer out of his comfort zone, bring him in on his terms.

That is a good move right there. It's a hold for Federer. Federer

faked moving forward. You can't fall for that, if you are playing him. He

is going to try every trick and he's got plenty of them. Even though the

movement of Raonic is very good, it is always going to be naturally

against him being 6ft 5in. He's moving about pretty well at the

moment. He's got certainly an advantage on

the serve with the angle, and reach - so take two out of three there.

He has to remain focussed. You know Federer is going to do everything to

step it up and intensify the pressure, put some real pressure on

him. He hasn't been able to so far. You can probably rein back the power

a little bit with lesser opponents, but with Federer, you have to go

full out on the serve. If you hit it harder, you have less

time to move forward. You are always making the decisions for a reason.

Any time you play the greats of the game, you don't want to give them

easy points. Make them earn it. It's a hold for Raonic to get moving

in the second set. A swing and a miss from Raonic and a

hold for Federer. A half smile... The court is getting a bit

chewed-up. You will see bad hops more often. You see that come right

off the line. Maybe it held up. He completely whiffed on it. It is

somewhat embarrassing on a second serve to have that happen. That

would be where you take a quick look at the scoreboard and say, I have

actually won the first set against this great champion. Yeah, a

reminder, Roger Federer is a seven-time champion. He is looking

to make his third successive final. He's come up against Djokovic in the

final the last two years. UMPIRE: Time.

SUE BARKER: We are going to leave this match on BBC Two. We will be

heading over to Court 1. If you want to continue watching the first men's

semifinal, that is now over on BBC One. On Court 1 is the first of the

ladies semifinals in the doubles. Before we join the action, we will

show you the draw. At the top, Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova put out

the number-one seeds yesterday. Also through are the Williams sisters,

unseeded because they have a low ranking.

First up it is Babos and Shvedova up against Raquel Atawo and Abigail

Spears, both from the United States. And they have a break-point. They

have just lost a break-point, as we join. It is 5-4 for the fifth seeds

and it is deuce. Let's join our commentators.

This one is really warming up now. Babos and Shvedova have had

set-point. A couple of points away from taking the set. Once again,

just the one. It's been a terrific game, this particular one. Second

set-point. They have saved two break-points.

Timea Babos on serve with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, against the

Americans. So, Babos and Shvedova coming back

from 4-1 down and they have won five games in a row. Babos on the right,

Yaroslava Shvedova had a terrific singles here, got to the

quarterfinals, beat the number-17 seed and lost to Venus, but they

have got their act together after a difficult start. They are taking on

Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears. Here are the stats from the opening

set. The stats in doubles nowhere near as important as in singles. No,

we look at that break-points won - three of three Babos and Shvedova. A

handful of points in it. Service returns in from Atawo and Spears,

three out of four, that is a terrific number. Babos and her

partner, though, they have had more looks at second serves, which is

such a crucial step when you come to doubles because you can be so much

more effective off a second serve. UMPIRE: Time.

Shvedova is still going in the mixed. She is having a terrific

tournament. She's in the semifinal and they play tomorrow.

Looking a lot more relaxed now than what they were half an hour ago.

UMPIRE: Second set, Miss spears to serve.

It is Abigail Spears who will begin serving in this second set.

Immense power on both Babos and Shvedova. And that power is exactly

what won that point, Simon, by the time Atawo gets up from the

crouching position, she doesn't have time to be ready because the ball is

upon her. She hopes she's closing in on her

first Grand Slam final. Spears broken last time she served,

held serve a couple of times earlier on when all the others were being

broken regularly. Now she is under threat.

Not enough on this first serve from Spears, just right in the hitting

zone. Timea Babos didn't make a move to the middle. She had just served a

double fault so she wanted to make sure she got the first serve in.

Good art. Missed one early on. That was much better from Atawo. Still a

couple of break points to save though.

Seemed to have her weight on her back foot. That is exactly what

happened. She was moving back. Atawo really looked uncomfortable.

Normally when a ball comes a bit slow to you when you are at the net

or anywhere in fact, you have to move towards the ball. That is six

names in a row now for Babos and Shvedova. It is Babos now

No! Just missed it. She was right on top of the net, too. Too many

mistakes now I'm afraid from Atawo and Spears. At the moment, Babos and

Shvedova running away with this. How about that forehand skills! To

Maia Babos. Good hands from Babos. She stood her ground. Managed to

find enough room on that forehand volley. She got the ball into the

open court. So the lead lengthens and the task becomes even more

severe for the Americans. They have got to stop this right here. Michael

Atawo married late last year 's, Toby on the left. She is serving

now. Oh no. Even the shot you would

normally make, when this momentum starts happening in a match, the

shots you normally make, you just don't make. That was an easy

overhead. Ears. In trouble here. -- that was an easy overhead for

Spears. Nothing is going right for them. That is a sign that you are

hoping that the ball goes out rather than committing to making the bully.

