Day 11, Part 1

:00:48. > :00:56.The semifinals, the business end. But if you stop and look around,

:00:57. > :01:04.take all of this in, it will be too late. The nerves inside you, you

:01:05. > :01:11.tense up, you cannot perform. The top guys just live it, perfect blend

:01:12. > :01:20.of skill and instinct. Cilic is in the Wimbledon semifinals! And

:01:21. > :01:24.sometimes a little bit of luck. Trust me, when you are at the top of

:01:25. > :01:28.your game, you can almost see the point before it happens. What a

:01:29. > :01:36.great athlete he is. He has done eight! But don't rest on your

:01:37. > :01:41.laurels. You can't get carried away. Sam Querrey, a piece of tennis

:01:42. > :01:45.history for him. Certainly don't underestimate your opponent, whoever

:01:46. > :01:51.you are. He's simply one of the best of all time. There are four guys

:01:52. > :01:56.left, they have got this far, they are in form, they are living in the

:01:57. > :02:05.moment, and if they stop and look around and think about the final, it

:02:06. > :02:12.will be too late. Wasn't that fascinating? Thank you,

:02:13. > :02:17.Boris, wise words indeed. It is men's semifinals today year at

:02:18. > :02:21.Wimbledon 2017 and in a few hours we will know the final two who will

:02:22. > :02:26.contest Sunday's final. Anticipation and excitement in the act, always a

:02:27. > :02:29.tense day but those who hold their nerve when they line up to serve

:02:30. > :02:34.will be the one to make it through. The championship has had many

:02:35. > :02:39.twists, turns, surprises and jocks. The final four is not the big four

:02:40. > :02:41.we expected but the beauty of grass means even today with one

:02:42. > :02:49.overwhelming favourite to win we should expect the unexpected. So,

:02:50. > :02:52.here is the line-up. Sam Querrey is the big serving American who beat

:02:53. > :02:56.Andy Murray in the quarters. He is much more, though, that an ace

:02:57. > :03:01.machine, he has the shots and games suited for grass. His opponent is

:03:02. > :03:06.the call and Clasie Croat Marin Cilic, he already has a grand slam

:03:07. > :03:12.title on his CV and like his rival he service aces for fun and loves

:03:13. > :03:16.this surface. Roger Federer is arguably the

:03:17. > :03:20.greatest player of all-time, ye have one here seven times, 18 grand slam

:03:21. > :03:27.titles and a win today will see him reach a record 11th Wimbledon final.

:03:28. > :03:31.Not surprisingly, he is the to beat. Facing the Swiss legend is Tomas

:03:32. > :03:35.Berdych, he was runner-up here in 2010 and on the way to that final he

:03:36. > :03:38.beat Padua. He certainly has the armoury but he will need to fire on

:03:39. > :03:47.all cylinders today to stand a chance.

:03:48. > :03:50.Here is the order, first Bond Centre is Querrey versus Cilic and then

:03:51. > :03:55.Federer against Burdick, so sit back and watch the drama unfold with us

:03:56. > :03:59.this afternoon on the BBC. And don't forget you can watch all the matches

:04:00. > :04:03.played today on the red button and the BBC sport website, including

:04:04. > :04:08.mixed doubles, ladies doubles, and the wheelchair and singles --

:04:09. > :04:16.wheelchair singles and doubles, and we would love you to get in touch

:04:17. > :04:26.with us using the hashtag #Wimbledon. Sam Querrey is the first

:04:27. > :04:31.American to reach the males semis in eight years. Marin Cilic is the

:04:32. > :04:35.favourite to win this match. Tomas Berdych was beaten by Rafa Nadal

:04:36. > :04:38.here in the 2010 final, he has been out warming up and a few weeks ago

:04:39. > :04:43.he was here on the court hitting with better in preparation for

:04:44. > :04:46.Wimbledon. Did he learn anything? We shall see -- heating with Roger

:04:47. > :04:55.Federer. There is the man that Berdych has to

:04:56. > :04:58.beat, Federer's last win was perfection, he has not dropped a set

:04:59. > :05:05.here, there are no words to describe how good he is as a tennis player

:05:06. > :05:10.and a sporting icon. And talking of sporting icons I am

:05:11. > :05:14.here with two of them on Centre Court, men's semifinals day, it is a

:05:15. > :05:19.special day. Bringing back the nerves a bit? Little bit, 25 minutes

:05:20. > :05:27.to go, I feel like I am about to play. Especially when we are this

:05:28. > :05:31.close! Don't step on it! I want to start diving now! I would not get up

:05:32. > :05:36.again, though, that is my problem! But that is what it is about, if you

:05:37. > :05:40.get ahead of yourself and think about the final you lose the

:05:41. > :05:47.semifinal. It is about the moment, at four players having the chance.

:05:48. > :05:50.Roger knows what this day is about, 42nd grand slam semifinal! He knows

:05:51. > :05:54.what everything is about in tennis, it is incredible, he seems to be

:05:55. > :05:59.arguably better than he has ever been at this age and in his comfort

:06:00. > :06:07.zone, and these other guys he's playing, they have the proverbial

:06:08. > :06:14.puncher's chants in boxing, they are big, tall, guys, they serve big,

:06:15. > :06:19.dangerous. Emotionally, they can step up to the level they need to

:06:20. > :06:27.win. Tomas Berdych does not have a great record against Roger, he has

:06:28. > :06:29.had some big victories against him, he seems to be contented where he

:06:30. > :06:39.was in the world. Every time they play a tournament where it is 32,

:06:40. > :06:46.16, one guy wins, you have to be good at accepting and moving on.

:06:47. > :06:51.Some of these guys going, how in the world can I get over the hump and

:06:52. > :06:55.win one? You sort of say, except I will be five, ten in the world and

:06:56. > :06:59.these guys are just too good. But here is a chance to turn your whole

:07:00. > :07:05.career, take it up another couple of levels. Marin Cilic is the one guy

:07:06. > :07:08.who has won one but the upside is so much bigger than the downside but to

:07:09. > :07:12.me there should be less pressure on them. 42nd grand slam semifinal

:07:13. > :07:16.bird-watcher, first for Sam Querrey and we saw him yesterday in the

:07:17. > :07:23.ladies semifinals saying it gets to you. Definitely, I felt his grand

:07:24. > :07:28.slam run started last year beating Novak in the third round and

:07:29. > :07:35.reaching his first quarters. Before this tournament started he had a

:07:36. > :07:38.handful of -- we had a handful of players who really impressed and Sam

:07:39. > :07:44.was one of them, a natural, big serve at times and it could be years

:07:45. > :07:49.day. This is the point you said probably changed his career here

:07:50. > :07:52.because this was to go 5-1 in the fifth against Andy Murray. Without

:07:53. > :07:57.question the greatest point he has ever played, the best point of his

:07:58. > :08:04.life because this game was a double break, how good does it feel to see

:08:05. > :08:09.that maybe he still could lose the point, it is a tricky half-volley

:08:10. > :08:14.and you don't see a lot of emotion normally from Sam Querrey so it was

:08:15. > :08:22.nice to see him let it out, all of us in the US have tried... You have

:08:23. > :08:31.somebody in the semifinal! How was Germany doing? Not so good this

:08:32. > :08:34.year! At any rate he got emotionally involved and people respect that, I

:08:35. > :08:38.have said the same thing with Milos Raonic, in order for door fans to

:08:39. > :08:42.get behind you a little bit, they have got to feel that you wanted

:08:43. > :08:46.more than the other guy wants it, and that is the thing that is so

:08:47. > :08:50.amazing with Roger, no matter who he plays, except for maybe Nadal, it

:08:51. > :08:54.seems he wants it more than the other guy. All three of these guys

:08:55. > :08:58.have to show something to the people watching, the people in the stands,

:08:59. > :09:03.and to themselves. They have got to find a gear they have never had

:09:04. > :09:07.before. You predicted it just three days ago, that the Americans would

:09:08. > :09:15.beat the Brits here. You remember that?! I do, it has come true! Venus

:09:16. > :09:19.yesterday, we talk about Roger at 35, she is 37 years of age and what

:09:20. > :09:29.a perfect match yesterday. Beautiful so far, she has had a second coming,

:09:30. > :09:33.her first title, the last one was a few years ago so it would be the

:09:34. > :09:37.longest stretch between titles. She had a few off court issues but she

:09:38. > :09:44.is more motivated than ever. You can see how much she wants it. I have

:09:45. > :09:51.said this many times, the best thing that happened to Venus Williams is

:09:52. > :09:54.Serena Williams, to watch your younger sister go by you and become

:09:55. > :09:59.the greatest of all time, it is ironic but it is nice that the

:10:00. > :10:03.person that has taken advantage of the fact that Serena is not here,

:10:04. > :10:08.because obviously the draw is more wide open when she's not here, is

:10:09. > :10:13.Venus, because she has been in nine finals, she won five, lost three,

:10:14. > :10:22.alter Serena, and Serena is not here. It will be a tough ask but far

:10:23. > :10:24.preferable to playing her sister and you get the feeling because of

:10:25. > :10:29.everything that has happened she will go all the way. You certainly

:10:30. > :10:33.do. What did you make of Jo Konta yesterday? Good performance, her

:10:34. > :10:43.first semifinal, I don't think our last, she had that one chance at

:10:44. > :10:50.15-40, second serve but Venus had a big serve, one or two opportunities

:10:51. > :10:57.in a semifinal final, you don't get many, you have to earn it. Martina

:10:58. > :11:02.was talking about it yesterday, maybe Jo Konta needs to add a bit of

:11:03. > :11:05.variety or height over the net, a bit one-dimensional? I think

:11:06. > :11:11.Muguruza has done that, I think maybe that is why she won the French

:11:12. > :11:15.Open. I absolutely believe that is exactly what she needs to

:11:16. > :11:20.incorporate. Venus Williams is maybe the second greatest grass court

:11:21. > :11:24.player, it is not like she lost to someone she was supposed to beat and

:11:25. > :11:31.I would guess she had a lot of very long, tough matches, stressful

:11:32. > :11:37.matches early in the event, Garcia was close, she had to battle

:11:38. > :11:41.extremely hard against Simona Halep, so considering the effort she put

:11:42. > :11:46.out I would guess she was a little bit empty in the tank. You mention

:11:47. > :11:49.Venus, her younger sister was speaking yesterday and talking about

:11:50. > :11:52.Andy Murray, this is what she had to stay overnight, I think this was on

:11:53. > :11:59.American television, when he was reacting to the first American

:12:00. > :12:02.comedy directed the first American man, and Serena said, there really

:12:03. > :12:07.should not be a female athlete that is not totally supportive of Andy

:12:08. > :12:10.Murray. He has spoken up for women's issues and women's rights,

:12:11. > :12:13.especially in tennis, forever, he does it again. That is who he is,

:12:14. > :12:18.that is one thing that we love about him. He has such a wonderful mother

:12:19. > :12:22.who has been such a strong figure in his life, he has done so much for us

:12:23. > :12:32.on our tour, so we love Andy, we love Andy Murray. And that is from

:12:33. > :12:36.Serena Williams? Well, I have had a lot of this over the last six years

:12:37. > :12:41.from my daughters, you are a feminist, dad? So I have to embrace

:12:42. > :12:48.this. Well said by Serena, that is all I'm going to say! You looked

:12:49. > :12:52.like you meant it! We are going to move on now to Roger

:12:53. > :12:55.Federer because he is back here at Wimbledon for the 19th time, back in

:12:56. > :13:06.familiar surroundings in the semifinals, and he has been talking

:13:07. > :13:11.to Rishi Persad. And he is through to his 12th

:13:12. > :13:16.semifinal here at Wimbledon. He is simply the best of all time.

:13:17. > :13:19.Roger, with your usual sense of occasion, 100th match at Wimbledon,

:13:20. > :13:24.you make it through to the semifinals again. How special is

:13:25. > :13:27.that? Very special, the crowd was unbelievable, they were the best,

:13:28. > :13:30.doing a Mexican wave on Centre Court, you don't see that every

:13:31. > :13:37.match! I thought they were quite into it. Me loss had his chances

:13:38. > :13:41.late in the first set and I had to fend them off and come up with some

:13:42. > :13:45.great shots to stay in it and I was able to somehow make the difference

:13:46. > :13:49.so it was a good one. What are your thoughts on taking on Tomas Berdych

:13:50. > :13:53.in the semifinal, a player you have had lots of battles with, including

:13:54. > :13:59.at Wimbledon? Yes, we have had our fair share of battles but I think we

:14:00. > :14:04.match up quite well. He is a big hitter, I try to fend it off with my

:14:05. > :14:07.slice and make the most of it so I am excited for him that he is in the

:14:08. > :14:10.semis and I look forward to the match. At every Grand Slam event

:14:11. > :14:14.everyone talks about the big four, how do you view the last four

:14:15. > :14:19.players left in the tournament? Obviously I'm a bit surprised

:14:20. > :14:23.because I thought Rafa and Andy had chances to make it to the finals,

:14:24. > :14:29.Rafa lost in an epic match against Gilles Muller, and I'm happy for him

:14:30. > :14:38.that he was able to win a match of that magnitude against such a player

:14:39. > :14:42.but that is how it goes, Andy was carrying an injury and so was Novak,

:14:43. > :14:46.and it is hard, best of five set tennis, the other guys were playing

:14:47. > :14:51.well. These players are good grass court players and we have got some

:14:52. > :14:55.really big hitters in their and I am like the small guy so we will see

:14:56. > :15:02.what is going to happen, but these guys just hit really, really big.

:15:03. > :15:07.Let's look at some statistics here, 70 grand slam, 42 grand slam

:15:08. > :15:13.semifinals, 101st Wimbledon match, 12 Wimbledon semifinal, 16 grass

:15:14. > :15:20.court titles, 10,043 aces! Does it get any better than that?!

:15:21. > :15:24.Absolutely not! Usually the umpire says the previous results when they

:15:25. > :15:28.are warming up but here they went because otherwise... You would be

:15:29. > :15:33.here or not! Your opponent may as well go back to the locker room!

:15:34. > :15:36.Nobody has won more, it is an incredible achievement and for me

:15:37. > :15:40.the most impressive part is that it has been over 14 years so the

:15:41. > :15:45.longevity of Roger Federer, overcoming injuries and younger

:15:46. > :15:48.players who are potentially better, no, he has outlasted them. We talk

:15:49. > :15:55.about the big servers with Berdych and Marin Cilic and Querrey, but

:15:56. > :16:00.this is how Roger was just placing these serves in the first set from

:16:01. > :16:04.one corner to another. Here is a perfect example for Berdych, I would

:16:05. > :16:10.look at this tape and I think early in the match Milos was trying to hit

:16:11. > :16:14.the ball through to put a hole in him, hitting 135, 140, he is

:16:15. > :16:21.blocking it back, I remember Roddick had a few headaches over that. Can

:16:22. > :16:25.Berdych decide to do a bit more serving and volleying? Look at that,

:16:26. > :16:28.that is how close he was going to the lines, no more than two feet

:16:29. > :16:33.from either lying on the deuce court and it is only 9% that he went in

:16:34. > :16:39.the middle, that is precision serving, Boris! There is a reason he

:16:40. > :16:44.is called the best of all time. He not only has the highest first serve

:16:45. > :16:49.percentage, he gets it on the line, it is within the rules, it is

:16:50. > :16:53.allowed! If you are good enough, you can do that. 100% on his first

:16:54. > :16:58.serve, it is a huge weapon and we tend to not talk about it. The big

:16:59. > :17:02.hitters, Milos is one of them, not known for great returns, just

:17:03. > :17:07.because you are six foot five does not mean you will have an incredible

:17:08. > :17:10.server, so all these guys put a lot of time and effort and I think Cilic

:17:11. > :17:18.is the best of the bunch of the remaining who can do more damage of

:17:19. > :17:25.the return of Roger. The fact that you said, what was it, 10,043 aces?

:17:26. > :17:31.He is up there with the all-time greats and we forget about that.

:17:32. > :17:36.Maybe Boris can help me, how does his serve get better and better? He

:17:37. > :17:41.has a great, loose motion, he doesn't use a lot of effort. Didn't

:17:42. > :17:46.he do that when he was younger? It seems better than it has ever been.

:17:47. > :17:53.He has perfected it and I think he has been studying well, the success

:17:54. > :18:01.rate on which corner to serve his team does a lot of homework in

:18:02. > :18:04.studying the game and his serve is the formation of that. If you cannot

:18:05. > :18:09.be broken you are so much looser on the return game, he has two return

:18:10. > :18:15.so much better, to chip, he goes back sometimes but the foundation

:18:16. > :18:20.will always be the serve. Berdych, though, you have to say to yourself,

:18:21. > :18:25.the people around him, look, the guy is about to turn 36, OK? I mean,

:18:26. > :18:30.doesn't he experience one match out of six or seven or possibly more

:18:31. > :18:35.where you just don't feel quite as amazing as you did all the others?

:18:36. > :18:45.No, apparently not! And apparently we have got to mood. If we can just

:18:46. > :18:47.took it one more time, Centre Court! Talking of big servers, Tomas

:18:48. > :18:53.Berdych is one of the big servers and he has been talking to Bill

:18:54. > :18:57.Jones. There is going under the radar in a

:18:58. > :19:03.tournament and then there is doubt, Tomas Berdych style. Here he stand

:19:04. > :19:08.in the semifinals, strangely unnoticed until now. Even when the

:19:09. > :19:11.chance came to show his Wimbledon was, a quarterfinal against

:19:12. > :19:17.three-time champion Novak Djokovic proved a huge anti-climax. Is this

:19:18. > :19:21.it? I think he has defaulted. Hugely disappointed for everyone on Court

:19:22. > :19:26.One but they will understand a 12 time grand slam champion do that

:19:27. > :19:30.lightly. Pretty much from the beginning I felt there is something

:19:31. > :19:35.not really usual in him and then the speed of the ball from him was not

:19:36. > :19:39.coming the way that you are used to but you know that it is Novak and

:19:40. > :19:43.once he decides to go on court you know he will commit to fight. It is

:19:44. > :19:49.not the best way to go through but it is sport, and I take everything.

:19:50. > :19:53.Not the euphoria that typically goes with a big quarterfinal victory but

:19:54. > :19:57.Berdych is at least physically fresh and Roger Federer will ignore the

:19:58. > :20:04.11th seeded champ at his peril. Berdych beat him en route to the

:20:05. > :20:13.final in 2010. Feta is beaten. It is the winner of this young man's

:20:14. > :20:16.career. -- Federer is beaten. But defeat for Federer is the exception

:20:17. > :20:20.rather than the rule against Berdych, he has won 18 of their 24

:20:21. > :20:27.career clashes, including twice this year. I played Roger in the open and

:20:28. > :20:32.then in Miami and are lost, so now let's make the third one and I hope

:20:33. > :20:39.it is going to be a good one and probably the best player right now

:20:40. > :20:42.with the form and the way he's playing, so I think that is the

:20:43. > :20:50.biggest challenge for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

:20:51. > :20:54.I guess the good news in a way for Berdych, he has beaten Federer on

:20:55. > :20:57.this court but the bad news is it was back in 2010. You mentioned the

:20:58. > :21:04.last time they played was this year and they had match point. Berdych

:21:05. > :21:09.can hurt Federer because he does not give him so much time to play.

:21:10. > :21:12.Having said that I watched them out in Australia where Federer just

:21:13. > :21:16.toyed with him so it goes both ways. The beginning is very important for

:21:17. > :21:21.Berdych. He hasn't been in a semifinal in a while so he needs to

:21:22. > :21:27.establish his form and grub incompetence. We were looking at

:21:28. > :21:31.some of the big forehand that he hits, his victory against Dominic

:21:32. > :21:37.Thiem, he has come through against Djokovic, it is a weapon? There is

:21:38. > :21:42.no question he has got some serious muscle and he uses his legs, to me,

:21:43. > :21:47.better than anyone, but you know what Federer will do, he will use a

:21:48. > :21:51.lot of slice, for the big, tall guys, get it down low, so critical

:21:52. > :21:56.for him to handle bats shot. How aggressive will he be? Will he chip

:21:57. > :22:04.it back? Rojer will quickly take the offensive but a key thing is we all

:22:05. > :22:08.know on grass, Berdych, he has a big serve but he has to be pinpoint with

:22:09. > :22:13.his accuracy or he will be in trouble. Two becomes three, Tim has

:22:14. > :22:17.joined us. We were talking about Tomas Berdych, he has got the big

:22:18. > :22:24.weapons, hasn't he? Is he as good as he was a few years back? I don't

:22:25. > :22:28.think he is far off, and for me he is a similar style of match up to a

:22:29. > :22:32.Federer against a and the thing that disappointed me about Raonic in

:22:33. > :22:39.those first two sets, he really never imposed himself, it is not

:22:40. > :22:43.just outmanoeuvring Federer, Raonic had to bully him and I thought he

:22:44. > :22:46.did that well in the third set, he did a good job of hanging in and

:22:47. > :22:51.competing better soap Berdych, I think, has to go out there and try

:22:52. > :22:56.to impose himself, be very aggressive and not let Federer used

:22:57. > :23:00.his array of shots. If he is stepping on his backhand, making

:23:01. > :23:05.Berdych move and change direction, it will probably end up being a

:23:06. > :23:11.short afternoon for Berdych. He hits a lot of flatter, harder ground

:23:12. > :23:15.strokes with Raonic, I was surprised Federer did not try to hit through

:23:16. > :23:20.more, it is safe to assume Berdych will not do that, he will hit hard

:23:21. > :23:23.and flat and it has been debilitating at times but he has to

:23:24. > :23:27.believe, because I don't think he believes as much as he did a few

:23:28. > :23:31.years ago. I think that is the keeper the Berdych game, he has the

:23:32. > :23:36.weapons, he has the power, a strong backhand, but how much does he

:23:37. > :23:40.honestly believe today that he can win? Absolutely, and talking of

:23:41. > :23:46.Roger Federer, he has not dropped a set these championships and did not

:23:47. > :23:50.drop a set winning in Calais either, we are looking about the skies, some

:23:51. > :23:55.clouds overhead, I'll be going to have some sunshine?

:23:56. > :23:59.We will see some sunshine but as we go through the course of today we

:24:00. > :24:03.will see large areas of cloud as we have now, but it should stay dry. In

:24:04. > :24:09.the sunny spells temperature could get up to 22, but in the cloud it is

:24:10. > :24:12.more likely to be 20 and the breeze we currently have also eased down.

:24:13. > :24:17.Into the evening we are looking at dry weather and variable cloud, a

:24:18. > :24:23.bit of early evening sunshine as well, temperatures just slipping at

:24:24. > :24:26.that. Tomorrow's start on a largely dry note, quite a lot of cloud

:24:27. > :24:32.around as well, and between 12pm and 3pm there is the chance of some

:24:33. > :24:36.light rain, 40% chance, but after 3pm that risk diminishes and again

:24:37. > :24:39.it will be fairly cloudy as we end the day with a few sunny spells but

:24:40. > :24:43.one thing you will notice about tomorrow is the temperature will go

:24:44. > :24:48.up a touch and once again it will start to feel quite humid.

:24:49. > :24:52.OK, thank you, Carol, as long as it is dry, the roof is open, we are

:24:53. > :25:01.very happy. Let's turn our attention to the other match and a player that

:25:02. > :25:03.no one has been talking about too much, the big hitting Croat Marin

:25:04. > :25:14.Cilic, he has been talking to Lee McKenzie.

:25:15. > :25:21.Oh, that is fantastic from Cilic! That is a beauty from Marin Cilic.

:25:22. > :25:26.Cilic is in the Wimbledon semifinals!

:25:27. > :25:31.Congratulations, at last a semifinal at Wimbledon, you have had to wait

:25:32. > :25:34.quite a while? Absolutely but it was worth it, it wasn't easy against

:25:35. > :25:39.Gilles Muller, he was serving great, played really well from the back of

:25:40. > :25:43.the court but I would say that the second set changed a little bit the

:25:44. > :25:46.momentum and gave me a bit more confidence from that point on and I

:25:47. > :25:52.felt I was playing really good tennis. You have won a Grand Slam

:25:53. > :25:56.before, does that give you an edge? It gives an edge of my own

:25:57. > :26:00.preparation, everyone is different, everyone is their own individual but

:26:01. > :26:04.in myself I feel that it has helped me to prepare a bit better,

:26:05. > :26:08.especially coming to the stages of the tournament, I'm a little bit

:26:09. > :26:12.more relaxed, I can rely on myself and I know I have the ability to

:26:13. > :26:16.play that well at this stage of the tournament, and I'm feeling very

:26:17. > :26:20.fresh physically and mentally. I believe mentally you have to be

:26:21. > :26:27.really at the top, especially in a tournament like this to exist you'd

:26:28. > :26:34.everything you want to and be ready for those challenges when they

:26:35. > :26:39.arrive. How exciting do you think this Wimbledon championship is, how

:26:40. > :26:43.open? I would not say it is open, especially before the tournament

:26:44. > :26:47.when we all arrived here it was huge, I think a little bit bigger

:26:48. > :26:51.group of players that were able to win, but still we had a few guys

:26:52. > :26:59.that were in great form a graph and fudge it -- Rafa and Roger, always,

:27:00. > :27:02.but it has opened a gap for a few more guys to believe and do know

:27:03. > :27:07.that if they play up to their abilities they could get through the

:27:08. > :27:11.draw. Tim, we haven't really been talking

:27:12. > :27:17.about Cilic but he has a game that is built for grass? Absolutely, we

:27:18. > :27:22.saw it at Queen's, match point in the final against Lopez, and when he

:27:23. > :27:27.plays tennis on his terms with his size, his reach and his power, he

:27:28. > :27:33.can cause problems. We saw it at the US Open a few years ago when he beat

:27:34. > :27:37.Federer in the semifinals in straight sets, that is the type of

:27:38. > :27:39.player he has got to be, on the front foot, looking to dictate, if

:27:40. > :27:45.he is defending too much then it will be much harder for him. Also,

:27:46. > :27:50.as far as Bullough goes, in his match, it went to five sets with

:27:51. > :27:56.that one -- as far as Gilles Muller goes, he only lost four points from

:27:57. > :28:00.his first serve insects two, three and five. First of all I have to say

:28:01. > :28:03.that Gilles Muller did a fantastic job getting as close as he did after

:28:04. > :28:07.the effort you put through against Nadal because I don't think anyone

:28:08. > :28:13.ever wins after they beat Nadal here, but Cilic, these guys are poor

:28:14. > :28:17.man, you say his game is perfect for grass... But so far he has not

:28:18. > :28:21.proven himself here, though he does have the game for grass. He has been

:28:22. > :28:26.in the quarters a few times, he had match point on Federer last year.