-- the volley. They have lost the last eight points.

Huge return. It seems at the moment unstoppable. We talk about momentum

and these girls have got it in this match after being down 4-1. 4-1

sounds worse than what it was really because it was just one break of

serve but since they held firm- two there is the last run of points. The

last 40 points, Babos and Shvedova have won 27 of them. That is what

momentum does. They have just completely taken this match by the

scruff. Big hitting, big serving, really putting pressure on those two

ladies, there, too that up something special. They have been together as

partners for ten years. They want 13 doubles titles together, Atawo and

Spears. Hopefully the teamwork will get the backing this match but at

the moment it is an awesome concoction of power and placement

from Babos and Shvedova. Well done. Tricky one, because it

was a mis-hit. They are always slightly more difficult to deal

with. It gets up pretty high on Atawo here. Just doesn't give

herself enough room to hit the shot. She didn't make the necessary

adjustments. Having a long look at the umpire but

no challenge. Second double fault. It's all in the timing when you

cross. If you leave it to an early then you leave the line open and you

believe too late you leave the line open. Shvedova tired it perfectly.

She waited until Atawo was committed and the King at the ball rather than

looking down the court and then she goes. -- and looking at the ball

rather than looking down the court and then she goes. That is a big

serve. She has been serving others that haven't gone in at a mph. She

is one of the fastest servers in the world.

Really it was formidable. Obviously the serve was effective because it

was 118 miles per hour but it was also effective because it was right

at the body of Atawo. Completely handcuffing her.

Eventually the server gets what she wants. That was good. There's a

challenge here. But I think this ball dropped in. Yes. It certainly

looks like it. Things aren't even going well. Even

the brakes have gone against them. It was an ambitious shot. She has

been making so much, has Babos. Very well placed lob. She gets into

trouble though, Spears with that second serve. It doesn't have

anything on it. She has no racket head speed so she finds it hard to

create pace. It was only 70 miles per hour. For someone who can return

like Shvedova that is a problem. Just about the best rally. We are

really appreciated here. Obviously other attractions going on at the

moment on Centre Court but as you can see it is pretty full here.

At last! A run of nine successive games comes to an end.

Is that the start of something? I sense not. What are your thoughts? I

think they have dug themselves a bit of a horrible really. They had this

match 4- boarded the first set. They were doing the basics well. They

were executed. The opponents were missing a bit but once that

execution of getting to the net before their opponents, but once

that kind of dropped down a little bit Shvedova and Babos seemed to get

the feeling of being able to hit big from the baseline and really put

pressure on them. That is when the match started to change and the

girls have just grown in confidence since then. Babos has got to a Grand

Slam final before. She got to the final Wimbledon a couple of years

ago with Christine addenda pitch. Shvedova has twice won Wimbledon

with her partner King. Shvedova will serve now. She Shvedova has three

other grand slam finals to her credit. There could well be a couple

more by the weekend. They let them back in it. Again,

Babos and Shvedova quick to take advantage. The crowd loved the

variety of doubles. The short rallies, the logs, the huge ground

strokes. That point had lots of elements to enjoy. I can't believe

I'm saying this, women's doubles is sometimes a lot more attractive than

Men's Doubles. I can't believe I'm saying it. Why can't you believe you

are saying it? I don't know. We will leave it there. We will.

Just out. So often, Men's Doubles can be this, bang, wallop. This is

more like chess playing. There are more exchanges at the net. It is not

just all about the serve and the return.

You just knew that there wasn't going to come back. The poor girl

almost got it in the belly button. She didn't want to volley it then

thought for a moment and thought no, this is better. They breed the ball

girls and boys half at this championship. Roars of approval.

Babos and Shvedova head towards the final, it seems.

They are now just one game away. One of the reasons why the crowd loves

double so much is because most people who come and watch tennis

played doubles at their local club and they can see the tactics, the

court positioning, where people are standing to receive, where the net

person is, are they getting involved in the play? The first serve

percentage is, all of those things that are great to come and watch.

That is why they enjoyed double so much.

Serving to stay in the match is Atawo now.

Look at that. That tells eight hail. -- that tells a tale.

Just being put under so much pressure, Spears and Atawo on their

server. That is why that double fault comes. You know it is not good

enough to just get a three quarters serve in in the middle of the courts

are you just press for a little bit more because you know that is not

good enough. Smile all over her face. She is

hoping nobody noticed! Club players take part! -- take heart! She can

afford a smile. Now it is match point. This for a place in the

final. Really good serve. A fine put away.

They are still involved. I don't think it is going to change

anything because Babos and Shvedova, who have been untroubled virtually

on serve, after the first two service games. Yes, you get the

feeling that delaying the inevitable is happening now. Atawo doing a good

job there. She was match point down and she got a reasonable first serve

in an shred about missing the return. They haven't missed. -- and

Shvedova missing the return. Those two ladies on screen are too big of

the ground, their service had been too heavy, too much power. A lot

fewer unforced errors because there are so many forced errors in doubles

but only two unfinished errors from Babos and Shvedova in the match.

After one hour and 12 minutes it will be Timea Babos to try and serve

this out. What a short! -- what a shots! She

got nowhere near to this! She didn't think she was in such a bad shape

even though she had been pulled from the return but that is all the

required space that Babos needed. Timea Babos getting louder and

louder as she nears her goal. Just catching the back of the line.

Match point number two. They've got it! What 18! -- what a

team! They are in the Wimbledon final.

Great exhibition of modern-day doubles. Sharpness, power,

confidence, it was all there. Apart from the first five games it took

them a while to get going, Abbas and Shvedova, but once they got going

they were unstoppable. -- Babos and Shvedova. They won 11 of the last 13

games to win it. They are pretty happy with that,

getting to the final, and it bodes well to the final because down the

other end of the court, or down the other end of the draw we have the

Williams sisters against judges and Pliskova. -- Goerges and Pliskova. A

super performance. Babos and Shvedova into the Wimbledon final.

That second semifinal will be next on Court Number One. Just to tell

you over on Centre Court, the first of the men's semifinals is underway.

Milos Raonic has won the first set. They are locked in battle in a

second set tie-break. Roger Federer has already had four set points when

Milos Raonic was serving at 5-4. Tension on Centre Court. You can see

this on BBC One. Later on BBC One we will see this man, Andy Murray, he

will be competing for his 11th grand slam final today. He is up against

Tomas Berdych. That is Andy Murray against Tomas Berdych, the second

semifinal on Centre Court today. Before we rejoin Court Number One

for the second of the ladies's doubles semifinals for the last ten

years Wimbledon has hosted wheelchair doubles and their success

has resulted in singles event introduced for the first time here.

We were beginning to Leave be bringing you the finals on Saturday.

Gordon Reid won the Australian Open singles title before becoming

runner-up at the French Open last month. Today he faces the second

seed in the semifinals. We join the match in the tie-break. It is to

deal with Gordon serving. -- it is too two with Gordon serving.

Let us not lose sight for the fact that this is a huge match for both

of these players, to get to the final at the Wimbledon tournament. I

can't tell you how much this means to them.

He has Mr. -- he has missed it. Gerad is in the world and. These

routine shots are going long. His mind is contaminated with thoughts

of perhaps what might have been. He served for the opening set 5-3 and

again at 6-5, denied by Gordon Reid who played some spiriting tennis.

Read it is three points away from this opening set. I think if Gordon

can pinch one of Gerard's serves he is going to be sat in a really nice

position. I'm lucky. He tried to do a fading

forehand from the return of serve that would go over the net but it

didn't quite work, he hit the tape. Nerves

Unlucky, Gordon. Good push. A terrific early return from Joachim

Gerard. He took the backhand so early. So dangerous off that side.

That is his strength. Gordon Reid goes that way naturally with his

serve towards the backhand of the second seed. And again, two terrific

and timely returns from this man put him in the ascendancy now. Gordon

got his first serves in. But they weren't far enough away or out of

Gerard's comfort zone. Two service holds away from the opening set.

I think Gordon thought that was his shot on the baseline was long so

didn't push for the other shot. Two set point opportunities for Joachim

Gerard, the second seed here. Just wide again. So, he has a third

set-point opportunity but now on the serve of the British number one.

Brilliant from Gordon Reid. The kick-off the chalk there. Precisely

what Gordon wanted. A good lefty serve out wide. Right in that corner

and it just slid straight off, didn't give Gerard a chance to get

under that. A classical lefty swinger. Points won on the second

serve - Reid in the ascendancy on that statistic, so the crowd really

are intrigued out here in this nailbiting opening set. 6-6 in the

first set tie-break. What is going to unfold next? Gordon Reid with a

second serving point here. He's had three set-points against him.

He's missed it. Spills wide and, to the crowd's delight, Gordon Reid has

a set-point of his own. Can he get across the line in this

opening set? What a telling backhand from Joachim

Gerard. High drama unfolding on Court 17. Gordon's supporters are

all crossing their fiengers. Gerard with a chance to move up one point.

A terrific length of serve. Did he think that was long? Have they

called it? No. OK. 8-7 to Gerard. Fourth set-point opportunity then

for Gerard. Let's check out this serve. Pretty much on the line, I

think. Yeah. Just spilling long. Marginally

missing again, Joachim Gerard. So four set-points have come and gone.