:28:27. > :28:32.You say after the four, who could win this? I would say give this guy,

:28:33. > :28:35.because he won the open, was Cilic, sixth is Raonic, and you are pretty

:28:36. > :28:39.hard pressed to come up with someone you could actually believe could go

:28:40. > :28:44.all the way with what they have to deal with to get here, so he has

:28:45. > :28:47.positioned himself well. He is not always entirely comfortable with the

:28:48. > :28:52.court, bouncing, staying low, that is something he did not have to

:28:53. > :28:58.worry too much with Sam Querrey about, and the margins were so

:28:59. > :29:02.small, he beat Sam 79 and 15 in the fifth set! The second longest match

:29:03. > :29:09.I believe in Wimbledon history! Five hours and 17 minutes! We always talk

:29:10. > :29:13.about the big four but on graphite always felt the fifth player was

:29:14. > :29:17.Cilic. Excellent compared to the rest of the field, a natural grass

:29:18. > :29:21.court player, the pedigree year after year knocking at the

:29:22. > :29:25.quarterfinal and semifinal draw, he finally went through and he has the

:29:26. > :29:29.weapons to win this title. And he made a change this year, he has

:29:30. > :29:33.bought into Younus Bjorkman, I spoke to him at Queen's Club and said, I

:29:34. > :29:38.will make him much more aggressive, get inside the baseline, and that is

:29:39. > :29:42.what he has been doing? Definitely, that is the technical issue, to be

:29:43. > :29:48.more aggressive, to look to dominate and take charge of those rallies and

:29:49. > :29:53.his serve, the physical issues he is a good athlete, fit and strong. For

:29:54. > :29:57.me, then, the final piece of the puzzle is mental, and when he has

:29:58. > :30:01.really believed in himself and gone out there and had that clear game

:30:02. > :30:05.plan, he is capable of beating anyone, and I think the mental side

:30:06. > :30:09.for both of these guys is an unbelievable opportunity in the

:30:10. > :30:11.semifinals to be playing each other, I think who deals with the occasion

:30:12. > :30:31.best will end up coming out on top. A little bit of a weight, but here

:30:32. > :30:39.they come. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. -- a little bit of a wait.

:30:40. > :30:46.They are on court, we are ready for this first semifinal. Marin Cilic,

:30:47. > :30:51.it is a big serve, his average first serve is 125 mph. He is not only

:30:52. > :30:59.tall, he has long arms and legs. Its reach is incredible and he has a

:31:00. > :31:05.Federer like fluid motion. His percentage is high, that is why he

:31:06. > :31:10.win so many points. It can come to the net, he can hit the first shot

:31:11. > :31:17.off the return. He has an overall perfect grass game. Exactly the same

:31:18. > :31:25.thing with Querrey. You will not tell me he does not have a fluid or

:31:26. > :31:30.brave serve. It is the mental part, ultimately. From what I have seen,

:31:31. > :31:36.Cilic in the past has been more of a battler. He has dug a little deeper

:31:37. > :31:41.and wanted it more. I don't know why it has been that Sam has accepted it

:31:42. > :31:45.is OK to be 15, 20 in the world and occasionally make a run and beat the

:31:46. > :31:50.top guys here and there like he did last year with Nadal in Acapulco,

:31:51. > :31:58.but when you look at these two guys, they are both six wait six, can blow

:31:59. > :32:02.you off the court with the serve, Sam has a great forehand, his

:32:03. > :32:07.backhand has got better. The gal for some reason he has not backed it up

:32:08. > :32:12.in the Grand Slams. Cilic won the open in the last few years and a

:32:13. > :32:16.couple of quarters. There is something missing facing maybe a

:32:17. > :32:22.Djokovic or Murray. Now it is his big chance. He has never reached the

:32:23. > :32:26.semifinal of a Grand Slam, let alone a final. Cilic is a bit more

:32:27. > :32:33.experience in the bigger matches. I think the start for Querrey is

:32:34. > :32:38.important. If he can hit his spots, stay close in the count, three, four

:32:39. > :32:43.or five, get the first set under his belt, that gives him a great

:32:44. > :32:48.platform to be aggressive and make a slam final. Tim, I had to commend

:32:49. > :32:53.you, I do not realise how important he was to the Wimbledon committee.

:32:54. > :32:59.The players were not allowed to enter the courts until he finished

:33:00. > :33:05.his comment, did you see that?! Absolutely. You're getting more

:33:06. > :33:08.power every year. One yeah I might be able to get you into the locker

:33:09. > :33:15.room! He has been saying about ever since they change the rule. We will

:33:16. > :33:20.let Mac and ten debate that, now we will hear from the big man from

:33:21. > :33:22.America, Andy Murray, who put out Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. He

:33:23. > :33:44.has been speaking to Rishi. # Born in the US...

:33:45. > :33:49.# Born in the USA. Finished on a huge Querrey ace, a

:33:50. > :33:53.piece of tennis history. The crowd was all behind Murray but

:33:54. > :33:57.the fans here are great people, they love tennis so I felt they were

:33:58. > :34:01.cheering for great tennis and good shots and I felt I got a really warm

:34:02. > :34:04.embrace, which is really nice. You are the first American through to

:34:05. > :34:10.the semifinal of the Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in

:34:11. > :34:15.2009, how does that feel? Great, it is one of my favourite tournaments

:34:16. > :34:26.so to be in the semis is exciting. To McCready is in a row that the

:34:27. > :34:28.defending champion and world number one, an impressive record. I love

:34:29. > :34:31.playing here, love playing on grass. -- two years you have knocked out.

:34:32. > :34:34.You have a smile on your face because you are through to the

:34:35. > :34:39.semifinals, but you are generally smiling. Have you always been a

:34:40. > :34:43.happy character? I have always been pretty laid back, I have a great

:34:44. > :34:48.group of friends at home, we are always joking around and having fun,

:34:49. > :34:53.that is how I have been since I was a little guy. I try to take that on

:34:54. > :34:56.court. Looking to the semifinals against Marin Cilic, you and he

:34:57. > :35:01.played the second longest match in the history of the men's competition

:35:02. > :35:06.five years ago. Marin Cilic is through to the fourth round after a

:35:07. > :35:13.five set epic. That was a tough match, 17-15. I lost one more match

:35:14. > :35:18.to him 6-4 in the face. Hopefully I can figure out a way to beat him

:35:19. > :35:27.this time! If I play well like I have been over the last few matches,

:35:28. > :35:32.I might be able to. Tim, talking of that marathon

:35:33. > :35:37.against Cilic, he has had 35 set matches in a row, he has been on the

:35:38. > :35:43.12 hours and 39 minutes, playing 29 sets. It is fatigue and issue? I

:35:44. > :35:48.don't think so, coming through to the match Connie semifinals at

:35:49. > :35:52.Wimbledon on Centre Court, adrenaline will kick in. Whatever

:35:53. > :35:56.happens, he will be tired next week but I think when he is going to be

:35:57. > :36:01.out there and get into the thick of the match, they will be fine.

:36:02. > :36:10.We were looking at these guys surfing the net here, they are so

:36:11. > :36:16.big! -- serving macro the nap. It makes it easier when you are that

:36:17. > :36:23.tall! It certainly makes it easier to serve! Back-in nowadays that all

:36:24. > :36:30.men were big and heavy, they could not move. -- back in our day. But

:36:31. > :36:37.they are agile and they can move like the little guys. The ball toss,

:36:38. > :36:46.is hardly moves at all and he is difficult to read, Sam Querrey. This

:36:47. > :36:51.is the ball striking. That is what you want, you want to be tough to

:36:52. > :36:55.read. We often talk about the commentary booth. Sam has a nice,

:36:56. > :37:01.easy motion and can do a lot of different things. That is what you

:37:02. > :37:08.want to do, disguise your serve, disguise the pace and the

:37:09. > :37:15.unpredictable. -- be unpredictable. Neil Arscott eight service, you have

:37:16. > :37:24.to use all of them. -- Milos cost eight serves. It is important to

:37:25. > :37:28.hold your serve well? They will both feel the butterflies, they have not

:37:29. > :37:36.been at this occasion for quite a while. Maybe playing so many sets

:37:37. > :37:39.already takes its toll. He played twice in the championship already in

:37:40. > :37:45.five set matches, that'll be the difference. There is not much use in

:37:46. > :37:52.the body serve. Not like Venus yesterday. There is holding serve,

:37:53. > :37:56.that is a great platform to play from, but the one that really holds

:37:57. > :38:01.serve comfortably can put pressure on the opponent and free you up on

:38:02. > :38:05.the return games. If you are holding so comfortably you feel you can be

:38:06. > :38:10.more aggressive and hopefully look for those opportunities, create a

:38:11. > :38:17.break point chance and take it. One or two points decide each set. Sam

:38:18. > :38:22.Cane out well against Murray. It was the best I had ever seen him battle,

:38:23. > :38:26.come from behind on a number of occasions. The old Sam Querrey would

:38:27. > :38:36.have lost that in three sets. I know he has a bad record, is an extremely

:38:37. > :38:40.close matches against Cilic. It is not a major asked you think you can

:38:41. > :38:48.pull this off. We had better move from Centre

:38:49. > :38:56.Court. Thanks to Boris and Tim. Mac is on his way to join John Inverdale

:38:57. > :38:59.in the commentary box. JOHN INVERDALE: How did we get here?

:39:00. > :39:04.Courtesy of a talented Russian who disposed of the number five seed

:39:05. > :39:11.several days ago, but it seems like a long time since Stan Wawrinka left

:39:12. > :39:17.the stage. A big serving man from Luxembourg did for a fair and Andy

:39:18. > :39:23.Murray's dodgy hip. So we have never seven another 24 vying for a place

:39:24. > :39:28.in the final. They have met here before, their last game was 17-15 in

:39:29. > :39:34.the fifth. We could be in for a long afternoon in front of royalty and in

:39:35. > :39:39.front of Kings and Queen's of the entertainment world, the sporting

:39:40. > :39:47.world. It really is a who's Who of the gossip columns in the Royal box

:39:48. > :39:54.today. There is Jude Law. And here is John McEnroe, how are you? JOHN

:39:55. > :39:58.MCENROE: Doing good. An American back in the mix, it has been quite a

:39:59. > :40:05.while. Lots of people are saying this will be just a serve fest, but

:40:06. > :40:07.there could be wrong. There might be a lot more to this than not. Let's

:40:08. > :40:51.hope so. Who is going to be more aggressive

:40:52. > :40:53.today more consistently? Whoever that is, I believe, will be in the

:40:54. > :41:21.final. If you have been watching tennis

:41:22. > :41:25.with us across this summer when Cilic got to the final at Queen's

:41:26. > :41:30.and had a great run here at Wimbledon, you will be very aware of

:41:31. > :41:36.this over exaggerated bouncing off the ball, which gets more and more

:41:37. > :41:40.exaggerated, the tighter and tighter the match gets. He has had a couple

:41:41. > :41:52.of time violations for it, not just here but at Queen's.

:41:53. > :42:04.Maybe he has watched his buddy Novak Djokovic a little bit too much. I

:42:05. > :42:05.think we got to APB, or a PW, personal worst, of 23 bouncers at

:42:06. > :42:28.one point. It is very tough to do if you think

:42:29. > :42:34.about it, it is not like he is doing the same amount. He would have to

:42:35. > :42:37.count if he was doing that, which would waste energy and require more

:42:38. > :42:49.concentration. It is hard for the guy give the rent, you are not sure

:42:50. > :42:54.when the serve will come. And having drawn attention to it so early, I

:42:55. > :43:03.apologise if you get completely neurotic about this at home over the

:43:04. > :43:17.next three hours! A straightforward start the Croat. Jonas Bjorkman has

:43:18. > :43:21.come on board with Goran Ivanisevic -- is Goran Ivanisevic and Marin

:43:22. > :43:28.parted ways around a year ago. He seems to has some great had gained

:43:29. > :43:36.his trust. York then like to be aggressive, he has encourage Marin

:43:37. > :43:48.to do more of it. -- Bjorkman liked to be aggressive.

:43:49. > :43:53.It is tough to stop and go back in the other direction, you will see

:43:54. > :44:04.both guys try to go behind. Not as nimble as the mere mortals of

:44:05. > :44:29.six foot one, two or even smaller! From one end of the spectrum to the

:44:30. > :44:38.other in terms of serving techniques, this is very, very

:44:39. > :44:47.simple. Very regimented. Great shots from Cilic.

:44:48. > :44:52.It should be pointed out that both guys covered the court well, moved

:44:53. > :45:38.well, for as tall as they are. This is a real heavyweight contest.

:45:39. > :45:43.When the ball is hit, it stays hit. Maybe at the end of this game you

:45:44. > :45:44.will go from one extreme to the other in the weights divisions of

:45:45. > :46:04.tennis. UMPIRE: Replay the point.

:46:05. > :46:08.Cilic knew it was in. A little bit unfortunate for him, he will have to

:46:09. > :46:24.look at a Querrey first serve again. I can never understand that rule. It

:46:25. > :46:29.should be a second serve, right? I agree. Mentioned these guys being

:46:30. > :46:33.heavyweights, in the Royal box there are a couple of guys in boxing

:46:34. > :46:42.weight categories, they would be lightweights, barely middleweights.

:46:43. > :46:47.Rod Laver and Ken Russell are up there, 78 and 82 respectively. Five

:46:48. > :47:52.foot seven, five foot eight, ten stone. It was another world.

:47:53. > :48:02.You know Sam Querrey well. Is he the kind of guy who will see this as his

:48:03. > :48:07.date with destiny, or is he much more pragmatic? I would think it is

:48:08. > :48:14.more pragmatic. A very laid-back, Southern California boy.

:48:15. > :48:31.I haven't seen the fire in Querrey that we had hoped, as Americans. A

:48:32. > :48:38.very good career. Very language. -- languid. Bash, Bosch from Cilic.

:48:39. > :48:45.That is 109 Aces macro at this championship. SUE BARKER: Is still

:48:46. > :48:48.on serve and we will be right back with this semifinal on Centre Court,

:48:49. > :48:53.but we will tell you what is happening elsewhere in the men's

:48:54. > :48:57.wheelchair singles, Alfie Hewett of Britain has just broken the serve of

:48:58. > :49:03.Gustavo Fernandez. That is the feature match on the red button, on

:49:04. > :49:09.court 17. Alfie Hewett going well, a break of serve up in the first. On

:49:10. > :49:12.Court Number One, semifinal and the ladies doubles of Anna-Lena

:49:13. > :49:19.Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke against the number two seeds, Ekaterina

:49:20. > :49:27.Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Just one game at all. That is on the red

:49:28. > :49:34.button and sport website. This is a very relaxed Roger Federer a few

:49:35. > :49:40.moments ago. The guy who looks after him, Tony. Just enjoying a match on

:49:41. > :49:44.Court number three. Looking very relaxed. You would not know he has a

:49:45. > :49:48.semifinal later, but he does. We look forward to that as he takes on

:49:49. > :49:55.Tomas Berdych. Let's go back to Centre Court.

:49:56. > :50:01.JOHN INVERDALE: On serve at the moment, pretty much what we would

:50:02. > :50:21.have expected. JOHN MCENROE: Extremely difficult to

:50:22. > :50:25.get the ball above, lob over them, that is for sure. I would expect or

:50:26. > :50:32.anticipate both these guys will try to get the ball low when they

:50:33. > :50:40.approach the net. Easier said than done at the pace they hits out. --

:50:41. > :51:06.hits out. How many tie-breaks do you anticipate? I would say two.

:51:07. > :51:19.Nice and easy does it for Big Sam. How big a deal will this be in the

:51:20. > :51:26.states? It is breakfast time in New York, 8:20am, 5:15am in California.

:51:27. > :51:33.Will they be up for this? I hope it is becoming a bigger deal. He

:51:34. > :51:37.himself has said publicly that, in essence, he never thought he would

:51:38. > :51:41.get to a Grand Slam semi. If you asked him a year or so ago he would

:51:42. > :51:49.have said no. Not many people have expected this. But with Venus in the

:51:50. > :51:54.final, things are starting to build. And in the juniors, especially

:51:55. > :52:02.women, junior girls here, there are American players all over. I don't

:52:03. > :52:04.think they are yet getting up for them! No. But looking ahead. Let's

:52:05. > :52:27.hope. Lovely dexterity in the net from

:52:28. > :52:34.Querrey. Both guys had a surprisingly good touch, which would

:52:35. > :52:36.seem to encourage them to move forward, to be able to execute like

:52:37. > :52:46.we just saw Sam do. Tremendous shot. Very dependable for

:52:47. > :53:51.Cilic. That ball was dispatched by Cilic. A

:53:52. > :53:56.really interesting piece which I might lead to a couple of times,

:53:57. > :54:01.with Goran Ivanisevic who used to coach, in the paper this morning.

:54:02. > :54:05.Goran said he first saw him play at 14 years old, he smacked the ball so

:54:06. > :54:10.hard it was not true, but it never went in. But even allowing for the

:54:11. > :54:14.fact that the ball never went in, he knew he had the talent if that

:54:15. > :54:26.access could be curbed and technique brought into it. He said he thought

:54:27. > :54:28.at that stage... He knew he would be a class top ten player at

:54:29. > :54:30.potentially a Grand Slam winner, which he is now. Maybe too many

:54:31. > :54:33.people are obsessed about keeping the ball in play and technique when

:54:34. > :54:37.they are young, rather than letting the joy of smacking the ball consume

:54:38. > :54:42.people. He seems to love playing the game? I agree. Emotionally, when you

:54:43. > :54:47.see a kid, it is important they enjoy themselves, especially as they

:54:48. > :54:53.are growing up, before it becomes a job. It is a tremendous job. It is

:54:54. > :54:57.nice that it was Goran Ivanisevic, I believe, who emotionally helped

:54:58. > :55:02.Cilic get over the hump, made him believe in himself enough to win the

:55:03. > :55:05.US Open. It is disappointing for me personally having seen how well they

:55:06. > :55:11.operated for a while that they are no longer a pair, coming from the

:55:12. > :55:19.same country I am sure that Marin idolised Goran, certainly looked up

:55:20. > :55:24.to him. Goran says in the paper that in this country we cannot imagine

:55:25. > :55:36.what a big deal this match is for the people of Croatia today.

:55:37. > :55:43.I don't think people can imagine, watching on TV, how big they are and

:55:44. > :55:44.how hard they are hitting. It is incredible to see these giants

:55:45. > :55:57.operating. For all the wonders of television,

:55:58. > :56:05.sometimes to the cathode Ray jeeps and the size it -- cathode ray tubes

:56:06. > :56:06.and the size of the television, we cannot convey how powerfully the

:56:07. > :56:22.ball is being hit. That is the ball that you stop

:56:23. > :56:32.running for when you 40-0 up and you that big. Let me hit another serve!

:56:33. > :56:36.He really struggled that well. -- struck that well. He has had three

:56:37. > :56:48.consecutive five set matches, Sam Querrey.

:56:49. > :56:58.Very few guys can have the Rafael Nadal approach which is to play

:56:59. > :57:04.every point is if it is the last. Sometimes you had to be strategic

:57:05. > :57:04.about your effort when you are a mere mortal, unlike Federer and

:57:05. > :57:45.Nadal. It is not a particularly good

:57:46. > :58:03.approach, tough to hit the outright winner.

:58:04. > :58:16.That is a good move forward by Cilic. He did play a five setter

:58:17. > :58:29.against Gilles Muller, but the legs need to be fresher.

:58:30. > :59:44.I think who deals with the occasion best will end up coming out on top.

:59:45. > :59:54.That is a sensational backhand from Querrey. Considering it's the weaker

:59:55. > :59:56.side, he certainly did that well. Also hit it well towards the end of

:59:57. > :00:22.the marine match. Third pace of this match but Cilic.

:00:23. > :00:27.-- third ace. Talking about the speed the ball is hit at and the

:00:28. > :00:30.ace, we have a charity thing here called Children In Need every year

:00:31. > :00:33.and one of the prices people bid for this year was to be at Queen's

:00:34. > :00:36.earlier this year and play with some of the players there, and they got

:00:37. > :00:44.to play against Sam Querrey and John Isner. Second prize! These were

:00:45. > :00:49.decent club players, a great thrill for them to have a great day out at

:00:50. > :00:55.Queen's, etc, but I was talking to them afterwards and they were saying

:00:56. > :00:59.even though they are tennis fans and have played and watched all the

:01:00. > :01:02.love, until they stood and received serves from Querrey and Isner, they

:01:03. > :01:06.simply had no perception of how quick the ball was going, how little

:01:07. > :01:12.time you had to see it and as a consequence how little time you had

:01:13. > :01:16.to react. It is hard for 99.9% of people watching to have any

:01:17. > :01:20.understanding of that. A little comparison, when I was coaching

:01:21. > :01:24.Milos Raonic last year, we would go on the practice court, when he got

:01:25. > :01:29.ready to serve he would literally tell me where he was serving and I

:01:30. > :01:35.still got about half of them! Doesn't mean I'm going to win the

:01:36. > :01:38.point! So I would suggest to you when Querrey and Isner went out

:01:39. > :01:46.against these club players they didn't even bring out their big

:01:47. > :01:54.serve! I'm sure! Backlogs won at 128 -- they clocked one.

:01:55. > :02:02.You don't need to take much of a backswing when you are trying to hit

:02:03. > :02:08.returns with these guys. Cilic way back, trying to get that tiny bit of

:02:09. > :02:33.time. This is an opportunity at 0-15 second serve.

:02:34. > :02:40.That is what you do to a guy who is standing far back, hit a short

:02:41. > :02:57.angle. At 106. But the speed doesn't matter, does it?

:02:58. > :03:09.That is a beautiful play. Andy Murray is very good at using that

:03:10. > :03:14.left arm to sort of facilitate and make it easier for him to dump it at

:03:15. > :03:17.someone putts beat. I was wondering if either of these guys would do

:03:18. > :03:31.that, that was nicely done by Querrey. Second ace of the match

:03:32. > :03:36.from him. You can see what a difference that one forehand, that

:03:37. > :03:42.angle, he missed made in that game. Huge difference between 15-15 and

:03:43. > :03:49.0-30 there. Subsequently ran through the rest of the game. At the moment,

:03:50. > :03:54.I'm not sure if it is possible to meander at speeds of 120 miles an

:03:55. > :03:55.hour but at the moment we feel like we are meandering toward an

:03:56. > :05:08.inevitable first set tie-break. Some big hitting. Big, but so clean

:05:09. > :05:45.as well. Well, that game came and went in the

:05:46. > :05:49.blink of an eye. You look at these two guys, Sam Querrey ranked as high

:05:50. > :05:55.as 17 in the world 6.5 years ago, he has hovered in the 30s, 40s, 50s for

:05:56. > :06:03.most of his career. You could argue underachieved in certain ways. On a

:06:04. > :06:08.hard court, fairly quickly paced court, you think these guys would be

:06:09. > :06:13.able to... How the heck is anyone breaking these guys? It has got to

:06:14. > :06:17.be how tough... I'm just thinking, with both of them, that their bodies

:06:18. > :06:22.can only take so much punishment. The grass benefits them because the

:06:23. > :06:26.wear and tear is not the same and if more events were played on this

:06:27. > :06:40.surface, it is not that the other courts aren't quick but their bodies

:06:41. > :06:43.can recover more quickly. But the only only way they are going to be

:06:44. > :06:45.broken is almost a mental aberration in the part of the server, a

:06:46. > :06:48.drop-off in intensity, if Cilic gets nervy, that is what happened to him

:06:49. > :06:51.at Queen's against Lopez. Didn't he have match point against Lopez? He

:06:52. > :06:58.was extremely close and Lopez has got a big serve. I just think, by

:06:59. > :07:04.don't they keep that focus and concentration and be able to do that

:07:05. > :07:16.on hard courts? Was that Barry Gibb?! It was, fresh from

:07:17. > :07:20.Glastonbury a couple of weeks ago. When the feeling's gone and you

:07:21. > :07:33.can't go on, Andy and Novak would empathise with that.