Deadlock in this set once again. 8-8, remarkably. Can't take your

eyes off this one. That cry suggesting Gerard was under

a lot of pressure. Second set-point opportunity for Britain's finest.

Fine tennis. Absolutely talented. The slices backwards and forwards.

It is so difficult to pick those out and Gordon applies a bit more

pressure to Gerard there. So, he needs to break one of these serves

to nick this first set. He struck it well but it spilt over

the baseline. He tried. He attacked it. He came inside the baseline to

attack the serve. Better to do that at 9-8 up instead of 9-9. I think it

is going to be whoever favours the brave, whoever's got the bottle to

attack rather than to sit back and play defensive. You have to be

proactive at this stage, no doubt about it. As they change ends, a

slurp of water, 9-9 in this opening tie-break. Yeah, the top coaches

there, giving Gordon support there. In keeping with the rest of the set,

he misses by the narrowest of margins. Third set-point opportunity

for Gordon Reid now. You have to say, Gordon was moving in that

direction, he should have gone down the line. It gives Gordon the chance

now - he's got two serves to get one point.

He's got it! A roar from Gordon Reid! World ranked fourth. They have

been out there on court for 53 minutes and he snatches the opening

set 11-9. SUE BARKER: What a marathon

tie-break. Here he is at match-point, 5-4 in the second.

And that is it. So Gordon Reid goes through 7-6, 6-4, this a repeat of

the Australian Open final. He is through. Well done to Gordon Reid on

Court 17 today. Everyone out on the Hill, they are watching the action

unfold on the big-screen, the first of the semifinals on court, Federer

against Raonic. Coming up next, we will hear some more of this.

Come on, Andy. Come on, Andy. Come on, Andy. Come on, Andy. Come on,

Andy. Come on, Andy! Come on, Andy! And here he is on court to face

Tomas Berdych later this afternoon. At the moment, locked in battle on

Centre, Raonic and Federer, one-set-all and Federer was 0-30 on

his serve, but he's come back to 30-30. That is live on BBC One.

We are heading to Court 1 and a few moments ago, the Williams sisters

walked on to court, Serena and Venus, they are playing Julia

Goerges and Karolina Pliskova. They are looking very relaxed and happy.

Serena will be on court for the final, Venus didn't make it through.

It is not the all Williams final they wanted. She was outplayed by

Angelique Kerber yesterday. A family affair today. They are a formidable

doubles team. Here they come. That was a short time ago. The

winners of this match will play Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova.

Here we go. Let's join our commentators, Tracy Austin and Mark

Petchey. Serena and Venus in pretty familiar

territory right now. A stunning doubles partnership over the years.

Stunning singles players as well. Tributes and the triumphs keep

coming for the Williams sisters. Won doubles here five times.

UMPIRE: Time. Lost in the semifinals of the

singles yesterday, but a terrific run through. 21 doubles titles. The

world ranking means nothing. She was 250 places better than that at one

stage. They have been outstanding when they have stepped on to court

together. They have been pretty outstanding when they have been on

the court solo as well. So it is going to be potentially a tough

encounter and tough to overcome for Pliskova and Goerges. Delighted to

say that it won't be me analysing this, it will be Tracy Austin who

has been studying both of these partnerships this year in-depth.

That is what she told me earlier! You had an Indian Wells vision as

well? Absolutely. Goerges and Pliskova got to the final of Indian

Wells. A formidable team. Pliskova prefers to stay at the baseline and

blast balls. This duo... 13 major doubles titles together.

UMPIRE: First set, Miss Venus Williams to serve. It will be the

elder of the two Williams to begin this semifinal, the second of the

day. Not put off by the fact she missed

the first one, she got frame on the second one, but still trying to help

her sister out there. Venus always serves first for the pair and Serena

has the bigger serve and I think Venus the better volleys. Venus up

at the net is a real powerhouse, she has longer range as well.

That being said, they have won so many titles together, they've got it

down. That was an effective volley from

Serena. That was a powerful shot from Goerges. I think she saw a

friend of hers in the crowd! She said, the lob was a little short,

I'm out of here! This is probably coming at me!

A scratchy first game for the Williams sisters.

They have come unstuck early on. Just a 68mph second serve from Venus

and Goerges is going to power that into the corner. Goerges has

powerful ground strokes, really solid returns. One thing about

Goerges is, she does take big swings and so the Williams sisters, if they

could get that first serve in, a high percentage, they can test

Goerges with her timing. UMPIRE: Miss Karolina Pliskova to

serve. Terrific move from Venus. Really

setting the tone. So important to do that early in a match. Keep your

opponents guessing. Pliskova at 6ft 1in, a nice angle

down into the court. She hits that serve beautifully in singles as

well. Just checking with Venus, Serena,

whether she should challenge that one. It felt good off the strings.

Too good from Venus. Lovely play. A couple of dipping shots, then

followed it in knowing the ball was going to be lifted back at her. Very

smart play, up the middle. Serena scooting over towards the middle as

well. That's the range I'm talking about -

6ft 1in, a long arm. Crossed at just the right moment, just before

Pliskova was about to strike the ball. Couldn't change her swing

path. Not that easy to get a great angle

from that position on the court. That was pretty special and Venus

was not expecting it. One eye on the singles for Serena at

the moment, do you think? I don't think right now. I think right now

she is stuck into this match. They really pride themselves on doing

well in the majors, when they do enter.

Goerges could not back up quick enough there. You kind of know that

the Williams will go right after you.

A little too early from Venus. Pliskova able to hold it a fraction

of a second longer. Pliskova has a really nice service

motion, very fluid. Particularly reaches up, extends up beautifully.

These two played just a couple of events together last year. Got to

the quarters of Beijing. Decided to play on a more frequent basis this

year. Three aces and still having to work

very hard at this game. I-formation shows a tremendous

amount of respect for the returner, particularly so early on in the

match. Didn't really need to try and go for

that shot from that position. She had the angles and even though she

was wide there, Venus and Serena were doing more of the defending,

trying to defend the angles on the court. A bit of a hit and hope from

Pliskova. I feel like she is thinking about Venus at the net,

though. So that first point where Venus poached, that is really making

an impact. Good ball recognition from Goerges,

recognising her partner had got extra on it and it was very low.

So important to pick when to make that poach.

Just too much firepower. UMPIRE: Advantage, Miss Williams.

If you can hit that hard at the net, your opponent won't be able to

control it. It is all about cumulative pressure.

Serena trying to salvage the situation. Just coming up a little

short. This will be a big hold, even though it is early on in the match,

for Pliskova. A little upright on the volley

rather than being down living with it. That was juicy.

UMPIRE: Miss Goerges is challenging the call on the right far side line.

The ball was called out. Second service.

Venus left too early again. Right intent. Maybe she's feeling the need

to leave a little early because Pliskova hits so flat and linear.

That flick at the back as well. It is early preparation with a little

flick. It is tough to read where she is going to go. Doesn't give you a

lot of clues. Too tough for Pliskova to react.

That was always going to be a tough poach for Goerges because Venus was

inside the baseline. Even less time for Goerges to react.

Ten-and-a-half minutes for this game and Pliskova's got one of the best

serves in the world. She's already served three aces. The most aces on

tour last year. That is brilliant from Venus! Great

recovery from Venus because there was an awkward bounce there. Got the

ball deep enough and then, at the net, kept pushing forward with her

legs. Look how she clogs that middle. Great court coverage.

Another ace to add to the collection. They have served 20 as a

team in the tournament. Serena and Venus up there with 31 through to

this stage. A lot of discussion. They have tried I-formation on Venus

and Serena. Some games are bigger than others.

Even at this early stage, it's a good hold for Pliskova and Goerges.

That will give them a bit of confidence. There won't be too many

chances to break the Williams' serve throughout the course of this match.

Hanging on to their own is a priority.

It looked like Serena was going to serve and volley there. Rarely you

see Serena with a double fault. She's got such a safe serve.

Just a little deep in the service box, Pliskova.

at the same time,... Patrick is the coach of Serena and to the right is

David, the coach of the nurse. -- of Venus. I am surprised that

Pliskova's coach hasn't told her that. You see her hanging around a

foot or two in the service line, even after a third or fourth shot.

It is too easy for her opponents to get down at her feet.

She has loose hands and risks doesn't cheat, Goerges, really loose

wrist at the back and elastic on the backhand when she serves. It is

threatening and dangerous but it can also be a little wild at times as

well. It demands better timing to get

everything organised, to get the hit point correctly.