:07:34. > :07:53.That was over the wicketkeeper. There is Barry Gibb.

:07:54. > :08:00.It is the same way that tennis players dream of hitting a serve

:08:01. > :08:29.that big, single stream of hitting a note that high! -- singers dream of.

:08:30. > :08:55.A couple of opportunities on the forehand side missed. And then that

:08:56. > :09:02.happens. Ten games in 28 minutes. We are going at quite a pacey. It is a

:09:03. > :09:08.good thing they invented the tie-break or the second semi might

:09:09. > :09:11.not play today! I'm sure we may remind you of this once or twice

:09:12. > :09:20.over the afternoon but the last time these guys met here it was 17-15 in

:09:21. > :09:43.the fifth. Three of those sets were tie-break.

:09:44. > :09:56.Well played. In your days, would you rather have played a semifinal first

:09:57. > :10:01.or second so you knew exactly what time you were going out? I would

:10:02. > :10:07.definitely prefer to play first. In those days, as you are well aware,

:10:08. > :10:11.there was no roof so I played a match that carried over the next

:10:12. > :10:14.day, and that does not help things, having to play the next day again

:10:15. > :10:41.against a well rested opponent. Forehand a little bit off here other

:10:42. > :10:47.Cilic. Sam Querrey has to be seen that. He will test it, use his

:10:48. > :11:06.backhand slice, maybe, to try to get that ball low.

:11:07. > :11:16.His forehand is all over the place, Cilic! Risky, it was over the lower

:11:17. > :11:27.part of the net, but flat. Certainly got the job done.

:11:28. > :11:39.Great shot of Cilic there and a great shot as well. Of a battalion

:11:40. > :11:44.of photographers at the far end of the court as well who are in direct

:11:45. > :11:48.line of fire of Cilic's serve as well, just behind Querrey there, a

:11:49. > :11:59.bank of 40 or 50 photographers, just a great picture.

:12:00. > :12:21.How do you get the money shot? Keep clicking! Was that your advice when

:12:22. > :12:29.you were coaching Raonic, just keep hitting? That was certainly part of

:12:30. > :12:33.it! Certainly part of it with these two guys is that you try to

:12:34. > :12:40.encourage them to believe in variability and go for it, use

:12:41. > :12:44.variety, but most of all think the reason Cilic's career has been

:12:45. > :12:53.superior is the fight inside him, the emotional aspect, it helps

:12:54. > :12:55.engage the fans, helps fans get behind you, helps your box to

:12:56. > :13:03.continue to bring the type of energy you hope, those things play a

:13:04. > :13:09.factor. His career has been blighted by injury, intermittent injuries,

:13:10. > :13:16.season after season after season, and that must, after a while, take

:13:17. > :13:20.its toll? No question of that, as we were talking about just before this,

:13:21. > :13:26.the amount of travel, the amount of matches, the amount of tournaments,

:13:27. > :13:31.the surface, go run on concrete everyday for hours on end and see

:13:32. > :13:37.how it feels, stop, start, go the other direction when you are as tall

:13:38. > :13:42.as these guys. And their weight. Well, he has done it once already

:13:43. > :14:01.but he has to do it again, holds serve and save the set.

:14:02. > :14:10.I notice one of the guys in his box has got a cap with Borg on but

:14:11. > :14:23.nobody has got a cap with McEnroe on. You would have to notice that.

:14:24. > :14:31.Well run, Querrey, there. His coach, in the blue, has done an excellent

:14:32. > :14:35.job to get in to believe more, battle harder. Paid off in that

:14:36. > :14:56.point against Andy Murray. If I were Cilic I would use more of

:14:57. > :15:00.that backhand slice as well because he hit them cleanly and that ball is

:15:01. > :15:12.going to be a tough ask the Sam Querrey to handle.

:15:13. > :15:19.Looks to me like Cilic is trying to adjust his return position a little

:15:20. > :15:24.bit to take away that angle, step a little bit closer. First challenge

:15:25. > :15:46.of the day. And so, after 35 minutes, we reach

:15:47. > :15:52.the point we thought we would do 35 minutes ago.

:15:53. > :15:58.UMPIRE: First set, tie-break. Each player receives one additional

:15:59. > :16:02.challenge. Is it more important for Querrey to win this than Cilic, if

:16:03. > :16:06.only because, after three consecutive five set matches, he

:16:07. > :16:17.probably doesn't want another one? Yes, in his own lifetime and with

:16:18. > :16:31.Murray, those two factors would make it more important for this guy. Sam

:16:32. > :16:40.Querrey, the American things got a little bit tighter for both these

:16:41. > :16:49.guys. Every point seems to matter more. Subsequently the legs start to

:16:50. > :16:50.get a little heavy, the arm. And because the prize at stake is so

:16:51. > :17:06.big. A great get by Querrey and the point

:17:07. > :17:17.you made earlier, just make people play one more shot, one motion, and

:17:18. > :17:19.Cilic goes long. Yes, get that into my skull, make them earn it, and

:17:20. > :17:34.this one should have been put away. That is a great shot from Cilic. I

:17:35. > :17:42.thought that was wide, he chose to play it. He is still looking at the

:17:43. > :17:53.line. I don't know if Hawk-Eye can tell us if that was in or out. Just

:17:54. > :18:04.having a look. Academic, mind you. It was out. The ball was out. That's

:18:05. > :18:05.a tough one for Querrey. You would be very brave to stop playing in a

:18:06. > :18:57.situation like this. Very tempting to take that in the

:18:58. > :19:01.air, that was well left. Fortunate that he would have trouble reaching

:19:02. > :19:07.it so he chose to run back and let it bounce. Excellent job, benefited

:19:08. > :19:27.by that call, given him a big lead, 4-1.

:19:28. > :19:37.Well, Querrey had to win that point. Probably on the back of the back of

:19:38. > :19:41.the line. So hard as a player not to look at that line, you take your eye

:19:42. > :19:55.off the ball, hoping it will go a little bit long, and it didn't.

:19:56. > :20:04.There is his coach, he has done a fine job getting Querrey here, he

:20:05. > :20:06.has never been in a Grand Slam semi. Very quiet on centre but I think

:20:07. > :20:19.everybody is just a bit tense. And as long as it remains one

:20:20. > :21:06.mini-break, Querrey is in the game. 14 bounces there. Brilliantly played

:21:07. > :21:14.by Querrey! Really aggressive challenging Cilic there. Cilic would

:21:15. > :21:17.have to slice this, a mis-hit, he forced the issue, took away some

:21:18. > :21:26.options from Cilic, really well done. Nice touch, too.

:21:27. > :22:04.UMPIRE: Mr Cilic is challenging the call. How big a challenge is this?!

:22:05. > :22:11.The margins in top-level sport. UMPIRE: Mr Cilic has two challenges

:22:12. > :22:47.remaining. And just when you thought Querrey

:22:48. > :22:49.had the initiative, nobody does. Cilic much more animated than the

:22:50. > :22:55.big American. Whatever happens here, it is set

:22:56. > :23:07.point after this. Almost too much time to think about

:23:08. > :23:25.that one. That was a second serve from big

:23:26. > :23:27.serving, big hitting Sam Querrey at 88 miles an hour, but it is set

:23:28. > :23:56.point for the American. Sixsix, 6-6. You shouldn't be

:23:57. > :24:01.surprised, the margins had been soaked in when they played here. The

:24:02. > :24:05.good thing about this set, though, is it has not just been about Serbs,

:24:06. > :24:10.there has been some neat footwork, nice touches at the neck, good

:24:11. > :24:14.ground stroke. There have been matches at this championship this

:24:15. > :24:18.year when you have had big guys against big guys where it has just

:24:19. > :24:25.been walloped, no rallies, I did a match in the championship where the

:24:26. > :24:29.longest rally was four shots, this has been engaging and it has just

:24:30. > :24:30.been on simmer at the moment, maybe it will boil over as the afternoon

:24:31. > :24:46.progresses. UMPIRE: Mr Querrey is challenging

:24:47. > :24:51.the ball Haka call on the service line, the ball was called in. More

:24:52. > :25:00.in hope than expectation. It was very close.

:25:01. > :25:22.Someone has just fallen over in the stands, sixsix, second serve. In

:25:23. > :25:25.purely tennis terms, Irish and that will mean he will get the first

:25:26. > :25:30.serve back but you can see the various members of the Armed Forces

:25:31. > :25:37.are going in to the stand on the left of Sam Querrey and James

:25:38. > :25:39.Keothavong, the umpire, on the phone to Wimbledon officials just

:25:40. > :25:47.clarifying what the situation is here. I can't actually see if it is

:25:48. > :25:50.a man or a woman or who it was but somebody has clearly collapsed, just

:25:51. > :25:59.five or six rows back from the court edge. Just as the sun came out, it

:26:00. > :26:07.is not particularly warm here today, but Muti, low 70s temperature. And

:26:08. > :26:12.Sam Querrey watching it like a hawk what is going on there at the

:26:13. > :26:22.moment. I think this happened with an earlier match, a big delay.

:26:23. > :26:23.Happened at Queen's as well. Either way, a bizarre time for it. We

:26:24. > :26:48.obviously hope whoever it is is OK. Our line of sight, it was a lady in

:26:49. > :26:52.a pink hat, obscured by people standing up in front of her, but she

:26:53. > :26:59.is able to walk away from courtside and is being assisted down the steps

:27:00. > :27:09.by a couple of the guys from the Armed Forces here, so hopefully she

:27:10. > :27:17.is going to be all right. The area. -- dare we are. In the meantime, for

:27:18. > :27:22.these two giants, the stress level just went up. A lot more time than

:27:23. > :27:29.they anticipated to think about this 6-6 point of the tie-break.

:27:30. > :27:37.Does he get his first serve back? Yes, he is going to get a first

:27:38. > :27:42.serve now. Should he get a first serve? Either way, given the

:27:43. > :28:14.circumstances... Maybe it was the delay, maybe his

:28:15. > :28:24.mind wasn't quite there. That is a bad error from Cilic, and so Sam

:28:25. > :28:25.Querrey, one big serve away from the opening set of this Wimbledon

:28:26. > :29:02.semifinal. SUE BARKER: So Sam Querrey takes the

:29:03. > :29:10.first set, that delay probably did cause some upset. We are switching

:29:11. > :29:14.this match over to BBC One now. Well, Henman Hill busy once again,

:29:15. > :29:18.everyone watching the drama unfold on the big screen, everyone enjoyed

:29:19. > :29:22.in their Wimbledon experience. There is a lot of action on the outside

:29:23. > :29:26.courts, everyone looking forward to Roger Federer coming out onto Centre

:29:27. > :29:30.Court later on to face Tomas Berdych. I say this much is

:29:31. > :29:43.continuing elsewhere because over on Court Number One it is a semifinal

:29:44. > :29:48.of the ladies doubles, and they have just broken so they will be serving

:29:49. > :29:53.for the opening set. That is our feature match on the red button and

:29:54. > :29:59.also on the BBC sport website as well, so that semifinal continues on

:30:00. > :30:04.Court Number One. We are heading over to court 17 for the semifinal

:30:05. > :30:08.of the men's wheelchair singles, a crucial stage for the French Open

:30:09. > :30:13.champion against the number two seed from Argentina, Hewitt has taken the

:30:14. > :30:17.first set 6-4, four games all, so let's join the commentators on court

:30:18. > :30:36.17, Peter Norfolk alongside Nick Mullins.

:30:37. > :30:43.We are nearing the back-end of the second set, we might be nearing the

:30:44. > :30:51.back end of the match if Alfie Hewett can win a couple more.

:30:52. > :31:09.I think you are right. If Alfie can keep the pressure on Fernandez. He

:31:10. > :31:13.might struggle. But not like that. Gustavo Fernandez, the 23-year-old

:31:14. > :31:18.Argentinian. The best player in the world right now. He moved to the top

:31:19. > :31:21.of the charts earlier this week. An emotional moment when he was having

:31:22. > :31:28.lunch with his coach in the players lounge and found out he was the

:31:29. > :31:32.world number one. He is a favourite with the players. He is always

:31:33. > :31:42.positive, never negative. Eyes on the ball. Weak forehand,

:31:43. > :32:15.top-spin. He just pulled it too much. Hewett

:32:16. > :32:16.created the opening and pulled his backhand, it went wide at the

:32:17. > :32:59.sidelines. Great shot. It is brave. Look at

:33:00. > :33:04.this. Going for the sidelines. He has is to be brave if he wants to

:33:05. > :33:19.break here, Fernandez. Which she has. Holding onto your

:33:20. > :33:28.serve has been an issue in this match so far. There have been fewer

:33:29. > :33:33.hold land breaks off serve. -- fewer hold van breaks off serve. The South

:33:34. > :33:41.American has given him a chance of taking this contest into a third.

:33:42. > :33:44.Alfie Hewett, the 19-year-old from (INAUDIBLE)

:33:45. > :33:54.. Doubles champions here, famously, last year, with Gordon Reid. Gordon

:33:55. > :34:01.Reid's premature departure in the singles yesterday means that Hewett

:34:02. > :34:07.is holding onto hopes in the men's singles. Reid lost to Stefan Olsson,

:34:08. > :34:10.who already beat Shingo Kunieda in the first semifinal. So the winner

:34:11. > :34:16.of this will play the Swede in the final over the weekend. The world

:34:17. > :34:22.number one has been forcing himself back into this contest in the second

:34:23. > :35:01.set. Here he is, serving to square things up.

:35:02. > :35:07.He has gone again. It is not the first time in the match or at

:35:08. > :35:14.Wimbledon but Fernandez has had a tumble out of his chair. -- that

:35:15. > :35:19.Fernandez has. He will need a new chair with a longer frame. All of

:35:20. > :35:23.his weight is up top, because he is so strong. He needs to look at the

:35:24. > :35:44.setup of his chair a bit more. Hewett has an opportunity of

:35:45. > :36:25.extending the second set. That's lovely. Whenever Fernandez

:36:26. > :36:26.comes into the mid-court, a lovely mid-court drive volley. Good timing.

:36:27. > :36:40.Good allies. -- good eyes. I was just about to

:36:41. > :36:48.say there has to be a drop shot coming!

:36:49. > :36:51.You can see the ball died when it goes on to the much green patch,

:36:52. > :37:08.much harder to push the chair through that.

:37:09. > :37:33.That is not a good time to do a double.

:37:34. > :37:41.It hasn't been easy, holding onto your serve all match.

:37:42. > :37:48.And we have talked about the reasons for that, Peter, and the fact that

:37:49. > :37:52.from a server 's position you are in a static position, unlike the

:37:53. > :37:57.receiver, who is already on the move. And the receiver is

:37:58. > :38:03.anticipating where the server will serve. When you are serving, you

:38:04. > :38:10.pick your spot. He has to work out which side is his weaker side. I'd

:38:11. > :38:18.be going really wide to make him push out wide.

:38:19. > :38:32.Look at this! Fernandez did not move very much, rolling over the

:38:33. > :38:37.baseline. A lovely backhand. If I was Hewett I would be exploiting

:38:38. > :38:44.Fernandez's chair instability, making him move from side to side,

:38:45. > :39:39.into the Green zone. That will curl in. Come in and go across.

:39:40. > :39:45.He is unusual amongst wheelchair tennis players, Pete, he has no

:39:46. > :39:50.control from his abdomen downwards, which makes the stability and

:39:51. > :39:56.balance much harder for Fernandez. It sure does. He made that look

:39:57. > :40:02.easy, but if you look at the other top players, they have a different

:40:03. > :40:08.disability which, personally, gives them an advantage on their mobility

:40:09. > :40:19.because they have got abs and they can use them to turn. It gives it

:40:20. > :40:32.more stability and strength. Look at that.

:40:33. > :40:36.A hold of serve is a bit like a break of serve at the moment, so

:40:37. > :40:50.this is huge. Fernandez as world number one,

:40:51. > :40:51.taking over from Gordon Reid of Great Britain at the start of the

:40:52. > :41:13.week. The British league coaches there

:41:14. > :41:22.looking on. Stuart Wilkinson, Karen Ross.

:41:23. > :41:30.There you go, he has donated. He has held on and now he is a game away

:41:31. > :41:40.from the Wimbledon final. -- there you go, he has done it.

:41:41. > :41:48.It really has been some 12 months for Alfie Hewett, backing up his

:41:49. > :41:53.success in the doubles last year with a couple of silver medals at

:41:54. > :42:01.Rio in the singles, when he lost to Reid. And with Reid in the doubles.

:42:02. > :42:06.And then for the first time he became a Grand Slam singles

:42:07. > :42:10.champion, beating the guy he is playing today, Gustavo Fernandez, in

:42:11. > :42:15.the final. It means a lot to get a Grand Slam is a singles. Doubles you

:42:16. > :42:20.are doing it with someone... I always wanted my first singles,

:42:21. > :42:30.because it made me a bit more confident. You can see that Hewett

:42:31. > :42:36.has brought that with him. Even though Fernandez is the world number

:42:37. > :42:44.one, Hewett was down in that match, so he knows he can win.

:42:45. > :42:48.You would have to look at a break coming up, a break to take the match

:42:49. > :43:10.for Hewett. You can see that the breeze is

:43:11. > :43:19.getting up, which will not make it any easier. We talked about the

:43:20. > :43:25.stability that Fernandez has to work so hard to find. It is a particular

:43:26. > :43:27.problem, trying to get the balance right. Making sure there is enough

:43:28. > :44:18.power in it as well. Well, a touch of fortune, but he had

:44:19. > :44:23.worked hard for it at the end of the most impressive service going as his

:44:24. > :44:31.semifinal so far. And we are heading into a tie-break. He is working so

:44:32. > :44:36.hard to promote Paralympic sport in Argentina at the moment, maybe more

:44:37. > :44:41.than any other athlete. He was a front-page story on one of the

:44:42. > :44:42.biggest papers in the world back home when he became world number

:44:43. > :45:10.one. And here he is in Wimbledon. I am sure lots of you have seen

:45:11. > :45:14.loads of wheelchair tennis over the last few years, but a reminder if

:45:15. > :45:17.you are saying hello to the sport for the first time, they have to

:45:18. > :45:28.bouncers, although very often the players only use one. -- they have

:45:29. > :46:24.two bounces. Tie-break rules are the same.

:46:25. > :46:29.Fernandez has done that a few times, return of serve, backhand

:46:30. > :46:51.crosscourt, out wide. A couple of mini-breaks for the

:46:52. > :46:56.Argentinian. A double fault, and costly for Alfie Hewett. Not a good

:46:57. > :47:21.time to double fault, a tie-break. Change ends.

:47:22. > :47:30.He served well in this tie-break, Fernandez. He has.

:47:31. > :47:41.Is here on court 17. If you know your Wimbledon, we are on the little

:47:42. > :47:45.strip of courts in between Centre and number one. The finals at the

:47:46. > :47:48.weekend will be played on Court three. It has the benefit of

:47:49. > :47:57.Hawk-Eye, which we do not have on this court.

:47:58. > :48:01.And he has got five set points, the new world number one, Gustavo

:48:02. > :48:37.Fernandez. It is cool, isn't it? 19 years old,

:48:38. > :49:23.Hewett, serve, bam! Once again, Fernandez had to work

:49:24. > :49:28.hard to stay in the sports chair. You are absolutely right. He did not

:49:29. > :49:38.been for in a foreword to get the curve to bring the ball back in,

:49:39. > :49:47.because the chair was tipping. His lead has slowly been eroded away.

:49:48. > :49:54.However, the second set is gone the way of the South American and we

:49:55. > :49:57.will need a further deciding want to decide which of Alfie Hewett or

:49:58. > :50:08.Gustavo Fernandez will take their place in the Wimbledon final.

:50:09. > :50:13.SUE BARKER: That is the tie-break. We will be back with it, going into

:50:14. > :50:21.a third set, but we will update you with what is happening elsewhere. On

:50:22. > :50:25.court 14, Anya van Koot of the Netherlands is taking on Diede De

:50:26. > :50:33.Groot of the Netherlands, who put out Jordanne Whiley yesterday. Didi

:50:34. > :50:40.DeGroot, it is going well for her. That is on the BBC sport website.

:50:41. > :50:45.We look forward to the weekend and the finals of the wheelchair events

:50:46. > :50:51.tomorrow at 11am on BBC Two. That is the ladies singles final and the

:50:52. > :50:59.men's doubles final. That is at 11am on BBC Two, Steve Brown will join

:51:00. > :51:03.Clare Balding for that. It is men's semifinals day today,

:51:04. > :51:17.and coming up later this afternoon...

:51:18. > :51:59.Yes, Roger Federer will be on later today on BBC One.

:52:00. > :52:02.At the moment, the first of the men's semifinals, Sam Querrey took

:52:03. > :52:10.the first set on the tie-break against Marin Cilic, it is on serve

:52:11. > :52:12.in the second, that is on BBC One. That's what is happening elsewhere,

:52:13. > :52:30.back we go for the deciding set. COMMENTATOR: The South American, who

:52:31. > :52:35.played so much tighter in that second set, far fewer unforced

:52:36. > :52:37.errors, a higher service percentage as well. It means that Alfie Hewett

:52:38. > :53:22.of Norfolk will need this decider. Again, it is an almighty tumble. He

:53:23. > :53:26.is back up again in double time, Pete. You spend a lot of time

:53:27. > :53:29.thinking about the design of these chairs. We can see for ourselves

:53:30. > :53:35.that he does not have the stability you would expect that the moment. I

:53:36. > :53:47.think he needs a wider camber and a longer subframe. He is not worse

:53:48. > :53:54.than wherefore it. Actually, perhaps he should get a skateboard and elbow

:53:55. > :53:58.pads and kneepads! For technical imbecile is like me, what would a

:53:59. > :54:05.longer subframe mean? He has an anti-tip at the back so he does not

:54:06. > :54:09.followed backwards. -- fall out backwards. I am not quite sure what

:54:10. > :54:29.that was. There was a let, second serve.

:54:30. > :54:36.Hewett has found himself in trouble whenever Fernandez has forced him

:54:37. > :54:40.deep behind the baseline with that power. Hewett 's success comes from

:54:41. > :55:01.(INAUDIBLE) Bats was a great get by Hewett.

:55:02. > :55:03.-- that was. Look at Fernandez, right into the court. I will come

:55:04. > :55:46.back to the subframe in a minute. A lovely backhand by Hewett.

:55:47. > :56:51.Controlled. High hustling from Hewett. --

:56:52. > :56:53.high-quality hustling. An important game, the first game in the third

:56:54. > :57:25.set. Took a kick, didn't it. Hewett was

:57:26. > :57:29.expecting it to come into him. Bit of side spin Ando kick from the

:57:30. > :57:50.grass, that took it out of his reach. -- and a kick.

:57:51. > :57:54.You can see that when Fernandez is really stretching, he starts to

:57:55. > :58:04.struggle. He could do with quite a few more of

:58:05. > :58:39.those free points. We have been underlining the

:58:40. > :58:45.importance of the whole serve in this match so far. And the first in

:58:46. > :58:51.this deciding set begins to Argentina -- belongs to Argentina. A

:58:52. > :58:57.couple of big serves, a bit more pace and purpose. What about the

:58:58. > :59:02.subframe business, Peter? The real one is to stop them falling out

:59:03. > :59:06.backwards, in basketball it is much shorter. It must not protrude past

:59:07. > :59:11.the back wheels. At the front, he keeps falling forwards, he needs it

:59:12. > :59:16.longer. Because he is satire and flatter and all his power is at the

:59:17. > :59:22.top, he needs it slightly longer at the front. It will make the chair

:59:23. > :59:25.track better, role better and give him forward stability. You can't

:59:26. > :59:52.have a too long because then it will impede his forward shots.

:59:53. > :59:59.Hewett recovered from losing the first set in yesterday's

:00:00. > :00:00.quarterfinal to come through against the Frenchman. Got better and

:00:01. > :00:22.better. Gustavo Fernandez marked his first

:00:23. > :00:29.match as the new world number one, taking over from Gordon Reid, by

:00:30. > :00:33.beating the world number three yesterday. That was a big match for

:00:34. > :01:04.him as well, a good win. First ace of the match. Fewer races

:01:05. > :01:21.than Fernandez but tight on the double faults. -- fewer aces.

:01:22. > :02:00.Nicely played, approaching the net, winning the point.

:02:01. > :02:21.The break of serve and a cry of, Val Moss -- Vamos. It means a lot to all

:02:22. > :02:24.the players. Fernandez is the reigning Australian Open champion,

:02:25. > :02:27.won in Melbourne at the start of the deer. For a while he was the French

:02:28. > :02:32.and Aussie champ but lost to the Roland Garros title last month,

:02:33. > :02:35.beating by the bloke he is playing today in the final in Paris,

:02:36. > :02:40.squandered two match points that day. An opportunity for a modicum of

:02:41. > :02:46.revenge over the next half an hour or so, or however long is left in

:02:47. > :03:35.this semifinal contest. They have both still got doubles left yet.