Exploiting the space and angle there, Serena, efficiently. That was

my point about Serena serving first. A handy service game from Serena,

mixing her serves up beautifully and then the second shot as well and

then the third with the winner. The second shot in doubles is so key to

have different variation, keep your opponents always guessing where you

can go. It would be interesting to get their thought process on the

serving first because I think you are spot on with your analysis of it

and the reasons why it should be the other way round. It might just be

because she is the big sister? I'm not joking! She said she takes that

role very seriously. These two are so close. They are lucky that they

have had each other through this journey. Not only to practice with,

bounce ideas off of, just the tour can be so lonely and they have a

friend there. You can see it is pretty much packed

Court Number One here. Traditionally named as men's semifinal day but

caught one is still buzzing. The positive for the Williams

sisters at the moment is they know that they're standing could elevate

quite drastically from here. That is an interception where she

was moving laterally. When you go to poach you need to move at an angle

towards the net strap. That ball got to load and Pliskova made it

difficult for herself. We talked about how loose the wrist

is for Goerges, that is why you have seen she has some amazing results

and she can hit the ball so cleanly but if she goes off a bit the ball

can start to fly. Because the swings are so big it

kind of becomes a bit complicated. She strikes me as a real confidence

player when she is peeling it, the way that her technique is, it can be

awesome and destructive and can beat the elite of the game that she can

also have periods of the year when with that kind of tennis, not that

she can lose to just anyone but she can certainly have a sustained down

period. You can see that she has had a view injury problems as well,

taped up across the shoulders there. That is what I'm talking about. You

can't read it. It is like a catapult of the string the strings and right

back. No chance for Bean is to collect this. -- no chance for Venus

to collect this. Such a good second serve there. It

wasn't hard but it was a body serve. Pliskova over 6-foot tall and you

couldn't get her long arms out of the way.

It is interesting Goerges stays back when Venus hits the first served. It

takes a bit of pressure off when her opponent has to be so precise.

Yes! Goerges making the final mistake when she actually thought

she was on the attack against Serena but then she found herself on the

back foot rapidly. So important when you hit that shot to keep it as low

as possible to the tape from Goerges's perspective because the

opponent can suddenly knock it back to your feet and your digging it

out. Venus and Serena had not played a Major since 2014 at the US Open

and I think a lot of that is due to the fact that the nurse announced in

2011 that she had a syndrome, an energy sapping virus. In that US

Open Venus lost in the third round of the US Open. They had a long

doubles match the night before. I think they hadn't had that long

doubles match she would have got through and she would have had a

good draw to go deeper. I think since that moment they have realised

that the singles was enough. 36 years old, I think it took a little

bit extra out of a bean fortnight as well. Yesterday, losing in her match

to curb. Just half a step slow. Venus and Serena won their first

Wimbledon doubles titles back in 2000. The last Grand Slam title also

came here at Wimbledon in 2012. That is good doubles right there.

Terrific return from Venus. Follows it into the net. Goerges

interception. She tries to get it download but the nurse pushes

forward and get that up high enough to make it an effective volley. A

little opening here for the Williams sisters.

There was a bit of space down the line had Venus been able to see out

of her peripheral vision as figures drifted into the centre of the crowd

but it ends up being a good move by the German.

Under pressure once again on serve, Pliskova.

This time unable to get herself out of the trouble. Great length from

Venus on that backhand. Having to push Pliskova back. Able to do it,

Venus. You want to get that depth and good velocity. So that your

opponents can't hit such a positive shot annual net man can help you

out. That is the formation Goerges and

Pliskova like. Goerges at the net and Pliskova at the baseline.

A bit of a breeze around Wimbledon today but you don't really know it

from Serena's serve, the ball toss and everything else is so immaculate

and well-balanced. 118 en masse serve. -- on that serve. She is a

mixing up the serve, she has gone out wide, some down the tea.

A good pick-up. Goerges doing a fine job. Just getting the sense there

that Williams and Williams are about to start dominating that semifinal

but Goerges and Pliskova are trying to keep them at bay.

Terrific return from Goerges. A backhand return is so solid.

Very unusual to see Serena make a mistake like that. Particularly when

you hit a it might just be a feeble return.

Game points came and went for the Williams sisters and Goerges and

Pliskova are up a break again in this opening set. SUE BARKER: Andy

Murray will be on later this afternoon to take on Tomas Berdych.

It is always fall for Andy Murray's matches. At the moment they are

watching Roger Federer against Milos Raonic and a few moments ago Roger

Federer had set points to take a two sets to one lead. That is the way to

do it. Two sets - one, the seven time champion just one set away from

the final. That was a short time ago and at the moment it is on serve,

Raonic leading to games to one. That match is live over on BBC One if you

want to watch it. Here on BBC Two we are heading back to Court 1.

Goerges, who looked good in her opening service game will hope to

put some breathing space in this opening set. The pendulum is

swinging one way or the other. She will be glad she missed that first

serve! She had tripled the pace coming back at her!

I think Serena's Fury is that herself. They did a great job of

getting the break in breaking Pliskova and then with Serena's

serve coming up the think they have the momentum now but that service

bake against Serena coming -- we didn't see that service break

against Serena coming. The problem with the way that Goerges produces

the shots is if you get had deep on the baseline it is tougher higher to

fashion any type of defensive play, especially with the way that Venus

hits them flat and low. It is a problem shot for Goerges. It would

be OK if she could improvise. Williams has really up to the

anti-hit with her returning. Seem to have that ability to pick it up a

notch when they need to. Too big a swing. It didn't need to

be that aggressive. There was plenty of space in the forecourt, a

crosscourt volley would have done the job there. Even down the line in

the alley. I thought Pliskova was going to put

that away because Serena had given her too much of a site of that peril

but a little error strewn at the moment and this time it is the

Williams's sisters who take advantage. Everybody has been broken

once. Not the sort of symmetry that everybody wants in a doubles match

but we are all square at 4-4. Venus loses a lot of pace between

her first and second serve. Sometimes she is leaning backwards

as she hits that second serve, which is going to transfer that weight

forward. Goerges having too much time there,

a 66 mile per hour serve, having to create her own pace and a little

wild. Great hands! So strong. On the net

as well, making the volley as easy as possible, in stark contrast to

how Pliskova positions herself. Venus will be mad at herself. That

was a rally ball. She is not going to feel a lot of pressure from

Pliskova there to poach. Great serve. That is where Mayor's

not only has that slice on the service but she takes a level and

moves away. Great move! Great move from Serena.

Fully committed and timed to perfection. It wasn't even the

traditional way to volley, the swing volley, which makes it even more

impressive. That is difficult to time.

It's interesting to have seen their progress in doubles and there is

improvement in the positioning, the Williams sisters, playing back in

1997 in Indian Wells. They have played off and on through the years,

13 Majors together, three Olympic gold medals as well. In my opinion

the reason why they are playing doubles now, they started in Rome

where they lost in the first wound and in the French Open where they

lost in the third round and here they have got to the semifinals,

they have got better any to be tournaments, I think they are

playing because of Rio and they want that fourth gold medal.

Unquestionably when you look at the four players on court as individuals

on the single court Serena's achievements overshadowed and

clearly there is a bit of a talent gap out here but it is a little less

in doubles than it is on a singles court. They are not going to the eye

formation here. She is going to do something to help her partner out

here, Goerges. This just makes the return think a little extra. Where

do I send this return? Which way is Goerges going to move?

It looks like a terrible mess but there are a couple of factors here.

Scoreboard pressure and the way that Serena has been moving at the net

consistently puts a little doubt into Pliskova and so easy just to

look at the person at the net and what they are going to do and forget

about the actual shot they are hitting.

I think the most demanding return and the most difficult return is

that of backhand from the juice side. It is just so unnatural to

have to make that much angle. -- deuce side. It is just so unnatural

to have to make that much angle from the backhand wing.

She left early and Venus saw it. She just pulled up on that backhand.

Venus very alert, seeing Serena's return so deep.

An acute angle out wide to the she delivers. Exceptionally well. A good

hold under pressure. A little extra on that one from

Serena. Just think about what Pliskova is facing there, Serena's

serve, Venus at the net, and you have to be so precise in such a

small space. And then you return like that

because you put the same amount of effort into that serve the didn't

get quite the same accuracy. No lack of desire on the part of the

Williams sisters here. A terrific second serve. She has

really ramped up the audio for us. We know the effort is coming and

that was a net skimmer. Goerges had no chance.

Clever serving from Serena. It is not always just about blistering

pace. I loved that last serve because Goerges has really been

reading the hard service and locking them back with interest so the

kick-serve can be so effective as the change-up. It is one of the big

things. You talk about hitting your serve with pace but it is that

accuracy that is so crucial in getting it, as you say, most players

can return at a hundred 20 in your hit zone but out of it, it is a very

thing. The left foot. Her belly button is

already facing the net. So she loses a little pace. In my opinion. Serena

comes up to match it. The right foot comes up to match it and she is much

more side on and then she decides to come through together like a

throwing motion and really jumps out into the court. Is it nature or

nurture? I have come from the same family, from very, very similar

coaching setup, in fact, identical, and yet, two very different serving

motions. That right foot crossing over the left foot, when Venus

strikes the ball, she is a face on already. That is why she's not quite

as accurate. Pliskova was not hang around at the

net after that first volley. She just did not get a clean strike on

it. It was a point they really should've won and suddenly, finding

themselves all sorts of trouble. Places that are beautifully. --

places that beautifully. Pliskova does not hit her volleys with as

much conviction as the other three. Given the circumstances, that was a

terrific volley. She did not have a lot of room for error. Right.

That is too good from Goerges. What angles.

Serena, just split the two Williams sisters.

It was a very, very neat shot from Goerges. She almost squeezed down

the line but Serena, at the last second, managed to reach at an

extremity to get that one. Athleticism at its finest.

I love that mentality from Serena. Take that second serve and move

forward. Not only is it hard to control, but Goerges has both the

Williams sisters at net. You can't walk around the place any

better than that. You felt, though, it was going to be the only way to

save the set point, to take the racket out of Venus' hand, and

Goerges has done that. You asked me earlier if Serena is

thinking about the singles final tomorrow. Clearly not. The effort

level outstanding today. 100 miles an hour second ace. A

great service came from Goerges. UMPIRE: Both teams receive one

additional challenge. Certainly not a foregone conclusion we would get

to that stage with the chances on offer but here we are on an opening

set breaker. Clever return. A shot that perhaps

they could use a little bit more of. Maybe they keep me at their sleeve

for a big moment. Serena almost too quick for her own good there, having

to do a double handed forehand volley. Still was affected with it.