:03:36. > :03:52.Hewett set himself up really nicely there.

:03:53. > :04:01.Great pick-up, Hewett was facing completely the wrong way. What

:04:02. > :04:48.balance. He is so poised. Really good chair skills.

:04:49. > :05:02.Good wine to serve there by Fernandez.

:05:03. > :05:14.He has just increased it by a couple of gears. Second hold of serve. A

:05:15. > :05:17.little bit of Argentinian tennis history as well for this man when he

:05:18. > :05:23.went to the top of the world rankings at the start of the week,

:05:24. > :05:31.never had an able-bodied number one, he is the first, therefore, for his

:05:32. > :05:42.nation. They had a number two in 1975, for those whose memories

:05:43. > :05:47.stretch back that long, and Gabbiadini in 1991, but all very

:05:48. > :05:53.emotional for him at the start of the week, a few tears. He is a good

:05:54. > :06:00.guy and he is flying the flag right now for Argentina here on the green

:06:01. > :06:08.lawns of Wimbledon. And he is in a very handy position in this third

:06:09. > :06:17.set. Yes, well-deserved, he has worked extremely hard to be here,

:06:18. > :06:20.his work on the training courts, their tempo is massive, they really

:06:21. > :06:27.beast themselves and they do it for the glory, like this, it means a

:06:28. > :06:39.huge amount to get through these matches, to get to the finals.

:06:40. > :06:51.Peter Norfolk ear with us today, Britain's best ever quad tennis

:06:52. > :06:57.player, the Quadfather. I feel like the old father at the moment! Your

:06:58. > :07:00.power grows and grows, ten grand slam titles in the singles and

:07:01. > :07:08.doubles, Paralympic medals, couple of golds. Thank you for that, my

:07:09. > :07:13.kids still don't know what that beans. Surprised to hear that, you

:07:14. > :08:19.have got enough pictures at home! It was so long ago Hewett would have

:08:20. > :08:46.probably only been about seven! How scary is that?!

:08:47. > :09:01.Huge hitting by Fernandez. Really taking the initiative.

:09:02. > :09:10.That has been the star attraction from Hewett's perspective today,

:09:11. > :09:29.that backhand down the line. Yes, and he's going to need that.

:09:30. > :09:35.He doesn't need those, no more double faults, not at this time

:09:36. > :09:40.because he has given an advantage to Fernandez and if Fernandez goes 4-0,

:09:41. > :09:58.I would not say terminal but a great platform to keep going.

:09:59. > :10:06.Second serve wasted. Good second serve from Hewett's point of view

:10:07. > :10:42.but Fernandez wasted it. He has done a little bit of

:10:43. > :10:46.chuntering over the course of this contest, Gustavo Fernandez, a

:10:47. > :10:49.running conversation with the umpire, he has not been overly happy

:10:50. > :10:59.with some of the line calls but we don't have the benefit of Hawk-Eye

:11:00. > :11:12.here on court 17. The problem is Fernandez is letting it affect him.

:11:13. > :11:24.Hewitt is on the board for the first time in this deciding set. If you

:11:25. > :11:27.have recently joined us, this men's semifinal for the right to play the

:11:28. > :11:34.Swede Stefan Olsson over the weekend.

:11:35. > :12:12.And this is Britain's Alfie Hewitt, teenager from Norfolk.

:12:13. > :12:18.You could hear Alfie chuntering away going, what are you giving back

:12:19. > :12:21.here? He is right by the back fence and it is hard work pushing there,

:12:22. > :12:27.the ball does not lift up, it stays really low.

:12:28. > :12:45.He has got to take it to Fernandez, attack second serve, first bounce.

:12:46. > :12:52.To a certain extent he is being pushed into the food village behind

:12:53. > :12:57.the green awning by the power of the Argentinian at the moment. Yes, you

:12:58. > :13:04.are right, the power of the serve. But actually if Fernandez does not

:13:05. > :13:16.use his power, Hewett is all over him.

:13:17. > :13:20.It is difficult to work out a route back for Alfie Hewett right now,

:13:21. > :13:26.particularly with the way the world number one has picked things up. You

:13:27. > :13:31.can see the determination. As long as the momentum keeps with

:13:32. > :13:39.Fernandez, although there has been some swings in this. An

:13:40. > :13:44.extraordinary story of his, he fell off a chair when he was just a baby

:13:45. > :13:48.and suffered a spinal injury which means that he has no control below

:13:49. > :13:53.the abdomen, as we have been talking about, and he is also fighting the

:13:54. > :13:58.battle in Argentina for Paralympic sport, they have not yet made

:13:59. > :14:01.progress, had the development we have had in this part of the world

:14:02. > :14:08.for a long time, so it is a tough old battle for him in Argentina at

:14:09. > :14:15.the moment. Argentina doesn't have the same sort of awareness, I

:14:16. > :14:24.suppose, that we do, so living with a disability like that is difficult,

:14:25. > :14:30.and as a Paralympic athlete he struggles to get sponsorship and

:14:31. > :14:37.stuff like that. It is hard for him, he has got to prove a lot more than

:14:38. > :14:44.say we do to get the same sort of funding. Well, a trip to the

:14:45. > :14:55.Wimbledon final will only help his profile and he is close here, two

:14:56. > :15:00.games away. Yes, that will do him. It will be great for the South

:15:01. > :15:05.American countries. He thought that was out, he thought that was wide.

:15:06. > :15:12.He doesn't think the calls are going for him.

:15:13. > :15:35.Got the look on the got the good luck on the net there. Oh, he has

:15:36. > :15:41.lost the racket! He has won the point!

:15:42. > :15:49.Watch this! He hit the ball before he threw the racket, if he had

:15:50. > :15:54.thrown the racket and then hit it he would have lost the point, but he

:15:55. > :16:03.got that, unbelievable. Dear oh dear. Who needs a racket?! Much

:16:04. > :16:16.overrated. Got to love him, haven't you? I'm not sure love is the word

:16:17. > :16:20.Alfie Hewett will have swimming around his mind at the moment! But

:16:21. > :16:25.from a neutral perspective, absolutely, he has been great today

:16:26. > :16:40.and he is good for the sport. Oh, yeah! He wants it, he has got a

:16:41. > :16:43.smile. And he is nearly there. Not far away from turning the tables

:16:44. > :16:50.after being beaten by Hewett at Roland Garros in the French Open

:16:51. > :16:54.final. But that the power in his arms and shoulders, he is built like

:16:55. > :16:59.a back row rugby player, it is ridiculous.

:17:00. > :17:04.That is why he is strapped in tight to the chair, so that when he puts

:17:05. > :17:15.that power down he does not come out of the chair.

:17:16. > :17:30.That was a good get by Alfie but still lost the point.

:17:31. > :17:37.What a get! See that pirouette by Hewett, half-volley gets? That was

:17:38. > :18:13.magic on wheels by Alfie Hewett. Fantastic tennis. Don't get that in

:18:14. > :18:15.the standing up game! Mind you, in the wheelchair game you don't get

:18:16. > :18:21.through the legs, that would be quite difficult! Through the wheels,

:18:22. > :18:28.I suppose? Going to question that one. No, a wry smile on his face, no

:18:29. > :18:34.police questioning the course, he feels they are not going his way. It

:18:35. > :18:44.looked a little bit long but he will argue otherwise.

:18:45. > :19:15.He needs to concentrate, though. Still another break point.

:19:16. > :19:33.Where is the sport in this country at the moment, hearing that more and

:19:34. > :19:38.more are taking it up at the clubs around the country, the tennis

:19:39. > :19:41.foundation, the charity that helps promote the sport, working so hard

:19:42. > :19:46.to bring people in off the back of the success of people like you,

:19:47. > :19:52.Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett winning here last year, Paralympic

:19:53. > :19:57.medallist, whereabouts are we? Are we making the progress you would

:19:58. > :20:00.want? Great Britain is at the top of the rankings, last year we won the

:20:01. > :20:16.most tennis Paralympic medals, the most Grand Slams, Giordano, Gordon,

:20:17. > :20:19.Alfie. But in terms of wider participation? We have got more

:20:20. > :20:23.people playing, tennis chatting to tennis centres from the tennis

:20:24. > :20:29.foundation, it is about all-inclusive sport, anyone can go

:20:30. > :20:35.and play, go to their local park, play for recreation, rehabilitation,

:20:36. > :20:39.competitive, play at Wimbledon now. So many more people playing, there

:20:40. > :20:44.is the UK series. It is in good shape. Hewett serving to stay in the

:20:45. > :20:58.singles at this year's championships.

:20:59. > :21:04.Hewett will be back later in the doubles alongside Gordon Reid,

:21:05. > :21:22.starting the defence of their title against Fernandez. Get that

:21:23. > :21:26.entertainment when Gustavo is on the court, flying around on his wheels!

:21:27. > :21:32.Look at this! He must think he is Boris Becker! They should get him

:21:33. > :21:37.down to have a game in a chair on the grass. I don't think Boris would

:21:38. > :21:44.fancy his chances against Gestapo. I don't think many of us do. He has

:21:45. > :21:46.got to be careful, that is going to hurt. Two points from a place in the

:21:47. > :21:59.final. You can see he is prepared to do

:22:00. > :22:02.anything to win the point. Lovely forehand down the line. Two match

:22:03. > :22:30.points. Saved one match point, lovely serve

:22:31. > :23:25.out wide. Saved two match point and now he has

:23:26. > :24:20.a game point. Fernandez has squandered those.

:24:21. > :24:32.He is continuing to defy the South American.

:24:33. > :24:43.He has got stacks of support from his friends and family in the stands

:24:44. > :24:47.here on court 17. And Alfie has got history with Gustavo, only just won

:24:48. > :24:56.the French Grand Slam, Hewett was down big-time, came back and won

:24:57. > :25:03.that, so he knows that Gustavo must get nervous. Yes, Fernandez had a

:25:04. > :25:09.couple of much point in the second set tie-break at Roland Garros,

:25:10. > :25:10.didn't take them, Hewett won the third set, became French Open

:25:11. > :25:18.champion. He has got three match points for a

:25:19. > :26:02.place in the final. He has not really had the luck, the

:26:03. > :26:34.rub of the green. He has done it. Points to his

:26:35. > :26:37.ticker. There will be no singles success by Alfie Hewett at this

:26:38. > :26:41.year's Championships. He might be able to do it again in the doubles,

:26:42. > :26:45.but this is all about Gustavo Fernandez, in the week that he

:26:46. > :26:48.became the world number one, it is turning into an extraordinary week

:26:49. > :27:00.because he is now a Wimbledon finalist. Fantastic. Great work. You

:27:01. > :27:06.can see what it means to the coaches, Fernandez is so happy. I'm

:27:07. > :27:18.sure there is a big hug coming, it means so much.

:27:19. > :27:26.Enjoying the celebrations there out on court 17, Fernandez is through to

:27:27. > :27:32.the final. Where he will meet Stefan Olsson, he put out Gordon Reid

:27:33. > :27:37.yesterday, he is last year's runner-up, he came through against

:27:38. > :27:40.Shingo Kunieda of Japan, so the unseeded Olsen is through and will

:27:41. > :27:45.take on Gustavo Fernandez in the men's singles final at Wimbledon. It

:27:46. > :27:53.has not been a good tournament for the British players in the singles

:27:54. > :27:56.here at Wimbledon. And in the ladies singles, Sabine Ellerbrock of

:27:57. > :28:03.Germany has put out the number two seed Yui Kamiji. It was a really

:28:04. > :28:07.tight one, 7-6 in the first set, nothing between them, Yui Kamiji has

:28:08. > :28:13.won three Grand Slams but never Wimbledon, but she will be competing

:28:14. > :28:17.in the doubles with Jordanne Wiley of Great Britain, but well done to

:28:18. > :28:30.Sabine Ellerbrock of Germany. And she will face DeGroot who came

:28:31. > :28:35.through against Van Koot, so DeGroot will take on Ellerbrock in the

:28:36. > :28:42.ladies singles final. Over on Court One it is the ladies

:28:43. > :28:51.doubles semifinals taking place, the first one is on court at 1pm, it was

:28:52. > :28:59.won by Makarova and professionally in straight sets, so they are

:29:00. > :29:07.through to the final, 7-5, 6-2, and into the final on Sunday. And just a

:29:08. > :29:11.reminder of our programmes tomorrow, the wheelchair ladies singles final

:29:12. > :29:16.and the wheelchair men's doubles final will take place starting from

:29:17. > :29:23.11am on BBC Two, Steve Cram will join Clare Balding for that one.

:29:24. > :29:26.And the ladies singles final will be tomorrow, Garbine Muguruza against

:29:27. > :29:31.the five-time winner here Venus Williams, that will be one to look

:29:32. > :29:35.forward to, that is on BBC One tomorrow at 1pm.

:29:36. > :29:40.It is men's semifinals day today and on Centre Court at the moment it is

:29:41. > :29:44.Sam Querrey against Marin Cilic, one set all, 3-2 in the third, they have

:29:45. > :29:49.both had a break of serve in this third set so nothing between them at

:29:50. > :29:51.the moment, that match is going to be on BBC One, over on BBC One right

:29:52. > :30:02.now. So that is on Centre Court. Later on

:30:03. > :30:07.we have the great man Roger Federer for his match against Tomas Berdych.

:30:08. > :30:16.So all that to look forward to on men's semifinals day.

:30:17. > :30:19.In the build up to women I have been travelling round interview sop of

:30:20. > :30:22.the legends of the game, that included the man I was talking

:30:23. > :30:26.about, the great man Roger Federer. And I spoke to him, about his

:30:27. > :30:43.incredible love for this event, and this club.

:30:44. > :30:51.Asking where is the locker room and like where can we warm up, what are

:30:52. > :30:55.we allowed to do? When do we play? What is the routines and all these

:30:56. > :31:00.thing, everything was so new, it is like living a dream world. Do you

:31:01. > :31:03.remember your fist junior match? Yes, I do remember it as well. It

:31:04. > :31:12.was between Court One and Centre Court, one of those upper courts

:31:13. > :31:18.there, and I played I a German or Austrian other junior, I was so

:31:19. > :31:21.nervous and ended up winning the match comfortably, thankfully. I

:31:22. > :31:25.remember you saw the National Health Service not the right height. ? Yes,

:31:26. > :31:29.that is so true, probably after three or five games or so, I went to

:31:30. > :31:35.the umpire, and asked him could you check the net, I have the feeling

:31:36. > :31:39.that is way too high, because I can't serve and I don't know, it

:31:40. > :31:44.just felt super odd the whole thing, he is like, I've checked it before

:31:45. > :31:48.the match, like we always do here, and I am like well, yes, do you mind

:31:49. > :31:55.checking it, downstairs, and like, see if it is really correct. He

:31:56. > :32:00.went, told you so, it's right. It was terrible. So many to choose

:32:01. > :32:07.from, do you have one match that stands out for you? Yes, I like the

:32:08. > :32:12.junior Wimbledon finals because you know, winning or losing the finals

:32:13. > :32:16.was a big deal and getting the trophy presented on Centre Court,

:32:17. > :32:21.like in the stands and the Royal Box, was very special, I was very

:32:22. > :32:24.nervous because they made us wait in the old enclosure where the locker

:32:25. > :32:29.rooms were on the Centre Court, right up behind the Royal Box, so I

:32:30. > :32:32.could be in the locker room where Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe used to

:32:33. > :32:38.play, so that was very cool, but then of course, I think the 2001

:32:39. > :32:43.Fourth Round against Sampras was my special match, that I don't know,

:32:44. > :32:49.made it all so worthwhile, all the hard work, and, and then I realised

:32:50. > :32:53.how much fun tennis can be. You have fallen in love with Centre courts

:32:54. > :32:57.and everyone remembers Grand Slam titles so your first Grand Slam

:32:58. > :33:03.title, is that still one that is the most special to you? Yes, think it

:33:04. > :33:06.was most emotional, it was so real, to receive the trophy which feel

:33:07. > :33:09.like magical in itself, and then you have to speak to the crowd, whereas

:33:10. > :33:14.back in the day you didn't have to, all you got with a trophy, showed it

:33:15. > :33:18.and that was it. Now we speak, so the whole speaking to the people, in

:33:19. > :33:21.the stadium, people at home on TV, is very emotional for me, because

:33:22. > :33:28.how do you explain how you feel right now? It is a dream for me,

:33:29. > :33:34.coming true, and I was joking around when I was a boy, you know I'm going

:33:35. > :33:40.to win this, and... APPLAUSE

:33:41. > :33:46.Thanks to everybody. It's great. Congratulations, Roger Federer.

:33:47. > :33:50.It came crashing down on me, in a way I am happy it was like this,

:33:51. > :33:56.because I lived it full, and I look back and I think, I can feel every

:33:57. > :34:00.sequence wint through, even though it is almost 15 years ago, my career

:34:01. > :34:05.could have stopped then and I would have been a complete human being and

:34:06. > :34:12.tennis player. Moving on a few years to 2009. For me, that was possibly

:34:13. > :34:20.the best Wimbledon final. It had everything. It was OK, can Roger

:34:21. > :34:25.regain his crown? The record was on the line, of getting I think,

:34:26. > :34:30.getting to my 15th Grand Slam after 14th at the French Open. My wife was

:34:31. > :34:35.pregnant with twin, nobody knew that other than the family and my friends

:34:36. > :34:38.and it was like this, sort of the perfect summer really for me,

:34:39. > :34:42.somehow found a way squeeze it out and get the win, and break the

:34:43. > :34:46.record, and Bjorn Borg was there, John McEnroe was there, and... Pete

:34:47. > :34:52.was there. Absolutely, Pete came, which was, you know, very rare that

:34:53. > :34:58.he comes and shows up, so, and, all that against Andy, who you know, I

:34:59. > :35:02.have so much respect, I love him, it felt so good but it felt so wrong

:35:03. > :35:06.beating Andy because he deserved it. The week before, do you often sneak

:35:07. > :35:10.on Centre Court alone? Not so much. I am not the guy who looks and just

:35:11. > :35:15.looks at Centre Court and tries to visualise what could happen, you

:35:16. > :35:20.know, for the next few weeks. Or look back even? Or look back for

:35:21. > :35:25.that matter, yes. Not really, but I guess I enjoy sometimes having a

:35:26. > :35:29.small glance, like a love having a small glance on Court Number One,

:35:30. > :35:34.which is easier when you are walking back-and-forth, you can walk a few

:35:35. > :35:39.steps up and see Court One, everything is so neatly done at

:35:40. > :35:46.Wimbledon. It is little moments time and time again that you go that

:35:47. > :35:50.bring flashbacks from history, for me, personally, but also from other

:35:51. > :35:53.amazing matches being played there. His love affair with Wimbledon

:35:54. > :35:57.shines through, doesn't it. He will be second of the matches on Centre

:35:58. > :36:01.Court against Tomas Berdych. You may have a long wait because Cilic and

:36:02. > :36:06.Querrey played the second longest match in the tournament's history

:36:07. > :36:08.back in 2012. 17-15, took five-and-a-half hours and they are

:36:09. > :36:15.locked in battle. A set and four all. So we will see Roger Federer

:36:16. > :36:19.later on today. We will head back to Court Number One, shortly, but first

:36:20. > :36:23.Tim Henman tell us about the key element that makes Wimbledon the

:36:24. > :36:28.most unique of the Grand Slams. The feeling of the grass under your

:36:29. > :36:32.feet is almost like the most perfect carpet.

:36:33. > :36:37.The perfect foundation, play great tennis on. It is inevitable that a

:36:38. > :36:42.living surface is going to change, because it's alive.

:36:43. > :36:45.That is such a challenge for the players because there's no other

:36:46. > :36:49.surface that will change so dramatically over a tournament.

:36:50. > :36:53.The begin of the grass court season, the ball is going to be skidding

:36:54. > :36:57.through a bit more, it will bounce a little bit lower, the courts dry

:36:58. > :37:01.out, they get harder, the ball will bounce higher. I think grass court

:37:02. > :37:05.tennis is more exciting because there were more variables.

:37:06. > :37:09.That is why I think you have seen some the best match ups, we have

:37:10. > :37:13.ever seen in the game take place at Wimbledon. Women is the greatest

:37:14. > :37:20.challenge. Grass court tennis is what it is about. -- Wimbledon.

:37:21. > :37:26.And it is a surface that Tim certainly loves, and he is a big

:37:27. > :37:31.part of the club here, the All-England Club, he is on the

:37:32. > :37:35.committee for not only the courts but the order of play as well. So we

:37:36. > :37:45.are heading, as I said over to Court One. This is the second of the

:37:46. > :37:50.Ladies' Doubles semifinals fee. As you can see it is early stages now,

:37:51. > :38:00.just one game has been played so let us join our commentators on Court

:38:01. > :38:08.One. Ninomiya to serve.

:38:09. > :38:13.5'1, from Japan, ranked 62 in the world.

:38:14. > :38:20.First Grand Slam semifinal as it is for her partner. Semifinals in

:38:21. > :38:30.Southsea near Portsmouth. Their only tournament together.

:38:31. > :38:33.It is a huge day for them. They played a wonderful quarterfinal,

:38:34. > :39:06.this pair. Have for for give her for a few

:39:07. > :39:08.double faults today. She is shortest on the court. Doesn't hit with a lot

:39:09. > :39:27.of spin, he is quite flat. That is the side they are going to

:39:28. > :39:30.work on for Niculescu, unless she connects that perfectly that

:39:31. > :39:48.forehand does tend to sit up a little.

:39:49. > :39:57.That was a really awkward bounce, there, from Niculescu. And Ninomiya

:39:58. > :40:00.will get used to that pretty quickly in this match, there is not many

:40:01. > :40:02.straight bounces that come off the racket of Niculescu.

:40:03. > :40:32.Break points. Just what I mentioned, if you can

:40:33. > :40:34.take her that step wired and not let Niculescu get behind that forehand

:40:35. > :41:20.swing, she will have some problems. Such a busy player, Ninomiya.

:41:21. > :41:30.Quick, you need to be, when you are 5'1. They are a good combination,

:41:31. > :41:39.Niculescu has the better serve. Ninomiya served first for the team.

:41:40. > :41:49.Good positive play there from Chan. This one here, Niculescu just

:41:50. > :41:54.choosing to hit and come forward, not doing enough. The Japanese

:41:55. > :41:56.player couldn't get up over Chan's head.

:41:57. > :42:24.Third break point of the game. Mentioned what a big day it was for

:42:25. > :42:30.Ninomiya and Voracova. But it is for Chan and Niculescu. This is the

:42:31. > :42:36.first semifinal as it is for Niculescu. They have only played one

:42:37. > :43:01.tournament together too, so nerves could play a big part.

:43:02. > :43:07.Some great hitting, perhaps that could have gone over the head of

:43:08. > :43:09.Niculescu. Nice finer from Chan. Not afraid to be nice and aggressive

:43:10. > :44:01.with her volleys. You see the crowd look at each other

:44:02. > :44:05.like this, "Well I've never heard of Ninomiya or Voracova before". The

:44:06. > :44:09.forehand side is the side that can let Chan down, that extreme grip

:44:10. > :44:16.doesn't work so much on the grass, she likes Claire and hard court much

:44:17. > :44:28.better, bounce suits a little hiring. She is still above the net,

:44:29. > :44:31.Voracova, but she is bending down. Hope they didn't have a row last

:44:32. > :44:53.night? She'll know about it! Superb.

:44:54. > :44:58.This is when Niculescu has to be a bit careful. She let that one drop

:44:59. > :45:02.and she craves some space, she doesn't really punch that volley

:45:03. > :45:08.away, she tends to just lift it a bit. But what a shot from, she will

:45:09. > :45:22.be happy, that will give her a little confidence.

:45:23. > :45:36.Close. Challenged by Niculescu immediately.

:45:37. > :45:38.That's why. They were in control of the point.

:45:39. > :46:11.First serve again. Four break points saved. Super hold.

:46:12. > :46:19.Smart play there from Ninomiya, just really taking away that backhand

:46:20. > :46:24.shot of Chan on the return. Focussing on that forehand, they are

:46:25. > :46:37.focussing on a nice drink Chris. Don't blame them.

:46:38. > :46:55.Hits ball very flat, Voracova, as does her partner.

:46:56. > :47:00.Perfectly on the frame. Perfect that one.

:47:01. > :47:16.Save on restrings. Football called.

:47:17. > :47:34.-- foot fall called. Good one-two combination there.

:47:35. > :47:39.The fact she stands so wide, really can come in on that left hip of

:47:40. > :48:00.Voracova. We know she loves that off backhand.

:48:01. > :48:07.Confident moving there, from Ninomiya. Just moving forwards with

:48:08. > :48:10.the drive volley. Stays very low. Good pick up from Voracova, but very

:48:11. > :48:46.solid off that shot. Great play.

:48:47. > :48:52.From Voracova, I think that is very smart. If she the get something a

:48:53. > :49:05.bit short e get the ball back quicklitor, the server, a lot of

:49:06. > :49:29.Sob initiative for Ninomiya and Voracova. And it is, when you think

:49:30. > :49:31.about it, the names, they are not familiar, unless you really are

:49:32. > :49:35.tuning in specifically to watch this match, to follow them, because you

:49:36. > :49:40.have seen them in their careers and so on, it's new ground for everybody

:49:41. > :49:44.here, and it is such an amazing opportunity, to make a Wimbledon

:49:45. > :49:48.final. Yes, I think we are seeing it across the board, whether it is in

:49:49. > :49:52.single, doubles, there seems to be a lot more variation in the players

:49:53. > :49:56.that are getting through to the latter stages of events, and think

:49:57. > :50:00.that is great. You see these young juniors and they see players like

:50:01. > :50:04.this, they give themselves a good chance. It is learning the skills of

:50:05. > :50:09.doubles early on, particularly for these lady, it really does put you

:50:10. > :50:18.in good stead for later on in your career, that is something the

:50:19. > :50:29.Japanese focus on. It is a real common thread with the Japanese, its

:50:30. > :50:36.is great to see. Skies clear.

:50:37. > :50:45.Voracova the last to serve. With the break, leads 2-1 first set.

:50:46. > :50:57.Always does that with the shoulders before every serve.

:50:58. > :51:02.It's in. We know Niculescu loves moving

:51:03. > :51:06.forward. They are going to start doubting their movement, and

:51:07. > :51:39.doubting themselves, if Voracova can keep putting in these terrific lobs.

:51:40. > :51:48.That is just a yip. It is like Nadal putting the hair behind his ear,

:51:49. > :51:52.although he goes through about ten things before he serves. I hope he

:51:53. > :51:56.is is not watching this match, he will do the shoulders as well. Great

:51:57. > :52:00.hands from Chan, tracking her opponent across the net, when you

:52:01. > :52:07.watch her eye, she's so good at watching what her opponent does,

:52:08. > :52:30.she's now looking, hands behind the ball, great pick up.

:52:31. > :52:44.Always looking to poach, Niculescu. They all are. Chances to get the

:52:45. > :52:47.break straight back. Timing of interceptions is crucial.

:52:48. > :53:03.Just as your opponent is about to hit, ideally.

:53:04. > :53:17.So difficult. So difficult to respond to that amount of slice.

:53:18. > :53:22.She is a totally individual player Niculescu, there is nobody like her.

:53:23. > :53:26.She is so unique, so skillful, how hard is it to return a slice like

:53:27. > :53:45.that. Ask Fed, he doesn't do it a lot.

:53:46. > :53:50.Just waits for the perfect moment there Chan, you can notice Niculescu

:53:51. > :53:55.preferring to hit the backhand, she can come over that, the top edge of

:53:56. > :53:56.the racket will come on top for the backhand, but, not for her other

:53:57. > :54:13.side. Being solid is her mantra, might be

:54:14. > :54:44.happy with missing that return. Just releases a bit of pressure

:54:45. > :55:02.there, Chan. Nice touch.

:55:03. > :55:07.Got so many different shots Niculescu. She has so many different

:55:08. > :55:09.sounds as well, when she hits them. She telegraphs what she's going to

:55:10. > :55:48.do, almost. Niculescu played in the singles

:55:49. > :55:53.here, lost to Rybarikova, the eventual semifinalist. A lot of the

:55:54. > :55:57.top female players still play doubles. It is a great training

:55:58. > :56:01.ground. If you have a dip, the other player can try and pick you up, say

:56:02. > :56:07.come on, don't worry, this one, next one. There is no question about it.

:56:08. > :56:11.I think it is very much shown here at women by one athlete that has

:56:12. > :56:19.played a lot of doubles in the past. Is Muguruza. She played with Suarez

:56:20. > :56:23.Navarro. The fact she put all those years, Muguruza, in the doubles

:56:24. > :56:28.court, moving forward, is helping her currently at Wimbledon. She is

:56:29. > :56:33.one player that is averaging in every match ten times coming into

:56:34. > :56:37.the net per set. That is 20 balls moving forwards that she is able to

:56:38. > :56:54.execute in singles. Very positive.

:56:55. > :56:57.Mixed doubles with Santoro, that would be a puzzle for players to

:56:58. > :57:21.solve. Ninomiya, 2-3, first set. She has a bit of everyone, Ninomiya,

:57:22. > :57:30.like I say, of all the doubles players from Japan. There has been

:57:31. > :58:06.so many good doubles players from Japan.

:58:07. > :58:29.And respect, there is no question about it that Ninomiya would have

:58:30. > :58:32.picked up a lot of characteristics and been really influenced by past

:58:33. > :59:00.players from Japan. She gets a little lucky here though.

:59:01. > :59:14.I reckon the little one takes a bit of handling.

:59:15. > :59:23.They aried for it, Coric, you could see -- Voracova, there is only one

:59:24. > :59:28.direction that balling is coming and that is up.

:59:29. > :59:38.One of those should be at work today!

:59:39. > :59:42.A little flat footed there, Voracova. Serve comes at the body of

:59:43. > :00:01.Chan, she invariably goes the right at the net player.

:00:02. > :00:05.It is almost impossible, isn't it, to hit a passing shot with a slice.

:00:06. > :00:19.So hard. She really does vary the serve very

:00:20. > :01:28.well, Ninomiya. A good old-fashioned chip and

:01:29. > :01:42.charge. Yeah. If she can get the ball to sit down low on the grass,

:01:43. > :01:54.that's where Chan can step in and be effective. Point break.

:01:55. > :02:03.It's interesting we don't see a lot of chip and charge any more, do we?

:02:04. > :02:07.I think it's not necessarily because players are scared of moving

:02:08. > :02:10.forward, I think they don't always own the fact that the opponent is

:02:11. > :02:24.going to hit very hard. And you become a target and you have

:02:25. > :02:30.to be comfortable with moving forwards and knowing that you are a

:02:31. > :02:34.target. But just smart play again from Ninomiya. She will continually

:02:35. > :02:39.drag her opponents in and love to go up over the head as Voracova. It is

:02:40. > :02:41.clearly a game plan that these two have been using and will continue to

:02:42. > :03:02.use. She adapted really well here, Chan.

:03:03. > :03:13.You can just see her. She's moving across and then has to stop and

:03:14. > :03:25.reset. Terrific backhand. A struggle here for Ninomiya on her serve.

:03:26. > :03:45.Out, corrected immediately. First serve again.

:03:46. > :03:59.Immediate correction. The players can handle that better.

:04:00. > :04:07.They came out all smiling, all four of them on their big day but it is

:04:08. > :04:31.match faces on since the first point.

:04:32. > :04:41.It's a good hold, tough game. Saved a break point. It's nice to win a

:04:42. > :04:43.game like that. But when you win it positively, controlling the point,

:04:44. > :05:13.it gives you a bit more confidence. I think her reaction having had the

:05:14. > :05:29.first serve called out, cost her the double.

:05:30. > :05:36.Well, that one, the serve, still coming through it. Ninomiya just not

:05:37. > :05:38.moving her feet up to the ball, thinking it was going to come

:05:39. > :05:59.through a little faster. Wane side the baseline for this

:06:00. > :06:23.return. -- wane side. A game of errors so far. The first

:06:24. > :06:45.one, really. Chinese playing with Romanian, so

:06:46. > :07:27.you would assume English would be the language, for communication.

:07:28. > :07:45.Just over half an hour played and yes, the skies are clearing, as

:07:46. > :07:50.predicted. What was not predicted was these two pairs making

:07:51. > :07:53.semifinals, Louise, with such little time together but they've both

:07:54. > :07:59.gelled so W sometimes it just happens that way. -- gelled so well.

:08:00. > :08:02.Absolutely. You never know. Sometimes you just have good

:08:03. > :08:06.chemistry. And whether the game styles have matched up, and I feel

:08:07. > :08:10.both teams have matched up, as you said just the one time they've

:08:11. > :08:14.played together on grass. The other thing is, if you have success it

:08:15. > :08:17.gives you confidence moving forward. It is amazing how many girls play

:08:18. > :08:23.together. They play one tournament today and say - let's see how it

:08:24. > :08:29.goes, they lose fist round but never ask each other again but when off

:08:30. > :08:34.bit of success it must mean that the two game styles match up and to date

:08:35. > :08:37.we are seeing great variation and good match-ups here between height,

:08:38. > :08:51.the way they play, power, speed and it's fun to watch.

:08:52. > :09:02.New look Number 1 Court. Will look different again next year and then

:09:03. > :09:05.complete the following year. New balls in play. UMPIRE: Let, first

:09:06. > :09:28.service. Yeah, it's standard. Voracova, she's

:09:29. > :09:35.just going out there and Ninomiya is so good at just tracking that ball,

:09:36. > :09:41.picking that wauven. That one off. Good, solid hands. Every time she

:09:42. > :10:00.does that with her shoulders, it makes me sit up straight!

:10:01. > :10:16.He is pretty proud of himself. Made his day. He was in the Beijing

:10:17. > :10:23.Olympics. For catching! Yeah, good hands here but I love the fact that

:10:24. > :10:36.she just absolutely Trussed that smash.

:10:37. > :11:00.A fabulous smash. Got up so high for the smash and so low for that.

:11:01. > :11:11.The first love game of the match. Well, it was a game of attacking the

:11:12. > :11:13.forehand, wasn't it? All those serves were just going into the

:11:14. > :11:55.weaker sides of their opponents. It was going long. Chan heard the

:11:56. > :11:58.call too late from Niculescu. Well, sometimes that can be just a little

:11:59. > :12:23.distraction. She did apologise. Good hands. She does this

:12:24. > :12:30.exceptionally well, Chan. She can just see her eyes on her opponent.

:12:31. > :12:35.Hands out in front. Always looking to catch that ball to intercept.

:12:36. > :12:39.Good play. You watch club players play, and with respect they are

:12:40. > :12:46.always looking behind them, aren't they, at each shot being played?

:12:47. > :12:52.Racket down at the feet. It's a good point you make, in any level of

:12:53. > :12:54.doubles, you want to be looking forwards to see what is going on

:12:55. > :13:15.with the opposition. Applauded by Chan. That was

:13:16. > :13:20.magnificent. Well, pocket rocket, just throws this one in, doesn't

:13:21. > :13:22.she? Look at, that racket face, nice and flat. Comes back very quickly.

:13:23. > :13:36.No spin on that. Oh, fabulous. Well she was a live

:13:37. > :13:41.wire in the quarter-finals. She is again in the semis.

:13:42. > :14:13.O Oh, what a shame. Just needed to try to find the biggest part of the

:14:14. > :14:15.court there. They are only one off three in break points throughout the

:14:16. > :14:56.tournament, though. What a hit from Voracova. She didn't

:14:57. > :15:00.get enough air under this one. Too short. Nicely in the hip zone there

:15:01. > :15:10.for Chan. Break point played. No wonder there

:15:11. > :15:27.is a spring in the step. So 41 minutes and it'll be Ninomiya

:15:28. > :15:34.who has the pressure to hold serve to stay in the opening set. But they

:15:35. > :15:38.are just winning a few mini battles each these two pair, just one break

:15:39. > :15:41.apiece so far. How important this opening set in the biggest match in

:15:42. > :15:45.their careers, for all of them? Huge, isn't it. The team that can

:15:46. > :16:03.try to get a little bit more momentum. As we just saw there

:16:04. > :16:09.Ninomiya. Throughout the tournament, she is 13 off 34 break points. So

:16:10. > :16:15.not great conversion, but again, if they have to try and hang in here,

:16:16. > :16:22.she has to be nice and solid. Put a high percentage of first serves in.

:16:23. > :16:25.Try not to rely too much on the second serve which will allow

:16:26. > :16:27.Voracova to step in and play some of the great volleys which she has

:16:28. > :16:42.been. So Ninomiya serving to stay in the

:16:43. > :16:45.opening set. She saved one break point in her second service game. A

:16:46. > :17:16.very long game. To lose this first point, the power

:17:17. > :17:43.just not in the shot. She just wasn't using her feet.

:17:44. > :17:52.So much doubles played in tennis clubs in Britain. Those tennis clubs

:17:53. > :17:56.reit be backs of people's gardens. Not that many courts, and at peak

:17:57. > :17:58.times doubles has the priority in all of that, so there is a terrific

:17:59. > :18:19.history of doubles in Britain. Oh, sneaky again. Great awareness

:18:20. > :18:39.there from her. She slides it down the line, like a laser.

:18:40. > :19:10.Smart play from Ninomiya. Going to the body. Just not giving her the

:19:11. > :19:14.comfort for looking for the forehand. I felt she probably should

:19:15. > :19:19.have went to the backhand but good play. Keep your opponent guessing on

:19:20. > :19:36.the returns. One off eight that will start to

:19:37. > :20:11.hurt, if it doesn't already. Well, does a lot of good work here,

:20:12. > :20:15.Niculescu. Picks up this, great hand but again, just not penetrating that

:20:16. > :20:21.through. When you are up above the net, you've got to get the ball to

:20:22. > :20:27.hit down. You have to try to be the fist one to get the ball to fade. --

:20:28. > :20:46.be the first one. That's another really tough service

:20:47. > :20:52.game for the Japanese. No cheap points.

:20:53. > :20:56.Just not comfortable there. Balanced. Doesn't get the contact

:20:57. > :21:16.point in front. That's the second time that has

:21:17. > :21:23.happened in the match. Immediately corrected, though. How many line

:21:24. > :21:42.judges are sat there in a smie final before? -- semifinal before?

:21:43. > :21:46.A little bit of organised chaos there, Chris and not happy at all

:21:47. > :22:00.with that, Niculescu. A little bit of everything here, but

:22:01. > :22:16.the frustration. Amazing facial expression, look at that.

:22:17. > :22:25.For her third service game in a reshe's dug deep and saved points

:22:26. > :22:30.She is a tough little characters isn't, she, Ninomiya? You are almost

:22:31. > :22:35.taught not to show emotions and under pressure, sometimes that is

:22:36. > :23:07.very handy to have. Niculescu showed us some emotion there.

:23:08. > :23:15.When you've only broken once and you've had eight break points, it

:23:16. > :23:22.can get in the way a little. Chan a little ruffled here. The support

:23:23. > :23:51.camp right behind her there, front row.

:23:52. > :24:18.Well, just tried to go for that one too finely. Too much angle.

:24:19. > :24:29.Oh, that was hit powerfully and confidently.

:24:30. > :24:34.A great little mover as well. Look at the handseting up. Packs a punch

:24:35. > :25:07.into that. The depth and pace. The 11th of the match. Ninomiya and

:25:08. > :25:46.Voracova are one from two. So the unseeded pair, ranked 62 and

:25:47. > :25:52.58 in the world will serve for this opening set. The riches are great at

:25:53. > :26:00.Wimbledon these days, Ninomiya, this year, has won $16,000. In her career

:26:01. > :26:04.she's won ?$149,000. Already in the semifinals, they've each won ?50,000

:26:05. > :26:08.and it doubles up from there. This one match alone, each is worth

:26:09. > :26:13.another ?50,000. I mean when you have only made ?16,000 in the year,

:26:14. > :26:18.this is life-changing. Absolutely, isn't it, Chris. That going to make

:26:19. > :26:21.a massive difference to both of these players, Voracova, 33, she

:26:22. > :26:27.obviously has a lot of expenses been out here for a long time. She'll now

:26:28. > :26:33.look at her career in a different light. She will probably want to

:26:34. > :26:39.invest a little bit more. That's what I mean about life changing, it

:26:40. > :26:44.is not going to buy a big house and everything else and security but you

:26:45. > :26:49.can invest in yourself more Yes, there is no question about it. It is

:26:50. > :26:53.just wonderful for any one of these four players but certainly this pair

:26:54. > :26:59.on screen here are going to benefit the most.

:27:00. > :27:02.Renata Voracova serving for the opening set at 6-5, after 52

:27:03. > :27:49.minutes. Good movement there from Niculescu.

:27:50. > :28:12.You've go the to be brave in these situations. -- got to be brave.

:28:13. > :28:19.All of a sudden, it seems like Voracova has told herself - I'm

:28:20. > :28:35.serving for the first set in the semifinal at Wimbledon.

:28:36. > :28:53.-- break point saved. I suppose her camp will really start to worry when

:28:54. > :29:04.she does the shoulder movements twice.

:29:05. > :29:13.Tie-break to decide this opening set.

:29:14. > :29:19.UMPIRE: Tie-break, both teams receive one additional challenge.

:29:20. > :29:22.Well, that's the way to return after you've been broken. Put pressure

:29:23. > :29:48.straight back. She knows Voracova is going across

:29:49. > :30:15.and cuts this one down. It is tough under pressure, just had

:30:16. > :31:06.the feel. Got to keep things nice and tight

:31:07. > :31:10.this pair, let the more experienced pairings runway with the little

:31:11. > :31:58.extra confidence here early this this tie-break.

:31:59. > :32:12.Everyone is getting tired. It is pap panel, isn't it. And you would think

:32:13. > :32:17.a player such as Chan, who's won 12 tournaments and Niculescu blessing

:32:18. > :32:31.herself there. She has won nine tournaments.

:32:32. > :32:34.Palpable, isn't it. And you would think a player such as Chan, who's

:32:35. > :32:36.won 12 tournaments and Niculescu blessing herself there.

:32:37. > :32:43.She has won nine tournaments. It is catching, isn't it. Nice

:32:44. > :32:45.reaction to have the smile. That is the beauty of doubles, to try and

:32:46. > :32:49.leave some pressure with your partner.

:32:50. > :32:52.Talk each other through it. Highlight whence you see the tension

:32:53. > :32:54.here, what singles players go through, they have to do it on their

:32:55. > :34:09.own. That is right. Good combination there from

:34:10. > :34:10.Niculescu and Chan, solid at the net, she was really ready for that

:34:11. > :35:02.one. They have been so good at coming

:35:03. > :35:04.back, every time they have got down, Ninomiya loves a challenge, she has

:35:05. > :35:54.great character. Great move from Niculescu. The depth

:35:55. > :35:58.from Chan's shot, just gave her enough time, this one here, just

:35:59. > :36:03.gives her enough time to assess the situation. Knows it is going to be

:36:04. > :36:12.difficult for Ninomiya to penetrate through the court. Court. Two more

:36:13. > :36:28.set points. UMPIRE: Game and first set.

:36:29. > :36:35.Ninth seeds, half way to the final. They got a bit lucky, there is no

:36:36. > :36:39.question about that. They are just a bit more experienced perhaps, but

:36:40. > :36:46.Chan, I am sure, is feeling like, gosh, we got out of jail there.

:36:47. > :36:49.Very tight in that last service, that she had, and again there is

:36:50. > :36:54.that forehand, it is just sitting up. Voracova wasn't able to get in a

:36:55. > :37:00.good position, but that is going to sit up all day, that is the side,

:37:01. > :37:07.they really need to hone in on. And when you get one up high, that has

:37:08. > :37:14.to be nailed away. Just not much at all in this match, first serve

:37:15. > :37:20.points one, Chan, Niculescu but they are not doing so well after that

:37:21. > :37:25.second serve. Niculescu serve there for the taking. Three from 12. Well

:37:26. > :37:29.that could have gone either way, there is no question about it. It

:37:30. > :37:34.was just who was going to be a bit more assertive at the right time. ?

:37:35. > :37:39.Do you think Voracova felt it more, the pressure of that, the key

:37:40. > :37:43.points? Yes, I think so. Sometimes when you are a older, you have had

:37:44. > :37:47.more experience and not all those years were put together with

:37:48. > :37:55.positive experiences, you are content to have more pressure on

:37:56. > :38:00.you, whereas Ninomiya seems as if she is fighting and going through

:38:01. > :38:06.the motions. There is not a lot of debris from that young girl's mind.

:38:07. > :38:11.Voracova is 34, she might never get a better chance than this again.

:38:12. > :38:23.It account go one or of two ways, can't it.

:38:24. > :38:45.Chan and Voracova have been broken twice. Twice. Ninomiya unbroken so

:38:46. > :39:07.far. Hasn't had an easy service game,

:39:08. > :39:32.yet, Ninomiya. That is a terrific shot from

:39:33. > :39:38.Ninomiya. This one does not come up at all. It

:39:39. > :39:41.slices in. Goes across the face of the net

:39:42. > :40:15.here. Taking a little extra time, there

:40:16. > :40:20.was plenty of moving and a lot of balls hit in that rally. 16 in

:40:21. > :40:25.total. Of course the team that wins that

:40:26. > :40:49.rally always feels a little less tired.

:40:50. > :40:56.Oh... Smiles in the crowd at the moment, but the player, particularly

:40:57. > :41:06.Voracova looks very stern face. Sometimes just try and allow

:41:07. > :41:14.yourself to enjoy it more! Leave some tension.

:41:15. > :41:20.That will help. You are 5'one and you serve an ace, that is special.

:41:21. > :41:25.-- 5'1. She is inside Chan's mind, just a little bit there, because she

:41:26. > :41:29.has been going quite often to that forehand side, so sometimes on the

:41:30. > :41:33.big point, you go to the strengths because they are looking for you to

:41:34. > :41:35.go to the weakness, so that was a smart serve, I felt there. Chan

:41:36. > :42:36.really leaning the wrong way. The grip is low down, but when she

:42:37. > :42:47.hits the forehand ground stroke after, she moves it up occasionally.

:42:48. > :43:00.Good pace again. Ninomiya softening the point for her partner.

:43:01. > :43:04.So important for Niculescu to get some serves in, she doesn't have a

:43:05. > :43:31.powerful serve. Well left.

:43:32. > :43:36.She is animated Niculescu. When something goes good she likes to

:43:37. > :43:38.smile, she looks relaxed. Look out when something doesn't go so right.

:43:39. > :43:57.She equally shows her emotion. So solid. Like her ground streaks,

:43:58. > :43:59.compact. Never looks like he is going to miss her ground strokes,

:44:00. > :44:14.Ninomiya. So difficult to handle that. Fizzing

:44:15. > :44:50.low over the net. Plays every point. Point.

:44:51. > :44:53.With her heart. She does, it must be hard some times

:44:54. > :44:59.for Niculescu to come up with the right shot. How many options she

:45:00. > :45:03.has, I would be completely muddled in my mind, because, she's always

:45:04. > :45:05.thinking how to create, how to dismantle, how to hurt her point,

:45:06. > :47:34.not with pace, but the variation. Well, she really felt it towards the

:47:35. > :47:38.back end of this opening set, so... Ninomiya has really got to try to

:47:39. > :47:44.help her here, become the Captain. Talk her through this, try and help

:47:45. > :47:47.out at the net. Extra look for approach, but Niculescu, she loves

:47:48. > :47:59.that down the line forehand return. Manufacture

:48:00. > :48:07.Good play. When you have got two advancing doubles players, coming at

:48:08. > :48:10.you, this could be the best option, just divide the two straight down

:48:11. > :48:15.the mid. -- middle.

:48:16. > :48:20.And then it is up to the opponents just to communicate well enough to

:48:21. > :48:24.say who's going to take the ball. You could think it should have been

:48:25. > :48:42.on Chan's racket. She is the forehand player.

:48:43. > :49:18.She is only 5'1 but makes up for the reach by the tack she moves so well.

:49:19. > :49:34.Always looking to be in a good position. -- by the fact. Fact.

:49:35. > :49:43.Three double faults and an ace in the game.

:49:44. > :49:50.You talk about doubles combination, and how players play well with

:49:51. > :49:55.certain player, and if you look at Voracova, she is susceptible to

:49:56. > :50:00.never, she has missed a bit. Perhaps she can penetrate through the court,

:50:01. > :50:05.almost more than her partner, but, what Ninomiya can bring, is that

:50:06. > :50:12.save, that solid attitude, that cons cyst sip and Riley feel that that

:50:13. > :50:16.does comfort Voracova a lot. She can go out, if she makes an error she is

:50:17. > :50:20.not too worried because she knows her partner is so solid. I love

:50:21. > :50:26.watching, I talk a lot about the juniors from Japan, but they spend

:50:27. > :50:29.hours and hours, they look like ball machine, they are solid. That is the

:50:30. > :50:34.one thing they back themselves on, you will have to beat me, I am going

:50:35. > :50:38.to bring so much score board pressure, it is so good to see, even

:50:39. > :50:45.though she is the younger player, she is really solid and calm, a like

:50:46. > :50:55.how calm she has been today. -- I like.

:50:56. > :51:00.The crowd doing their best to get a Mexican wave going. It's a pretty

:51:01. > :51:05.good crowd here. 11,500 seats here. Slightly extended. Very slightly

:51:06. > :51:14.when the number one court is finished. 2000 -- 2090. New balls,

:51:15. > :51:30.second set. Look like they are been to the

:51:31. > :52:04.bon-bon counter. There is nothing worse in doubles

:52:05. > :52:07.than hearing your partner tut when you miss. It happens. Yes, it really

:52:08. > :52:33.does. Good hands from Niculescu. I was

:52:34. > :52:40.having a chat with coke co-she says that rexxxx Coco, that remind me of

:52:41. > :52:45.somebody I played with. This person said you haven't made a return

:52:46. > :52:50.today. That didn't comfort me. Bet she didn't say it quite like

:52:51. > :52:53.that either. No, she said when somebody isn't encouraging, it puts

:52:54. > :52:58.so much pressure, she said what do you any I'm going to do. I will

:52:59. > :53:17.tighten up more. Name! We want a name. I can't.