-- affective. Goerges is lucky she does not have a

tad too, a lozenge Tartu. -- tad too. -- Tartu.

Serena, gentle apology. By her standards, that was a gentle volley,

as well. That is the benefit of moving as much as Pliskova and

particularly Goerges has come in his opening set, to make Serena think

about doing something she did not really want to do, hitting the lob.

Serena has not served from this side this set.

That is the kicker. It has been in and out of the wheelhouse of

Goerges. The right play from Goerges. Coming

forward. It was the right play from Pliskova, as well, found the double

hander, and, as you were saying, it hard to keep it in the back and as

hard as Serena would like. She got watching was looking for for her

partner. Just could not capitalise on it, and, at this stage, it is

very much just about execution. What a point! The best rally of the

set. And arguably, it is going to define which way the set goes.

The crowd really appreciating the quality of this tennis. Clever lob

from Serena. It's not actually easy to hit as high a lob as she did

going back with the two hands, but she hoisted that almost out of the

stadium. Yes, she is coming up with a little

magic. Quick impulse skills there from Serena. I think it's so smart

to play Pliskova at the net. She hung in there well but that extra

level from Serena... Too good. Excellent point again.

Both partnerships combining so perfectly. Defending sections of the

court when they need to. Trying to hit the most difficult shot in

tennis. Not a lot of strength or control in that situation.

What a serve to set up a phenomenal volley! Serena just said, wow!

Serena said, "What was that thing you are doing in the last point?

That's how you do it" Great service. Oh, yeah, gain

nothing traditional in that volley and there's not been too much

traditional over the years from Venus and Serena, as they trail

blazed their way through women's tennis. Global superstars, and

winners here are five times previously in the doubles. They are

halfway through the semifinal, as well. A lovely set of tennis, 62

minutes. And they save both four ladies, the best till last. Goerges

and Pliskova winning a quarter of their second serve points. Yeah, and

they've done a great job, to be fair, Goerges and Pliskova, of

carving out a number of first serve point returns against Venus and

Serena. They will be delighted with that but will be disappointed at the

54% of second serve points for Venus and Serena have been so high. Had

they chiselled into that as well, they may have had a few more

chances. The Williams' sisters have had seven break points. That key

militant thing will trade opportunities. That key militant. I

think, in particular, Serena could increase her level. Just find

another gear when she wanted it most. Their athleticism just

covering the middle. Just slightly better in terms of their movement.

They are a little bit more intimidating, imposing at the net,

particularly Pliskova. Pliskova is not happy moving forward to the

volley. Having to use her legs more. Be more aggressive minded.

UMPIRE: Miss Goerges to serve. That is, I think, really solid shot.

Goerges and Pliskova last in the final at Indian Wells. Their

American opponents really went for Pliskova at the net. That ruined her

confidence. There is a classic case, maybe we'll

a chance to look at it again, where Pliskova's movement is in reverse,

rather than helping her partner out. You can see the space is there for

her, stepping away, there is a little angle on.

Terrific placement. So much about doubles is visual. In other words,

you are standing closer to the middle, so you really feel there's

less space to hit into. Slower serve there. Venus hit too

early. UMPIRE: Miss Williams is challenging

the ball. Given the amount of break points had

to save in the first set, it was important for them to get traction

early in the second otherwise they could have been steam-rolled by the

Williams' juggernaut in the second, but they are up and running. It's

one of those sort of difficult matches, where parts of it have been

in their hands. Yes, there is positional play Pliskova should've

been doing better before she stepped on court today, but a lot of it is

out of their hands, because of the power and the position of these two,

as well. Serena are electing to stay at the same end.

So, it's a start to the match, dominance, Venus has, not start of

the set. That's right. Just a little bit of a breeze today. I think it's

important that they serve on the same ends and get used to it.

The Williams' sisters have beaten three seeds on the way surprisingly.

13 majors and they are unseeded because they don't play doubles very

often. Any concerns for Acrobat heading

into tomorrow? Just one title in Rome for her. She has not been

having a tendency to pay that money tournaments -- for Serena. It's just

one title where she's walked away and defeated this year. --

undefeated. Too far back to poach. Serena, this

is only her sixth event of the year and, after losing at the US Open

semifinal last year, she shut it down for the whole fall. 34.5. She

is really trying to manage her schedule. You expect so much from

Serena. She, Timmy, looks better and better with each match she has

played in singles. -- to me. Goerges did not do enough with that ball.

Small margins here, as we saw in the first set.

That Miss was caused by Goerges moving. Destruction. -- distraction.

Serena wandering out wide. It found its way down the tea there. Nowhere