:53:18. > :53:21.Her full name. Brilliant. That brought a nice smile to a lot

:53:22. > :53:23.of people here, but this one sits up and a quick decision here, she

:53:24. > :53:43.really committed to this. At the moment they look the more

:53:44. > :53:49.likely, Chan and Niculescu, to win this match.

:53:50. > :53:57.Yes, I think so. It's close.

:53:58. > :54:14.No break, second set yet. Just the forehand, she doesn't

:54:15. > :55:07.finish it some time, decelerates a little.

:55:08. > :55:14.She owns it, I think if there is one player that can hit this shot, under

:55:15. > :55:28.all sorts of circumstances, it is Niculescu. Look at that. It just...

:55:29. > :55:34.Can't hit it any better. It is funny she would change it a

:55:35. > :55:39.bit, but not in the last few years she has really just stuck with that

:55:40. > :55:42.forehand slice, and can be predictable but on grass it seems to

:55:43. > :56:07.be working out quite well. Is there a piece of string or

:56:08. > :56:12.something on to Nick's racket there? Because they just kept going back to

:56:13. > :56:17.Niculescu. She moves very well, but she lacks that ability just to punch

:56:18. > :56:23.that volley away at time, and think that is why they keep drawing motion

:56:24. > :56:38.of the shots to her side. Another break point. They are two from ten.

:56:39. > :56:53.They have to make they shot. She just needed to find the court, Chan.

:56:54. > :57:40.Another tough service game for Ninomiya but she comes through it.

:57:41. > :57:45.Direction of serve equally important in double, to get a handle on

:57:46. > :57:57.anticipating it. You can see a lot of those one, ten

:57:58. > :58:00.of 16 going out to the forehand side of Niculescu and you can see why,

:58:01. > :58:08.because that is the side that is a bit more predictable. It is going to

:58:09. > :58:10.sit up. And mixing it up a bit better, probably slightly more,

:58:11. > :58:14.going to the forehand side of Chan, but I don't think they play enough

:58:15. > :58:19.through the body, I would like to see a bit more o that serve, just

:58:20. > :58:25.handcuff the player, you get a lot more shots that are going to lift

:58:26. > :58:38.and aren't as comfortable from the returner.

:58:39. > :58:45.Just reading some notes there, Voracova. Reverse psychology often

:58:46. > :58:51.work, doesn't it. When it gets to break point, convince yourself it is

:58:52. > :59:00.game point. A lot of player co-that. -- do that.

:59:01. > :59:08.Niculescu 2-3 second set. Oops.

:59:09. > :59:13.Oh wow. Did everything right there, moved to

:59:14. > :59:16.get into a good position, just the racket face too open. Just needed to

:59:17. > :59:37.use the pace, coming from the shot. That's better. She always said "I

:59:38. > :59:44.had a big circle through the middle of the court and the was my target.

:59:45. > :00:44.." Never go through the line, never be risky.

:00:45. > :00:53.You can look at service direction and where players like to serve into

:00:54. > :00:58.weaknesses of opponents but sometimes players are not able to

:00:59. > :01:02.serve a flat serve or a kick-serve, particularly player like Niculescu,

:01:03. > :01:04.she likes to hit slice so a lot of the serves are going to drift into

:01:05. > :01:32.the forehand side for opponent. You go back wall a little too often

:01:33. > :01:49.and your opponent is going to start picking it off.

:01:50. > :01:57.Niculescu just sensing her moment here, that they'd like to really

:01:58. > :02:10.lift. She's really pumping up Chan, saying - come on.

:02:11. > :02:22.Great shot. Smashing so well, isn't she? It gets right under the shot

:02:23. > :02:25.there. Good footwork, I like how she keeps that left harm up. -- that

:02:26. > :02:54.left arm up. Growing in confidence through

:02:55. > :03:07.without. I feel like Niculescu is starting to be the real mover and

:03:08. > :03:23.shaker out here. Nearly got that one back, Ninomiya.

:03:24. > :03:33.That's good again from Niculescu, able will unlucky but so sneaky. So

:03:34. > :03:39.good it see the best doubles players in the world can hit that shot over

:03:40. > :03:48.their opponent's head at the net and move

:03:49. > :03:53.She's just struggled today, hasn't she, Chan?

:03:54. > :04:02.Hanging in, 4-3. Nudging ahead, second set.

:04:03. > :04:09.Centre Court, one of the great sporting venues. The most famous

:04:10. > :04:16.court in the world. Number one court, where this match is being

:04:17. > :04:20.played just beyond and of course Wembley Stadium, where England play

:04:21. > :04:23.their home games for football and Tottenham Hotspur playing there next

:04:24. > :04:29.season and they have American football there and the Rugby League

:04:30. > :04:39.Cup challenge final there next month. Just magnificent pictures.

:04:40. > :04:50.Iconic venues. And of course, the Hill. Henman Hill originally named.

:04:51. > :04:51.Murray Mound. Konta keeps improving. -- if Konta keeps improving, we'll

:04:52. > :05:04.have to split it into three. An hour-and-a-half now, the

:05:05. > :05:38.semifinal. Again, she's just controlled the net

:05:39. > :05:55.so well, Nick Nick. -- Niculescu. Her coach is covered up today.

:05:56. > :06:05.Again, just showing nerves. I have a feeling that's why Niculescu has

:06:06. > :06:10.just really lifted. She's trying to encourage Chan. Chan is the one

:06:11. > :06:42.feeling it a little bit more in her team. That is her third double.

:06:43. > :06:47.It's that forehand side that has really started to let her down. The

:06:48. > :07:21.backhand super solid. Shame the rally finished with an

:07:22. > :07:26.error. Wonderful point. She didn't take advantage of that shot, the

:07:27. > :07:32.lob, Voracova not as confident at hitting that and moving in and

:07:33. > :07:38.creating that wall. Up want to move in and work in tandem with your

:07:39. > :07:57.partner to create that web at the net.

:07:58. > :08:05.Superb. They went over the wall. They did. Great shot. This one

:08:06. > :08:11.actually came off with a lot of pace. It's a very difficult one, the

:08:12. > :08:13.acceleration here. Loads of spin so dipped down really quickly. Almost

:08:14. > :08:34.impossible to get this one back. Most active on court, Niculescu. I

:08:35. > :08:36.think she's the one that's going to make the difference for this team

:08:37. > :08:41.here. The points are getting bigger all

:08:42. > :09:01.the time. What a chance? That's old school,

:09:02. > :09:09.isn't it? The chip stays low and she gets right on top of the net but she

:09:10. > :09:13.lacks the ability to get the top edge and always the bottom edge

:09:14. > :09:42.comes under the ball. The right movement, though.

:09:43. > :10:05.She's the go-to player, perhaps, Voracova, she got tight at the end

:10:06. > :10:11.of the first set and looked tight on that one. Return down the line,

:10:12. > :10:23.straight at her, see what happens. But she's going for the I formation.

:10:24. > :10:29.Good combining again from Niculescu. So quick to pick up on

:10:30. > :10:31.opportunities. I like watching her just assess the situation and be

:10:32. > :10:54.brave enough to take the action. Oh, wow! That's the shot of the

:10:55. > :11:08.match. Yeah, positive mind set, isn't it,

:11:09. > :11:13.Niculescu? She moves forwards and just jabs at this at the right

:11:14. > :11:20.moment. Gets a little luck.er if tune favours the brave. She's been

:11:21. > :11:24.tern -- for tune favours the brave. She's been the bravest on court.

:11:25. > :11:31.Another break point. That's two from 12 now And most of those have come

:11:32. > :11:38.off the racket of Chan there. She looks up at her coaching box and

:11:39. > :11:49.just thinks - why can I not make a return under pressure? Maybe lob.

:11:50. > :12:16.I'm looking to see, Ninomiya she'll go to the forehand side I would

:12:17. > :12:27.think on this occasion. It's amazing.

:12:28. > :12:32.That is her tenth break point saved, Ninomiya. Ten. Still hasn't been

:12:33. > :13:04.broken. That's why you can trust Japanese

:13:05. > :13:09.manufacturing. So solid. You know what you are going to get and that

:13:10. > :13:15.one was deep. So Voracova could really move. Like how she just

:13:16. > :13:36.leaned forwards there, the top edge, over the ball.

:13:37. > :13:46.Two more break points saved. A game away from levelling the match.

:13:47. > :13:52.Well there is where Ninomiya and Voracova, they have to draw

:13:53. > :13:56.confidence from the fact that Chan is really struggling out there on

:13:57. > :14:01.the ground strokes. Just really trying it make every return back at

:14:02. > :14:05.her feet. Just really creating some good presence. The player at the net

:14:06. > :14:09.has to move a lot here. Really trying to get inside the mindset,

:14:10. > :14:21.right now of Chan. She is struggling. She's go the to be

:14:22. > :14:27.sitting there just thinking - how? I had three opportunities and couldn't

:14:28. > :14:31.make the pass, past the net and Niculescu is the dominant factor.

:14:32. > :14:34.Moving a lot and trying to be so positive out there I and look,

:14:35. > :14:39.change of ends, she could barely say a word to Chan because she's just a

:14:40. > :14:44.little frustrated in her own mind, I'm sure.

:14:45. > :14:57.So Niculescu has to hold serve to stay in the second set at 4-5.

:14:58. > :16:33.Niculescu unbroken as well. Good presence here. Trying to keep

:16:34. > :17:07.the ball in court. Any opportunity. Yes, doesn't miss the overheads. Set

:17:08. > :17:11.point now for Ninomiya and Voracova Well good play for Voracova and

:17:12. > :17:27.again, the Japanese player has just been so good up on the smashes.

:17:28. > :17:37.A terrific effort. Niculescu broken for the first game. Look at the

:17:38. > :17:46.delight. The final dream is alive and well. It is 1-1 sets. This is

:17:47. > :17:49.exciting now, Chris. A great effort. Ninomiya and Voracova, they just

:17:50. > :17:57.gelled that little bit better towards the end of that second set.

:17:58. > :18:10.Chan just fell apart a little bit there.

:18:11. > :18:24.SUE BARKER: On Centre Court, Roger Federer is in action against Tomas

:18:25. > :18:30.Berdych. She has had a couple of break points but this is the second

:18:31. > :18:39.of the men's semifinals. A short time ago, Marin Cilic secured his

:18:40. > :18:43.place in his first-ever Wimbledon final, defeating Sam Querrey in four

:18:44. > :18:47.sets. How about this for a celebration? That's what it means.

:18:48. > :18:51.He raised his game. His team delighted. He has always been a

:18:52. > :18:54.danger man, a former US Open champion and through to the

:18:55. > :18:59.Wimbledon final for the first time. So we have Federer over on BBC One,

:19:00. > :19:03.and here on BBC Two, we are taking you back to the start of the third

:19:04. > :19:22.set. COMMENTATOR: 69 minutes gone,

:19:23. > :19:27.semifinal delicately poised. Chan and Niculescu have taken a comfort

:19:28. > :19:32.break. Who do you think, going into the final set, is more likely to win

:19:33. > :19:39.now, obviously they have the momentum having won the second set

:19:40. > :19:43.but the match has been so close. Voracova and Chan, for me have been

:19:44. > :19:47.slightly more vulnerable. I think Niculescu has made a difference for

:19:48. > :19:50.her team and I think they had opportunities there but Chan could

:19:51. > :19:55.not come up with one ball in the court on those returns and that

:19:56. > :19:57.absolutely hurt her team. It was Niculescu that was creating the

:19:58. > :20:02.opportunities, moving forward. Looking to be the one that was being

:20:03. > :20:07.more active and really things were going well. At the start of a new

:20:08. > :20:13.set, Louise, you can change sides on the return of serve if you wanted

:20:14. > :20:18.to. We very seldom, if ever see that. Is there an argument for that

:20:19. > :20:23.or is it crazy more often than not the break points are on the left

:20:24. > :20:26.court, so you have your best returner there, ideal, would they

:20:27. > :20:31.consider that or not? I don't think they will. I think Chan is so stuck

:20:32. > :20:37.in playing that backhand side, and that's where she can cover up her

:20:38. > :20:40.weakness, her forehand, so if she moves over to the forehand side and

:20:41. > :20:43.has to hit more forehands cross-court they'll pick up on that

:20:44. > :20:46.and if she plays the forehand side, she will hand the advantage to

:20:47. > :20:49.Niculescu or is Niculescu just always going to be under pressure? I

:20:50. > :20:54.would stick with what they have been practising with. There have been a

:20:55. > :21:00.few teams that have tried that. I know there was a team to played one

:21:01. > :21:03.set each time and changed because they both wanted to practise their

:21:04. > :21:07.singles but that doesn't always work. It puts a lot more pressure on

:21:08. > :21:12.just getting used to seeing what sort of ball is coming, what sort of

:21:13. > :21:18.serve is coming and hitting back across court. The players will often

:21:19. > :21:26.say they need at least one towel to sit on, one to use, and one towel

:21:27. > :21:30.just in case, they will be in bathrooms all over the world as soon

:21:31. > :21:34.as the Championships are over. They develop legs every year It is nice

:21:35. > :21:38.to have the different colours. And the different years? Yes and you

:21:39. > :21:46.have to have a selection of all the years that you played. Voracova just

:21:47. > :21:50.refuelling there as the opponents come back onner court.

:21:51. > :22:01.It is a super day now, blue skies, a good crowd. It'll be wonderful come

:22:02. > :22:05.2019 to have two covered course. The roof. Part of the four-year plan, by

:22:06. > :22:08.the time next year's tournament comes around, everything like the

:22:09. > :22:15.retractible part, rather like the Centre Court programme, that will be

:22:16. > :22:21.the only piece missing and by 2019 there will be two magnificent

:22:22. > :22:26.state-of-the-art roofs Well, let's hope it is a wet year. Remember when

:22:27. > :22:36.Centre Court finished, $100 million, it didn't rain for two years!

:22:37. > :22:37.UMPIRE: Final set. So Ninomiya the only player left unbroken to begin

:22:38. > :22:48.set three. I say the only player to be left

:22:49. > :22:52.unbroken, 5'1", remember. Smashes really well. Serves really well.

:22:53. > :23:25.Great attitude. Great character. Niculescu needs to be careful she

:23:26. > :23:29.doesn't over play, over her partner Chan, lock her out of some of these

:23:30. > :23:31.points because quhan will feel that and she may become a little less

:23:32. > :24:04.secure in how she feels already. She had to make an early judgment

:24:05. > :24:42.call there, whether that was going long.

:24:43. > :24:53.Super. That was really coolly done. Yeah, definitely a lot more

:24:54. > :24:57.confident and calm off this backhand side. Just to the left hand there,

:24:58. > :25:24.Chan. Oh, a chance. She knows it. She is

:25:25. > :25:26.having a little bit of fun. She loves to change things up,

:25:27. > :25:37.Niculescu. Her coach wasn't smiling. They've

:25:38. > :26:00.been together a long time. They have.

:26:01. > :26:09.Not a bad option. It's a fine line between leaving too early and also

:26:10. > :26:52.making sure that you've got enough reach to get across for that one.

:26:53. > :27:04.Well the return didn't have any pace on it, so edge across here Chan,

:27:05. > :27:18.that's a bit of a gift, moving so early. It is such a short ball, too.

:27:19. > :27:26.It would be the same for Ninomiya if she held easily. She has struggled

:27:27. > :27:31.each and every service game. She has saved ten break points and still is

:27:32. > :28:05.the only player on court left unbroken. Ten off 13. Amazing.

:28:06. > :28:14.Both went for that one, down the middle, Chan and Nick Nick. -- Chan

:28:15. > :28:19.and Niculescu. What is the golden rule on that Generally you want the

:28:20. > :28:26.person to hit it off the forehand volley. In this case I would just

:28:27. > :28:31.say to Niculescu - you try and take most of them, though, because she's

:28:32. > :28:33.the one that's been a bit more positive and she's making more

:28:34. > :29:00.balls, a bit calmer. Good strategic play there. That was

:29:01. > :29:05.from Ninomiya and Voracova. Owning the net and I think Ninomiya is

:29:06. > :29:09.smart, to give a bit of direction and give some purpose here to

:29:10. > :29:14.Voracova. Keep things really clear and simple for her and then she

:29:15. > :29:27.tends to move in situations a little bit better.

:29:28. > :29:48.Another drink being brought courtside by one of the ball boys.

:29:49. > :29:55.Niculescu, 0-1, final set after an hour and 55 minutes Again, just 86

:29:56. > :29:58.miles per hour, there's not much on it. You have to generate pace off

:29:59. > :30:50.Niculescu's serve. You needed those umbrellas for a

:30:51. > :31:00.day, and a tiny bit of another! Great return from Voracova. Probably

:31:01. > :32:14.her best one, that inside out backhand, with a lot of authority.

:32:15. > :32:22.Again, just showing that she is going to make her opponent play, she

:32:23. > :32:32.is not going to go away here. The movement, the focus. They have not

:32:33. > :32:40.been broken, Niculescu, until the last game of that second set.

:32:41. > :32:46.Another break point to save now. I mean, they are three from four and

:32:47. > :33:03.break points, Ninomiya and Voracova, compare the two from 13.

:33:04. > :34:08.That was coolly done. Good work here from Niculescu. Just trying to lift

:34:09. > :34:10.that one, but Voracova going away at the net there, nice and positive

:34:11. > :35:10.again. Break points saved. A little break

:35:11. > :35:16.for the new balls. Yes, she just held her nerve that little bit

:35:17. > :35:21.better, I felt today, Niculescu. If she has been under pressure, she has

:35:22. > :35:27.put a good serve in and backed herself. She has got to keep lifting

:35:28. > :35:35.her partner, Chan. She just has not been at her best all day today. The

:35:36. > :35:37.forehand has been missing a little, a couple of double faults, and just

:35:38. > :35:55.starting to weigh her down. And again, they know that is coming,

:35:56. > :36:00.that move, but she does it so well, Niculescu. We have seen Voracova hit

:36:01. > :36:04.that shot on return but has not been able to back herself in and moving

:36:05. > :37:26.into the net. Just a difference in strategy.

:37:27. > :37:34.That is a pretty instant challenge. Walking straightaway after she hit

:37:35. > :37:49.the serve and she felt she had made it. She was right. When is an

:37:50. > :37:53.instant challenge, they are normally right, aren't they? Yes, I'm sure

:37:54. > :38:07.she didn't hit that is fine as it was.

:38:08. > :38:30.A sign of nerves again? Yes, great depth from Chan. Yes, it is almost

:38:31. > :38:31.like she has issues in her game, Voracova. She just shook her right

:38:32. > :38:58.arm out. Yet another break point. Would you

:38:59. > :39:01.serve to a backhand or a forehand, Chris, Chan? Backhand, that is where

:39:02. > :39:18.most of the errors are coming from. I think she has missed off both

:39:19. > :39:33.sides! I was just contemplating! Two from 13! Yes!

:39:34. > :39:46.She might not have the hit one. Yes. Left arm comes down so quickly.

:39:47. > :39:55.Well, there was not anything on that return. Again, why not go for the

:39:56. > :39:59.lob? I know she smashes really well, Ninomiya, but break points,

:40:00. > :40:31.semifinal, start of the final set! Absolutely.

:40:32. > :40:52.Two from 14 break points. That could haunt them at the end of this match.

:40:53. > :41:09.Two hours and six minutes, I suppose it is how you look at it. They could

:41:10. > :41:14.say, we have had 14 chances, we will get a break in a minute. Yes, it is

:41:15. > :41:21.a numbers game, but you also once the trust what you are doing out

:41:22. > :41:26.there. If I look at Chan in between points, she looks very static to me.

:41:27. > :41:33.She doesn't look like she is really having some good internal dialogue.

:41:34. > :41:38.For me, I want to see a bit more enthusiasm Dick communication from

:41:39. > :41:44.this team. It has been all Niculescu trying to do the most out here and

:41:45. > :41:51.to lift the energy -- enthusiastic. Break points won. Yes, hugely

:41:52. > :41:56.different. 45%. One of two almost throughout the Championships. And

:41:57. > :42:08.today, the solo, and it is all coming on the shoulders of Chan. 250

:42:09. > :43:59.ball boys and girls, they are magnificent. Chan. 1-2, final set.

:44:00. > :44:07.Well, she keeps coming back, this young lady. I love her attitude. She

:44:08. > :44:11.seems to be enjoying herself out here. She has had so little

:44:12. > :44:17.experience at this level, but for her team, she is the standout. Ten

:44:18. > :44:28.years difference in age between her and her partner.

:44:29. > :44:46.82 mph serve. That did not really look like it was going to come over.

:44:47. > :44:54.They have hardly played with each other, both pairs. That is pretty

:44:55. > :44:58.significant. Still finding out about playing with each other. Yes, you

:44:59. > :45:02.understand they have only lost one match each together in their last

:45:03. > :45:23.tournament. So just understanding what happens under pressure.

:45:24. > :46:19.And pretty early, she went, Niculescu. Got away with it.

:46:20. > :47:26.It remains a really close match. It has been from the beginning.

:47:27. > :47:30.Oh, she just pulled that one a little wide, could not quite

:47:31. > :48:06.stabilise herself on the forehand. Well, her feet are just feeling

:48:07. > :48:11.heavier and heavier. That is a pretty standard high backhand volley

:48:12. > :48:19.for Chan, just getting so frustrated with herself. Trademark skills of

:48:20. > :48:20.Niculescu not disappearing. She is going to continue to play her game

:48:21. > :48:43.style. The advantage of serving first.

:48:44. > :48:48.Final set, they served first in the second set as well. A break when the

:48:49. > :49:07.pressure was there on the scoreboard, last game of the set.

:49:08. > :49:31.Two and a quarter hours. Let's hope it has inspired the play. That

:49:32. > :49:35.typifies how close the match has felt. As soon as there was a break,

:49:36. > :49:40.the other team broke back, that happened twice in the first set so

:49:41. > :49:44.nobody got two games ahead. It was the same in the second set until the

:49:45. > :49:50.break at the very end of it. The whole match has just stayed within

:49:51. > :49:53.that, there is a lot of stress out there, for either player to get some

:49:54. > :49:59.momentum and you really push ahead. And I just feel there has been one

:50:00. > :50:05.good player on both sides. And one liking a little bit. We have not

:50:06. > :50:11.seen two really shoot of together and in tandem play quality tennis.

:50:12. > :50:15.The team that is going to lock it in and be more consistent together is

:50:16. > :50:19.going to be the one that is going to make the difference. I don't think

:50:20. > :50:23.it is going to be up to one player to really challenge them and create

:50:24. > :50:27.the difference, it has got to come together. And whichever team can do

:50:28. > :50:33.that first is going to get that little momentum shift. And be in the

:50:34. > :52:05.Wimbledon final. What a thing to play for! Niculescu, 2-3, final set.

:52:06. > :52:14.So tricky, isn't she, Niculescu? She certainly is, and that is the only

:52:15. > :52:21.second love held service game of the match. The first was from Voracova,

:52:22. > :52:25.the level it for- four, so every service game is a battle.

:52:26. > :52:31.Absolutely, that is a little sign of where she is at, Niculescu. She is

:52:32. > :52:34.certainly the calmest and court, making the best decisions. She has

:52:35. > :52:55.been the bravest and the glue for her team throughout.

:52:56. > :53:03.This will just make a difference here for this young lady, Chan. She

:53:04. > :53:52.has not been able to really be dominant today at all.

:53:53. > :54:02.Voracova has to be very careful of the toss here. She is starting to

:54:03. > :54:08.get it a fairway into the court and very close to a foot fault there.

:54:09. > :54:20.She has been called for one foot fault already today. Oh, there is a

:54:21. > :54:27.little bump there. Oh, yes. Oh! It is so early there. Ninomiya. Chan

:54:28. > :54:30.spotted it, but just could not make it. Anything over the net was going

:54:31. > :54:45.to be a winner. I could watch this match all day, it

:54:46. > :55:05.is magnificent! Pressure next on Chan. Two hours and

:55:06. > :55:12.20 minutes. Have you been to the Wimbledon shot yet? No, I have not.

:55:13. > :55:19.Some amend toes. I got some stunning things, though. Oh, the train is on.

:55:20. > :55:26.Maybe why she is not performing at her best today, Chan. She has just

:55:27. > :55:30.been so tight that when you mentally tight and you stress more about what

:55:31. > :55:37.is happening, that can have that psychosomatic physical difference

:55:38. > :55:43.here. And Chan is serving the next. This could be a moment for Ninomiya

:55:44. > :55:47.and Voracova. They will certainly be sitting there and just thinking

:55:48. > :55:58.about how they have to be really solid in this next game. Chan, it

:55:59. > :56:03.little perplexed today with what has been going on. The time-out has been

:56:04. > :56:11.called, that is three minutes. After this time-out has finished, two more

:56:12. > :56:14.sit downs, the primary provider as they are called these days can come

:56:15. > :56:17.on the court and help you for the allotted time for the change of

:56:18. > :56:26.ends, but when the umpire calls time, you have to get out and play.

:56:27. > :56:34.One medical time-out per injury. She has been really good today. Monica

:56:35. > :56:38.Niculescu. It has been a tough match for her. She has had to work really

:56:39. > :56:48.hard and try to keep encouraging her partner here. Maybe this is why. I

:56:49. > :56:54.wondered why she has not been able to make more of a difference here in

:56:55. > :56:58.this match. She has got a lot of experience, she has won a lot of

:56:59. > :57:02.tournaments. 12 tournaments in total, nine with her sister. And you

:57:03. > :57:07.would think that she could just deal with this pressure a little bit

:57:08. > :57:13.better than what she is today. For me, the two standout players have

:57:14. > :57:16.been Ninomiya, the little 23-year-old who has had the least

:57:17. > :57:20.amount of experience, she has come out here which she is a seasoned

:57:21. > :57:32.traveller. And Niculescu, she has been exceptional with her unusual

:57:33. > :57:38.game style. SUE BARKER: While the medical

:57:39. > :57:43.time-out continues on Court Number One, we will take you at the Centre

:57:44. > :57:47.Court, where Roger Federer is in the semifinal against Tomas Berdych. A

:57:48. > :57:52.short time ago, he had set point in the first set tie-break at 6-4. A

:57:53. > :57:57.really tight set, one break apiece and Tomas Berdych having trouble.

:57:58. > :58:01.Like a great champion, he raises his level of play just when it matters

:58:02. > :58:04.to take the opening set on the tie-break. So Roger Federer still

:58:05. > :58:11.yet to drop a set at these championships. As I said, that was

:58:12. > :58:16.just a short time ago and he has just held his first service game.

:58:17. > :58:25.That is over on BBC One. Roger Federer against Tomas Berdych in the

:58:26. > :58:33.semifinal, on BBC One. But let's go back to Court Number One.

:58:34. > :58:43.Coming towards the end of this medical time-out. Looks to be in a

:58:44. > :58:51.lot of discomfort. Others raring to go. Just trying to release it. And

:58:52. > :58:55.you get a crack that just releases it, such a wonderful feeling when

:58:56. > :58:59.they get them out of your back. I wish we could have a medical

:59:00. > :59:04.time-out as well, Chris! That would feel good. Let's hope she is OK, she

:59:05. > :59:12.is now going to come out and serve after this treatment. That could

:59:13. > :59:17.give Ninomiya and Voracova a real lift here, more motivation.

:59:18. > :59:23.Anti-inflammatories as well, they will take at least ten minutes to

:59:24. > :59:36.kick in. This next game is now huge. Concerned faces.

:59:37. > :59:51.Yes, nearly five minutes. Chan, 3-4, final set. That is going to hurt her

:59:52. > :59:59.team, that will be the number one priority, to put as much pressure

:00:00. > :00:17.back on Chan as possible. 82 mph serve.

:00:18. > :00:30.Super. That last serve was 70 miles per hour.

:00:31. > :01:05.Well, this comes out of nowhere for Chan. This is such a difficult

:01:06. > :01:13.situation for her to read because her face is not looking towards the

:01:14. > :01:15.net. She's got to guess. But her opponent had shifted and given her a

:01:16. > :01:51.little space there. That hurt. She seems to be hurting

:01:52. > :01:54.off the forehand not off the backhand. She's just hit two

:01:55. > :02:20.terrific backhands. And this one. Well done, Chan. A painful hold. It

:02:21. > :02:36.certainly was. Still locked. Two hours and 28 minutes.

:02:37. > :03:14.The only player unbroken on court, remember, Ninomiya.

:03:15. > :03:23.Pushed it long. UMPIRE: The ball was called out. Requesting a challenge

:03:24. > :03:39.here. APPLAUSE

:03:40. > :04:21.Miss Chan and Miss Niculescu have two challenges left.

:04:22. > :04:30.Well, she gets this one. Is that return going out? Yeah, possibly.

:04:31. > :04:32.Voracova didn't do enough with it, but Chan really committed to that

:04:33. > :05:36.forehand. And we are back exactly where we

:05:37. > :05:41.were in the second set, 5-4, when Ninomiya and Voracova, 5'1"... Look

:05:42. > :05:47.at the reaction there, Chris. Yeah, she is really suffering. It's just

:05:48. > :05:50.everywhere. It was the back that the treatment took place on. Now it's

:05:51. > :06:04.affecting the shoulder. It is a blessing in a way that

:06:05. > :06:10.Niculescu is serving next as more treatment is applied. Niculescu was

:06:11. > :06:17.30-0 up at 4-5 second set, lost four points in a row. This is all related

:06:18. > :06:21.to the original injury, then it won't be a separate timeout. The

:06:22. > :06:30.umpire has called time, so they've got to play. Didn't cite it as a

:06:31. > :06:34.different injury. So, huge pressure now on them and Niculescu. She's got

:06:35. > :06:59.to hold serve to keep this semifinal alive.

:07:00. > :07:07.It can be noted as well that Chan and Niculescu have been the team

:07:08. > :07:45.who've been able to get through two three-set matches.

:07:46. > :07:54.Great play from Voracova. When you look at the draw throughout. They've

:07:55. > :08:01.had the two bigger matches. They've been able to get it through some

:08:02. > :08:08.really tough matches, Voracova and than Kuznetsov and her partner. . I

:08:09. > :08:10.just wonder if that's going to help them get through this one.

:08:11. > :08:27.Wow. Well, here we go again, it is 30-0 to 30-30. Well, she's just been

:08:28. > :08:44.terrific today. Makoto Ninomiya, I love her.

:08:45. > :09:18.Oh, that would've given them - oh, match point. She can't believe it.

:09:19. > :09:29.She looks the most experienced right now. Yeah, it's unbelievable, isn't

:09:30. > :09:44.it? Just able to just narrow her focus.

:09:45. > :10:03.It was worth a try. Just left a fraction too early, though.

:10:04. > :10:20.Every shot, though, is taking its toll. Two points. Two points from

:10:21. > :10:33.the final. Oh, you looked at that little

:10:34. > :10:39.half-volley that was sitting on the racket. Just didn't quite get the

:10:40. > :10:47.timing right. 5-5, final set. Over two-and-a-half hours now.

:10:48. > :11:02.I just love the fact that Niculescu has just kept doing what she knows

:11:03. > :11:03.well but moving forwards, being creative, trying to make

:11:04. > :11:12.opportunities for her team. And that's been the response all day

:11:13. > :11:25.from this young lady. It's in. It seemed to be in the air

:11:26. > :11:54.for an age. She sets up here and it just looks

:11:55. > :12:19.like the ball is sitting on those strings but perfectly hit.

:12:20. > :12:26.Trying to shake it out. She served three double faults in the third

:12:27. > :13:43.game of the second set. Still held. Finished with an ace.

:13:44. > :13:50.Chan to serve next. She's the ailing player. She served well. Really well

:13:51. > :13:58.to hold serve after the medical time out but every part of her body seems

:13:59. > :14:03.to be sore. This is going to be a huge hold now. This will be the last

:14:04. > :14:06.time she can receive any sort of treatment. On this particular - it

:14:07. > :14:11.is spreading everywhere. The rest of your body. It is called secondaries,

:14:12. > :14:14.isn't it? The rest of the body helps protect the rest. Well, she's

:14:15. > :14:19.feeling it mentally. She's feeling it physically. She knows that

:14:20. > :14:25.ultimately the pressure is coming all on this game here and we don't

:14:26. > :14:30.know how she's feeling but she's shown the back has been sore, the

:14:31. > :14:38.right arm has been sore and she has to put that all out of her mind

:14:39. > :14:42.right now. How is she going to handle the pressure?

:14:43. > :14:52.Two hours 40 minutes now. Chan serving to stay in the match at 5-6

:14:53. > :15:21.with new balls. You know some players, they actually

:15:22. > :15:27.- it enhances their play, when they have something else to think about,

:15:28. > :15:31.and perhaps just takes a little bit of pressure away. She's come out

:15:32. > :16:03.every time and played a little better after the injury.

:16:04. > :16:08.Well, that one just fading a little bit into the left hip. Not getting

:16:09. > :16:22.her feet around there, Voracova. It is hard, physically, when there

:16:23. > :17:11.is not a lot of pace in the serve, to create pace.

:17:12. > :17:18.Now they've reset the challenges to three. So much talk over the years

:17:19. > :17:23.on no tie breaks set at Wimbledon. I think - how about playing another

:17:24. > :17:34.four games so, one service game each player, if there's in breaks, so it

:17:35. > :17:43.gets to 8-8, play a tie-break. Other people say they want the drama of

:17:44. > :17:46.15-13 or 70-68 or whatever it is. Well, it's going to attract. The

:17:47. > :17:49.answer from the doubles players, they don't mind playing the

:17:50. > :17:52.advantage but if this was Garbine Muguruza playing out here, I know

:17:53. > :17:57.what she would rather. If she's going to play in a final or a big

:17:58. > :17:59.match the next day, you do not want to be spending possibly four hours

:18:00. > :18:16.playing a doubles match. And perhaps that would just

:18:17. > :18:22.encourage some of the top players to play more often in the doubles. Tie

:18:23. > :18:26.breaks, when they first came out here at Wimbledon were played at

:18:27. > :19:37.8-8. In this set. Then they reduced it to 6-6.

:19:38. > :19:56.She has been great off that wing today. Catching it late.

:19:57. > :20:03.Oh, wow, what a return off the left hip there from Niculescu. She's been

:20:04. > :20:11.able to give opportunities for Chan. Chan just hasn't been able to take

:20:12. > :20:18.them at the most important moment here. Can she take it? Two from 14.

:20:19. > :20:37.She's still unbroken. She's saved ten of the break points.

:20:38. > :20:56.Niculescu will serve for a place in the final.

:20:57. > :21:06.Well, it's incredible. Chan, I mean, why she could not have just tried to

:21:07. > :21:15.give herself a bigger target on those previous break points, we

:21:16. > :21:23.wouldn't be here. Chan has not been able to put that ball back at the

:21:24. > :21:27.toes of the server and look what happens, all of a sudden the

:21:28. > :21:31.pressure comes back. Well, Niculescu, she's been, for me, the

:21:32. > :21:38.toughest one out here. She doesn't have a big serve but she's able it

:21:39. > :21:42.put the ball in the court. She can lob, move, make her opponent think

:21:43. > :21:47.and shaegs' continually been the challenge her for her team today.

:21:48. > :21:51.She'll see their opponents really hit a lot of returns at Chan, I

:21:52. > :21:53.think in this next game. They'll continue to challenge her at the

:21:54. > :21:58.net. Two hours and 47 minutes, Niculescu

:21:59. > :22:19.serving for the match. We don't expect it to be

:22:20. > :22:21.straightforward, do we? It's been that sort of match. Not at this

:22:22. > :22:47.stage, no. Well, a little too enthusiastic

:22:48. > :22:52.there. Ninomiya there, going to the right player. She was deep in the

:22:53. > :22:54.court. She needed to play it deep cross-court and wait for a shorter

:22:55. > :23:09.one to go at Chan. UMPIRE: Miss Chan and Miss Niculescu

:23:10. > :23:17.challenging the call. Challenging it. . Well they just create so much

:23:18. > :23:36.more pressure on the second serves here and it has.

:23:37. > :23:44.It's amazing, whenever you see a player go down after they hit a

:23:45. > :23:59.ground stroke, you just know it's just tension.

:24:00. > :24:18.Good hands here from Voracova but the calmness of this young girl is

:24:19. > :24:25.just so good to watch, under pressure. Two lifeline points.

:24:26. > :24:53.SUE BARKER: We are tied at 7-7. We are leaving this match on BBC Two.

:24:54. > :24:59.But if you want to continue watching, it is our featured match

:25:00. > :25:02.on the red button if you want it continue watching this semifinal.

:25:03. > :25:05.The reason we are leaving, is because we'll be joining the match

:25:06. > :25:09.on Centre Court between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych. And

:25:10. > :25:17.Federer is in a real battle. He won the opening set, 7-4 and it is 4-4

:25:18. > :25:20.in the second. Marin Cilic is already through. He came through his

:25:21. > :25:25.opening match against Sam Querrey in four sets. So that is it. We are

:25:26. > :25:28.staying with this match and our commentators for Federer and Berdych

:25:29. > :25:35.are Andrew Castle. Tim Henman and Boris Becker.

:25:36. > :25:44.ANDREW CASTLE: The first set saw Roger Federer take the early break.

:25:45. > :25:48.He was experimenting and expressing himself, he looked supremely

:25:49. > :25:58.confident. He was pegged back, a tough tie-break. There'll be times

:25:59. > :26:01.in Tomas Berdych's career when losing that first set and being

:26:02. > :26:05.under so much pressure might have told but he hasn't gone anywhere in

:26:06. > :26:30.this second set. He is still standing his ground.

:26:31. > :26:38.That's one of those ones that really only Federer plays.

:26:39. > :28:01.TIM HENMAN: You are meant to move your feet, not just flick the wrist.

:28:02. > :28:06.Well Henman Hill there. Basking in the weather. They are enjoying the

:28:07. > :28:18.men's semifinals. Watch out, the armed services is

:28:19. > :28:24.rescuing one of our cameras here and Centre Court, a good job so far from

:28:25. > :28:26.Tomas Berdych, weathering the storm. He's now 4-5 down and therefore

:28:27. > :29:16.serving to stay in the second set. APPLAUSE

:29:17. > :29:23.Well here is this footwork again, moving to the backhand side. So

:29:24. > :29:27.quick to see it. The net not helping Tomas Berdych but quick feet

:29:28. > :29:33.adjustment, popping it down the line.

:29:34. > :29:53.TIM MENMAN: A bad error at any time but serving down a set, 15-15, if

:29:54. > :30:16.this went, Federer can seize the moment.

:30:17. > :30:57.Bravo. We have talked about Berdych feeling the pace of play, but

:30:58. > :31:01.Federer is being moved around his side of the court as well. As

:31:02. > :31:08.Berdych, that has been noticeable, how hard Pedro is working

:31:09. > :31:17.physically. One hour and 30 played. -- Federer. Playing really well

:31:18. > :31:26.under pressure. It could have been 2-0. But he has other things on his

:31:27. > :31:58.mind. He wants to continue. He wants to fight. Great tennis.

:31:59. > :32:04.It has been a gutsy display by Berdych, he has just been under

:32:05. > :32:16.relentless pressure. Very few opportunities and Federer's serve.

:32:17. > :32:22.Receiving body blow after body blow. Keeps getting up. Standing in the

:32:23. > :33:09.corner of the rink here. Federer looking to get to his 11th

:33:10. > :33:16.Wimbledon final. A fairly illustrious list in second place.

:33:17. > :33:25.Pete Sampras. After Gore. And one Boris Becker. Who? Only seven finals

:33:26. > :33:32.for you, Boris. He is way ahead of that. He played him, didn't you? I

:33:33. > :33:39.did play Pete in my last final. In 95. And after losing four sets ready

:33:40. > :33:47.handsomely come up I felt he had taken away my Keys. I call this my

:33:48. > :33:55.living room. Ever since Federer Pete Sampras in 2001, there was a new

:33:56. > :33:58.owner of this court. There are so many remarkable numbers. He has been

:33:59. > :34:05.in 28 grand slam finals. Roger Federer. He takes that reputation

:34:06. > :34:10.out on the court. Very pleased to see Ken with us on Centre Court

:34:11. > :34:17.today, the oldest man in the oldest -- in the Open era to be in a grand

:34:18. > :34:25.slam final. He was 39 in 1974 when he played Jimmy Connors. What a year

:34:26. > :34:28.that was! And he played in the same court in 1954. Maybe we will be

:34:29. > :34:44.coming here for that long. Going back to the match, Berdych

:34:45. > :35:45.trying to hold on to get to the tie-break and then get lucky.

:35:46. > :35:53.Roger Federer letting that one go, saving his energy. Keeping all his

:35:54. > :36:01.power for the second set tie-break. The first one was 7-4. Tomas Berdych

:36:02. > :36:08.clearly can't go two sets down, he has not come back from two sets down

:36:09. > :36:09.since 2005 in any match. So crucial for the man from the Czech Republic

:36:10. > :36:57.to win this. Both players getting ready for a

:36:58. > :37:00.second serve, I believe the challenge was very good. No. What do

:37:01. > :37:44.we know? Great return from Federer, but you

:37:45. > :37:45.have got to say, the second serve was in the pocket, did not have to

:37:46. > :38:11.move. Still executed well, though. Amazing how he can play those shots

:38:12. > :38:12.so aggressively, but still with margin for error. That was three

:38:13. > :38:35.feet over the net. It is just delicious, isn't it? If

:38:36. > :38:39.you are a Federer ban, and there are many of course, I'm sure Tomas

:38:40. > :38:44.Berdych is one. But how about missing now and again? Not when you

:38:45. > :39:21.are called Roger Federer. Perfect forehand.

:39:22. > :39:33.Make that four. Total control of the second set tie-break from Roger

:39:34. > :39:38.Federer, 51, as they change. One hour and 40 minutes, virtually, for

:39:39. > :39:42.Tomas Berdych in the sunshine. Great tension he has played well, he has

:39:43. > :39:47.resisted well, he has fought hard. Nothing to show for it! Total

:39:48. > :39:52.control, and total convictions on the forehand. That one, he really

:39:53. > :39:53.moved his feet well once he got it into the hitting zone, accelerating

:39:54. > :40:33.the racket head through it. He took a big gamble with the second

:40:34. > :40:35.serve, what is the option at 1-5 down? It is all or nothing at this

:40:36. > :41:33.point. Well, it looked completely under

:41:34. > :41:38.control, but it wasn't a situation he really wanted to find himself

:41:39. > :41:43.then, Federer, defending a crosscourt Berdych passing shot. He

:41:44. > :42:14.got it in the corner, 6-3. And three set points.

:42:15. > :42:23.So another big second serve onto the line. I thought when Federer saw how

:42:24. > :42:24.bad his return was coming he might have elected to go for the

:42:25. > :42:42.challenge. It is 2-0, Roger Federer. It appears

:42:43. > :42:50.that he is on the way to the Wimbledon final on Sunday to play

:42:51. > :42:58.Marin Cilic. A long way back for Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 7-6, Federer.

:42:59. > :43:03.SUE BARKER: four forehand winners in a row made a difference and Roger

:43:04. > :43:07.Federer has taken it 7-4 as he did in the first set. We will be back on

:43:08. > :43:11.Centre Court, this is what we were watching earlier on BBC Two and it

:43:12. > :43:17.has now been decided. It has taken just under three hours a two minutes

:43:18. > :43:22.and oh, and it has gone to the Hao-Ching Chan and Monica Niculescu,

:43:23. > :43:28.winning the 9-7 in the third and final set of a Makoto Ninomiya and

:43:29. > :43:32.Renata Voracova. Some 9-7 in the third set, what a battle out on

:43:33. > :43:39.Court Number One. They are delighted and we will see them back in the

:43:40. > :43:44.final against Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, runners-up here in

:43:45. > :43:51.2015, winning in straight sets today against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and

:43:52. > :43:55.Kveta Peschke, who turned 42 here and was the winner of the Doubles

:43:56. > :44:02.earlier in the week. Another two cedes territory the final. -- the

:44:03. > :44:07.number two seeds go through to the final. Clare Balding tomorrow will

:44:08. > :44:16.be joined for the wheelchair Ladies' Singles final tomorrow. That is at

:44:17. > :44:23.11 o'clock. And we are just going to dip into Court number 14 to tell you

:44:24. > :44:32.that the defending champions Jordanne Whiley and her partner have

:44:33. > :44:36.taken the last set. So that the 6-4, they were the winners of this title

:44:37. > :44:40.the last three years, so that is on the red button. And Alfie Hewett and

:44:41. > :44:43.Gordon Reid on the red button in their Doubles match. That is

:44:44. > :44:53.elsewhere, but back we go for the start of the third set.

:44:54. > :45:01.The set, both two Roger Federer. What an imported ten minutes for

:45:02. > :45:09.Berdych. Two comebacks from two sets down were from the Paraguay player

:45:10. > :47:03.Delgado and against Tommy Haas in 2005. A long time ago.

:47:04. > :47:11.Well, nice and relaxed and hitting through the ball. Tomas Berdych. And

:47:12. > :47:15.he will be most disappointed with these two tie-breaks. You are a

:47:16. > :47:20.poker player, he threw the dice and it didn't quite work, did it? Yes,

:47:21. > :47:24.but he should not be disheartened because Federer was pushing him all

:47:25. > :47:30.the time. Just trying to stay alive in the second set. The only thing he

:47:31. > :47:36.can do is go back in. I know his track record of 2-0 down is not the

:47:37. > :47:40.very best. But if he really starts now and concentrates on the third

:47:41. > :47:45.set and not get ahead of yourself and think about the fourth or the

:47:46. > :47:52.faith because it might not happen. -- the fifth. It would be easy for

:47:53. > :47:56.what I want to get despondent when he has played the level he has had

:47:57. > :47:58.and served well and served from the back of the court with nothing to

:47:59. > :48:40.show. That is a top point! Heart rate

:48:41. > :48:41.elevated. You feel for that type of effort, it deserves more than just

:48:42. > :49:13.one point. And the effort was worth it. For

:49:14. > :49:16.Berdych now. 0-30. It is not easy to return from the position Berdych is

:49:17. > :49:26.in at the moment. The Sun certainly is a factor.

:49:27. > :49:30.But then again, he could not touch Federer's serve much when it wasn't

:49:31. > :49:50.sunny! That certainly was not where Federer

:49:51. > :49:53.was aiming to hit that volley, it could have been four feet inside the

:49:54. > :50:09.line and it would have been good enough. Back to 30-30. He does

:50:10. > :50:13.challenge more often than normal. He was out of challenges at the end of

:50:14. > :50:32.the first set, wasn't he? For a game or two.

:50:33. > :50:38.He is playing well, Berdych, we are trying to give him credit, but at

:50:39. > :50:52.30-30 second serve, he can't miss that return.

:50:53. > :51:05.Even the bridge each coaching Roger Federer. Former World Number 3. He

:51:06. > :51:12.took Croatia to the Davis Cup final in 2005, winning 11 Singles matches.

:51:13. > :51:25.And he is on the ATP board as well, so much respect for the man. He was

:51:26. > :51:33.the long-time coach of Milos Raonic many years. These two started

:51:34. > :51:37.working together this year. Before that, Stefan Edberg was his super

:51:38. > :52:19.coach. And even he is in the box. He's got all the experts!

:52:20. > :52:29.That looked a bit awkward. Fatigue. Missing the little steps now that

:52:30. > :52:49.usually happens when your legs get heavy.

:52:50. > :52:56.It is all about survival sometimes, when you are two sets down, there

:52:57. > :53:08.are things you can do to survive and stay hydrated. Not going to use

:53:09. > :53:13.those here on Centre Court. There -- their grills is with us. He would

:53:14. > :53:20.know a bingo about survival. He plays here too, he spoke to the

:53:21. > :53:44.members and told them some stories. Left-handed. Hopeless second serve!

:53:45. > :53:51.Another good game from Berdych. It is important Federer doesn't get in

:53:52. > :53:59.patient and start rushing a little bit. At 2-0, he still has to

:54:00. > :54:04.maintain his focus. I find him a little edgy today, I find him a

:54:05. > :54:09.little bit... A couple of signs. Yes. You can blame him? He is going

:54:10. > :54:16.for history. He is human after all and the other day, he admitted he is

:54:17. > :54:22.actually nervous going on. So he really wants this badly. He wants to

:54:23. > :54:30.get it over with. To get ready for the final. No one in history has won

:54:31. > :54:35.eight Wimbledon titles and every time he plays, he seemed set new

:54:36. > :54:43.records and he will be the second man to win eight titles at one Grand

:54:44. > :54:50.Slam event. Rafael Nadal has got ten. That is Jill Brooke, a good

:54:51. > :54:54.player herself. Everybody captivated by this match and expecting Federer

:54:55. > :55:05.to win, as he expects himself to win. A long way from the winning

:55:06. > :55:12.line now though, still. That has been his favourite serve when he

:55:13. > :55:14.starts his service game. Out wide. If I were Berdych, and would move

:55:15. > :55:35.there a little bit now. He chased that, Tomas! This is

:55:36. > :56:14.exhausting. Just had a really close look and we

:56:15. > :56:17.saw Tomas Berdych's eyes from commentary position at ground level.

:56:18. > :56:25.And we are not betting men in tennis, but if I was, I would say

:56:26. > :56:28.this is a very long way back for Tomas Berdych. But he is going to

:56:29. > :56:38.keep coming at Federer, I think his spirit is wonderful. No, you're

:56:39. > :56:45.right, even though he is three years younger, he seems more fatigued,

:56:46. > :56:46.more drained than this guy. A lot of more effort just to stay in the

:56:47. > :57:33.first two sets. That court Federer completely

:57:34. > :57:42.off-guard, but even that ball, he is able to return.

:57:43. > :57:49.Yes, the great thing about tennis is, it is quite a soft ball and

:57:50. > :57:55.there is somebody up in the Royal Box... Yes, he is talking about it!

:57:56. > :57:58.That is the way to do it. That is Sachin Tendulkar, the only man with

:57:59. > :57:59.100 centuries at international level, the former captain of

:58:00. > :59:35.England. -- India. Interesting, in Swiss. It means

:59:36. > :59:41.roughly the same in German, right? It does. What did he say, how very

:59:42. > :59:55.unfortunate I missed that shot? Very much so!

:59:56. > :00:19.2-0 up, on the third. I think pretty much in control. But...

:00:20. > :00:39.And that's why Federer was so cross he missed the forehand in the net.

:00:40. > :00:46.He didn't give himself a chance. He considered that match point. Now

:00:47. > :00:51.we have played two hours here. It is all very well for us sitting here

:00:52. > :00:56.but he is two sets up and in control and it looks inevitable that he is

:00:57. > :01:00.going to win. But as a match player, Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase,

:01:01. > :01:05.anything can happen? Absolutely. It is not a sport where you look at the

:01:06. > :01:11.clock to keep the lead. He has to keep his focus.

:01:12. > :01:16.He can't get frustrated. And as we pull back from the centre

:01:17. > :01:20.of London and the live. Here they have organised all sorts of trips

:01:21. > :01:28.for the children of the players here.

:01:29. > :01:34.Over the years, not just the hospitality, the food but the creche

:01:35. > :01:39.is second to none. And there is Wimbledon Park. Boris

:01:40. > :01:49.wishes it to be known that is his golf club! Exactly! Nobody is

:01:50. > :01:55.allowed to walk... Just for these two weeks.

:01:56. > :02:00.It is not yet a marathon, as we view Paula Radcliffe watching this. Still

:02:01. > :02:02.the world marathon record-holder, just over two hours 15 for 26 miles.

:02:03. > :02:23.Ridiculous! Interesting. Berdych refusing the

:02:24. > :02:29.challenge. There is a great level of respect

:02:30. > :02:33.between the players. If one player is shaking their head, telling him

:02:34. > :03:07.don't challenge, usually it's believed.

:03:08. > :03:12.And since that previous game, Federer has looked disgruntled by

:03:13. > :03:45.his standards. And that's out. He's lost six of the

:03:46. > :03:50.last seven points. Sharing his Swiss/German views on a

:03:51. > :03:58.missed forehand. On that occasion it was Federer that

:03:59. > :04:00.came in on an average approach shot. Berdych made the pass, Federer

:04:01. > :04:22.couldn't control the volley. Where's he going, bory, out wide? Or

:04:23. > :04:33.up the T? Wide... It would have been an ace against me as well, there you

:04:34. > :04:46.go! Back to deuce, where's he going, Andrew? Wide.

:04:47. > :04:59.So, Tim, where's it going now? Clearly, out wide.

:05:00. > :05:15.This for the hat-trick! Brilliant! It shows what we know!

:05:16. > :05:22.So, a minute ago, Berdych had a couple of break points. The next

:05:23. > :05:35.thing you know, a couple of aces and three games on, back to normal.

:05:36. > :05:43.Ultimately, they must play with two minds. At this stage it is very much

:05:44. > :05:44.a mental game. The few chances Berdych had, Federer responded every

:05:45. > :06:20.time like a champ. Berdych winning a succession of

:06:21. > :06:26.points. Federer down 15-40.

:06:27. > :08:15.Four to get out of trouble there and two here.

:08:16. > :08:21.If this were boxing, you would be waiting for the referee to step in.

:08:22. > :08:35.Federer relentless with his pressure.

:08:36. > :09:09.Berdych trying the old serve-volley. Only the seventh time in the match.

:09:10. > :09:23.A clean strike. Backhand down the line. Second serve smothered. And

:09:24. > :09:31.it's the break that could take Federer... It's been coming for some

:09:32. > :09:36.time. He was disgruntled when he had the break point earlier on in the

:09:37. > :09:41.set and missed the forehand but came back from 15-30 on his own service

:09:42. > :09:48.game. No wonder he is the most remarkable athlete. The Reputation

:09:49. > :09:54.Constitute, whoever they are, came up with a study saying he was the

:09:55. > :09:59.second only to Mandela, saying he was respected, admired and trusted.

:10:00. > :10:03.Who has been around at the very top of his own sport and goes about his

:10:04. > :10:09.business with such an artistic feel about him. But ten minutes or so,

:10:10. > :10:15.ago, he was a bit cross, understandably. Anything less than

:10:16. > :10:27.spectacular is a bit of an insult. He still hasn't lost a set here.

:10:28. > :10:35.And he knows how important that was. Everybody gets up on their feet.

:10:36. > :10:36.They show their appreciation. And the player notices that. It's

:10:37. > :11:52.important. Berdych has been on the ropes for

:11:53. > :12:16.two hours, where is he now, Boris? Is he still in the ring? Somehow!

:12:17. > :12:25.He dragged that wide with a kick-serve. It opens up the forehand

:12:26. > :12:29.side. This is the shot, isn't it. 18 of these Grand Slam titles.

:12:30. > :12:32.He is going to give himself another chance, by the looks of it. But not

:12:33. > :13:08.there yet. The finish line is close.

:13:09. > :14:48.They can smell it. Oh! Oh, poor Thomas. It's the

:14:49. > :14:49.no-look, fade away, no-look, squashed hand, semi-hand, squash

:14:50. > :15:10.shot. That's just not fair! And Berdych keeps bludgeoning away.

:15:11. > :15:15.He is still there. The longest match for Roger Federer

:15:16. > :15:24.this at 2.15 minutes. He's been going up through the gears this

:15:25. > :15:30.second week. Grigor Dimitrov, 4-2 and four.

:15:31. > :15:35.Last year's semifinal was just under two hours and 15. It hasn't looked

:15:36. > :15:41.like being anything other than his match but he is having to fight

:15:42. > :15:48.hard. He certainly has. Tomas Berdych really deserves credit as he

:15:49. > :15:54.has really stuck in. He has not thrown in the towel. He is holding

:15:55. > :15:57.Federer and sticking in. He has to hold him one more time to serve out

:15:58. > :16:05.the match. That is pretty much all you can do

:16:06. > :16:12.when facing Federer these days, give it your best shot. Play until the

:16:13. > :16:16.end. Roger has been on such a tier this year.

:16:17. > :16:24.Only losing two matches and in both of those he had match points.

:16:25. > :16:26.He is taking his time. There will be a bit of reception for Roger for

:16:27. > :17:10.possibly the last time today. A nice idea from Berdych. But really

:17:11. > :17:27.coming in behind a pair of twos there.

:17:28. > :18:15.The third time he tried that drop shot, third time lucky.

:18:16. > :18:41.He wanted to finish with a flourish. Ace out wide, Boris? What do I know!

:18:42. > :18:56.And that's it! A tough semifinal. But no sets lost.

:18:57. > :18:59., Two intensely fought tie-breakers. Another excellent tournament for

:19:00. > :19:11.Tomas Berdych but he sup comes at the semifinal stage.

:19:12. > :19:15.-- suck onlies. And this triumphant year for Roger

:19:16. > :19:20.Federer continues. He takes six months off after losing

:19:21. > :19:25.in the semifinal last year, then win the Australian Open. On his 100th

:19:26. > :19:30.match in the Australian Open he beats Nadal in a classic. He wins in

:19:31. > :19:33.Indian wells in Miami. He comes to Wimbledon without playing on the

:19:34. > :19:42.clay at all and he hasn't lost a set.

:19:43. > :19:47.So, he sets new standards. 35 years of age. There are people

:19:48. > :19:59.younger playing in the seniors events here.

:20:00. > :20:08.And with a great selection of champions across different sports

:20:09. > :20:12.and endevours saluting him, a standing ovation for Federer, which

:20:13. > :20:18.he will surely get on Sunday. Berdych played his part and at 31,

:20:19. > :20:21.he still has some years ahead. Federer taking time signing

:20:22. > :20:26.autographs, and he is loving what he is doing. That's the key to it, and

:20:27. > :20:30.being fit and fresh. Another masterclass from Federer. But I

:20:31. > :20:35.really do think Berdych deserves credit. He played a high-level. But

:20:36. > :20:40.at the end of the day, the better man came out on top.

:20:41. > :20:45.He will have a chance for more sporting history on Sunday against

:20:46. > :20:56.Marin Cilic. Incidentally he has won six and lost one against Marin

:20:57. > :21:03.Cilic. Federer is not finished yet. Another final for Roger Federer. So,

:21:04. > :21:08.Federer/Cilic to look forward to. He is now with Phil Jones.

:21:09. > :21:11.Roger, congratulations, another Wimbledon final. This one is

:21:12. > :21:16.special, chasing number eight. With a love of the crowd, it must be a

:21:17. > :21:20.special time for you? I feel privileged to be in another finals.

:21:21. > :21:24.I know how much it means to the players to be able to go out on

:21:25. > :21:29.Centre Court at Wimbledon at any given time in their career. I've had

:21:30. > :21:34.the pleasure to play on Centre Court so many times and this time in

:21:35. > :21:38.another finals, it is so good. I can't almost believe it is true

:21:39. > :21:41.again. I'm happy to have a day off tomorrow to reflect on everything I

:21:42. > :21:45.have done this year. And on this tournament, so I can get ready for

:21:46. > :21:50.the final and hopefully play a good one.

:21:51. > :21:55.Well, one of the great sporting stories, to take six months off

:21:56. > :21:58.after last year's Wimbledon, the Australian Open, now another final.

:21:59. > :22:03.Can you put it into perspective for us? It was a long way back. Last

:22:04. > :22:08.year was difficult to stay calm, to speak to the team. To make another

:22:09. > :22:13.decision to sit out and wait longer. To take the time. But I'm happy I

:22:14. > :22:17.did it. My life continues after tennis too.

:22:18. > :22:21.And at this point it is almost more important than playing itself. I

:22:22. > :22:25.want to be a good dad, a good husband, I guy who can do sports

:22:26. > :22:30.later on. So giving your body is rest is a good thing. We have seen

:22:31. > :22:34.it. I am happy it is paying off. For a second there are doubts you may

:22:35. > :22:37.never be able to come back and play a match on Centre Court in Wimbledon

:22:38. > :22:43.but it happened and it happened many, many times this week. So thank

:22:44. > :22:48.you to the tournament for putting me on Centre Court. I feel it is a real

:22:49. > :22:51.honour for me. And Sunday and another final and

:22:52. > :22:56.playing Marin Cilic. You have history here? Last year it was a

:22:57. > :23:02.brutal quarter final. I was down in the third or the fourth set. At some

:23:03. > :23:08.stage things wericallicated. I got really, really luck which to win. I

:23:09. > :23:12.thought it a great match. He's a great guy, I know Marin really well.

:23:13. > :23:17.We have played doubles together. He's a lovely guy. I'm happy for

:23:18. > :23:21.him, he is in his first Wimbledon finals, he crushed me at the US

:23:22. > :23:25.Open, I hope he will not play that good. But I'm really looking forward

:23:26. > :23:31.to playing against him. And finally, a word on you being the

:23:32. > :23:36.oldest man to reach the men's single, you are making age an

:23:37. > :23:42.irrelevant number, the 35. Well, it means a lot, Ken Rose is

:23:43. > :23:47.also a wonderful man. It is great for us to mark this in this way. I

:23:48. > :23:51.was happy to be here today. I hope to meet him later on.

:23:52. > :23:56.Congratulation, Roger. Period of time it.

:23:57. > :24:00.Wow! What a match it was. For the record he has played so many matches

:24:01. > :24:07.this year. Only lost two of them. In both he had a match point. That is

:24:08. > :24:12.how good he has been. Two hours, 18 minutes and 5 p winners, into a

:24:13. > :24:17.record of 11th Wimbledon final and going for a record eight title.

:24:18. > :24:21.Everything is a record with Roger. He loves Centre Court and we love

:24:22. > :24:27.watching him play out there. Faultless and nerveless once again,

:24:28. > :24:32.he is simply the best! So, just to confirm the line-up, as you heard

:24:33. > :24:36.there. It is Marin Cilic who came through today against Sam Querrey,

:24:37. > :24:41.he is up against Roger Federer. We heard of the history that they have.

:24:42. > :24:46.Sunday BBC One, we start the build-up from 1.00pm.

:24:47. > :24:51.Well, what a display of tennis that was. Let's get reflection from our

:24:52. > :24:57.three gentlemen in our commentary box. Boris, Tim, roux. Boris, you

:24:58. > :25:06.have to switch up a gear when it gets tight. But Roger somehow

:25:07. > :25:11.switches up three? Cars have five, maximum six gears. He seems to have

:25:12. > :25:16.ten gears. Whenever he is in trouble he comes out with a better shot.

:25:17. > :25:20.Tomas Berdych played great under pressure but each time we thought he

:25:21. > :25:25.had a chance Roger Federer was coming up with a magical shot. That

:25:26. > :25:30.is what makes him the greatest of all time.

:25:31. > :25:34.To do it at 35, playing your best tennis. Who would have thought it?

:25:35. > :25:41.And when it gets tight in the tie-breaks. He must be the greatest

:25:42. > :25:45.match player as well? Absolutely. I think it is that intensity at the

:25:46. > :25:52.right moments. Berdych played good tennis. He hung in. He got to the

:25:53. > :25:56.tie-breaks. But then on cue, Federer found the spots with the first

:25:57. > :26:02.serve, dictating with the forehand. A stage in the second set tie-break

:26:03. > :26:08.he hit four incredible forehands to go up 5-1. Other players cannot hang

:26:09. > :26:14.with him. Again, to come through in straight sets. It was a demanding

:26:15. > :26:21.match. It is the ideal scenario for him moving forward into the final.

:26:22. > :26:24.Interesting, Andy, how Roger was talking about Cilic, condition

:26:25. > :26:34.lights Out Tennis. He can produce it! He can. He did so against Kei

:26:35. > :26:39.Nishikori. He beat everybody out of sight at that competition. And I

:26:40. > :26:43.have heard it say that they don't want to see Marin Cilic guiding the

:26:44. > :26:47.ball. He is a rangy player. The forehand he finished his semifinal

:26:48. > :26:53.off with today is what he wants to bring to bear on Sunday. He can take

:26:54. > :26:57.the raquet from Federer's hand. That is the sort of player, rather like

:26:58. > :27:02.Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the sort of player that Federer fears. So, it is

:27:03. > :27:07.not a pushover. 6-1 on the head-to-head. Federer is the

:27:08. > :27:11.favourite. But we saw nerves from Federer on the Centre Court and we

:27:12. > :27:17.will see them on Sunday. And Boris, when you have a match

:27:18. > :27:21.like he has, Cilic has beaten him two sets to love at match point. You

:27:22. > :27:29.walk on to the court feeling like you believe? Players remember.

:27:30. > :27:35.It is the final. You are supposed to have your toughest match. It is a

:27:36. > :27:40.fascinating match-up. Cilic has the weapons to hurt Roger but on the

:27:41. > :27:44.other hand history is on the Swiss man's side. It will be interesting

:27:45. > :27:49.how the players approach the match. Boris, did I hear you say you

:27:50. > :27:56.thought Roger was nervous? He was edgy. He challenged more than often.

:27:57. > :28:00.He had a Swiss/German outburst. But it was nothing but he is usually

:28:01. > :28:05.quiet all the time. So we see how much it means to him.

:28:06. > :28:10.Tim, as far as Berdych played, he played so well today. He must walk

:28:11. > :28:15.off thinking there is not much more he could have done? Definitely not.

:28:16. > :28:21.He had a fantastic tournament. He never let up. We used boxing

:28:22. > :28:27.analogies, he gave it everything. But at the end of the day the better

:28:28. > :28:30.man won. It is fantastic for everyone in this event to have

:28:31. > :28:35.Federer through to the final. So lots to look forward to.

:28:36. > :28:40.We were going to show shots of the match, and do more of Federer but it

:28:41. > :28:45.would take too long. Too many of them! Boris, Tim, Andy, thank you

:28:46. > :28:49.very much. That is it for the semi-finals on Centre Court. There

:28:50. > :28:54.is more tennis to come. We look ahead to tomorrow as well. It is the

:28:55. > :28:56.Ladies Final between Garbina Muguruza and Venus Williams. The

:28:57. > :29:11.ladies take centre stage. I grew up dreaming and reading about

:29:12. > :29:16.Wimbledon. ARCHIVE: Get fresh with the

:29:17. > :29:22.ice-cream... Wimbledon is the Golden Globe you are aiming for.

:29:23. > :29:27.Immediately I fell in love with it. I thought this was heaven.

:29:28. > :29:30.The whole tournament is very much the same and there are awesome

:29:31. > :29:33.things about that. The tournament is special. I feel a

:29:34. > :29:37.lot of support. There's a big stage.

:29:38. > :29:49.When you walk out on Centre Court, there is such a hush before

:29:50. > :29:53.everybody explodes... It's quite a fairy tale.

:29:54. > :29:58.ARCHIVE: In a class of her own. This is part of my life and I don't

:29:59. > :30:03.want that part to end. Hopefully I can bring home a

:30:04. > :30:09.Wimbledon trophy! Here was Venus earlier today on the practice court

:30:10. > :30:13.after her victory yesterday over Johanna Konta where she raised the

:30:14. > :30:18.level of play. This is the warm-up before they start. Getting serious.

:30:19. > :30:25.Venus was out there for well over an hour. Hitting impressive backhands

:30:26. > :30:30.and forehands. She is going for her sixth Wimbledon title. Being watched

:30:31. > :30:35.by her sister and mum and her team. Venus was on the practice court, as

:30:36. > :30:40.was Garbina Muguruza. She won the French Open. She has been in the

:30:41. > :30:45.final before but going for her first Wimbledon title. Such an athletic

:30:46. > :30:50.player. Her game is similar to Venus. Big serves, big ground shots

:30:51. > :30:57.and the attention coming forward, and taking the attack to Venus. On

:30:58. > :31:01.the court is she is with her coach, Conchita Martinez who has made a

:31:02. > :31:03.difference. Coming in for the grass court season but in the final of

:31:04. > :31:14.Wimbledon, working well! Mixed Doubles still to come and over

:31:15. > :31:21.the next 24 hours as well. Today at Wimbledon, tonight at eight p:m..

:31:22. > :31:27.And tomorrow, tomorrow morning at 11 a:m., the ladies Wheelchair Singles

:31:28. > :31:32.final and BBC Two. And on BBC One, we will stop the build-up to the

:31:33. > :31:37.Ladies' Singles final, joined by Billie Jean King, Martina

:31:38. > :31:41.Navratilova and Chris Evert, among others, John McEnroe, everybody

:31:42. > :31:46.wants to talk about what promises to be a fantastic ladies final. Before

:31:47. > :31:49.we join more live tennis, plenty more results. Starting with the

:31:50. > :31:56.semifinals in the Ladies' Doubles. Ekaterina Makarova and Elena

:31:57. > :32:05.Vesnina, runners-up in 2015, they go through in straight sets over

:32:06. > :32:11.Anna-Lena Groenefeld and 42-year-old Kveta Peschke. And in the final,

:32:12. > :32:15.they will meet Hao-Ching Chan and Monica Niculescu, the number nine

:32:16. > :32:23.seeds. This was a marathon match, two minutes short of three hours,

:32:24. > :32:28.winning 9-7 in the third set. So Chan and Monica Niculescu going

:32:29. > :32:37.through to the Ladies' Doubles tomorrow. It finished on a Hawk-Eye,

:32:38. > :32:42.not successful. So they shake hands. And the World Number 1 was upset in

:32:43. > :32:56.a repeat of the French Open final. A real marathon, 7-6 in the third set.

:32:57. > :33:00.1-6, 7-6. And she goes through to tomorrow's final to face her

:33:01. > :33:05.opponent who came through comfortably 6-0, 6-2 was the score.

:33:06. > :33:14.So the runner-up last year going through to the finals. Stefan Olsson

:33:15. > :33:20.defeated Gordon Reid yesterday and he goes through to the final,

:33:21. > :33:27.beating his Japanese opponent 6-4, 6-2. And they will team up in the

:33:28. > :33:34.Doubles later, so beating his Doubles partner today.

:33:35. > :33:38.Disappointment for Britain's Alfie Hewett, the 19-year-old French Open

:33:39. > :33:43.champion beaten by Gustavo Fernandez, the number two seed. A

:33:44. > :33:52.one match, Fernandez winning 1-6, 7-6, 6-3. De Shane Long match. Yes,

:33:53. > :34:05.he really did hold his nerve! So he will take on Jonas Olsson in the

:34:06. > :34:14.men's final. The number two seeds went through 6-4, 6-1. This is how

:34:15. > :34:20.they finished at off. Wonderful rallies on court today. That is it.

:34:21. > :34:35.That is over. So the number two seeds going through to the final.

:34:36. > :34:41.And also, the top seeds in the Doubles going through. Beating their

:34:42. > :34:59.opponents from the Netherlands. That was the score, that is how they

:35:00. > :35:12.finished at off. And is one of the result. It just has finished on

:35:13. > :35:14.court 14. Jordanne Whiley and Yui Kamiji, the defending champions,

:35:15. > :35:28.they have won the last three titles here. Playing Mathewson and fine

:35:29. > :35:34.coats. And that is the school. Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley go 36-4,

:35:35. > :35:40.6-4. I said we would show you Mixed Doubles, plenty of British interest

:35:41. > :35:44.in the Mixed Doubles semifinals. Let's have a look at the semifinals.

:35:45. > :35:49.Although that is the Royal docks, they are having a lovely time and

:35:50. > :35:52.that is Katherine Jenkins in the Royal Box today as they guessed. Big

:35:53. > :35:56.names wanting to see the stars in action and I'm sure she enjoyed

:35:57. > :36:04.seeing Roger Federer, what a masterclass that was! This is it,

:36:05. > :36:07.the semifinal, it is Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis, starting on

:36:08. > :36:11.Centre Court, and that will be on the red button when they start. Just

:36:12. > :36:17.coming out on Centre Court. And we will be showing it later. But on

:36:18. > :36:21.Court Number One, it is Henri Kontinen and Heather Watson, the

:36:22. > :36:27.defending champions. Heather Watson of Great Britain against Bruno

:36:28. > :36:34.Soares and Elena Vesnina. And we can see set point for Henri Kontinen,

:36:35. > :36:45.serving with an ace. So the defending champions take the first

:36:46. > :36:55.set, 6-4. So we now go to the second consecutive game. Sorry, the first

:36:56. > :37:01.game of the second set. They had seven deuce scores. So we are going

:37:02. > :37:08.to join Annabel Croft and Barry Davies.

:37:09. > :37:23.Seven have come gone for Kontinen and Heather Watson. And the opening

:37:24. > :37:27.game instead goes to Bruno Soares and Elena Vesnina. It could have

:37:28. > :37:34.been a set and a game up, Annabel Croft. The opportunity just went

:37:35. > :37:37.away, a lot on the fact that he served to the forehand, which was

:37:38. > :37:42.not the greatest strength, shall we say? Well, he was very clever,

:37:43. > :37:45.Heather did get opportunities and second serves, but Bruno Soares was

:37:46. > :37:50.clever and served it into the forehand side of Heather. And on

:37:51. > :37:55.one, she expected it down the forehand side and he threw in the

:37:56. > :38:02.high Kaka -- the high kicker and he matched her. High spirits, a lot of

:38:03. > :38:11.fun and very bubbly, enjoying themselves.

:38:12. > :38:19.He has been the life and soul of the party. He really has, there is no

:38:20. > :38:23.place on this court that he is not in a position where he can hit a

:38:24. > :39:05.great shot. He is like a jack in the box.

:39:06. > :39:13.Very confident on serve. A lot of free points and easy games under his

:39:14. > :39:35.belt on serve. A big puff of smoke. Well, that was the 40th ace of the

:39:36. > :40:14.championship from the racket of Henri Kontinen.

:40:15. > :40:22.Again, another forehand error off that serve of Heather Watson, so

:40:23. > :40:28.that will be very much targeted through the course of this match. It

:40:29. > :40:31.has all gone a little bit quiet, a fear in the crowd those mistakes

:40:32. > :40:44.might in the long term prove IT costly. -- pretty costly.

:40:45. > :40:52.Yes, the atmosphere has just dipped a little bit, hasn't it? It was a

:40:53. > :41:11.party atmosphere until the end of that first set.

:41:12. > :41:20.I think it will be a somewhat relieved Brazilian and Russian who

:41:21. > :41:25.can sit there and discuss how they got away with it. But as you said,

:41:26. > :41:32.Annabel, he was clever with it. Would the opportunity was there.

:41:33. > :41:35.Yes, sometimes that pressure mounts up on break point and you feel

:41:36. > :41:41.pressured you are not taking them. So you can understand it. At clever

:41:42. > :41:45.serving. He had swing on that ball and the ability to kick it up high

:41:46. > :41:51.to the backhand when Heather side we moved towards the forehand,

:41:52. > :41:55.expecting it down that side. A lot of mind games, trying to outfox your

:41:56. > :42:00.opponents with when you are going to serve. I think for Bruno Soares, he

:42:01. > :42:13.was not getting enough first serves into play when he got broken. The

:42:14. > :42:22.break that won the first set came in the penultimate game. Served out by

:42:23. > :42:33.Kontinen. So now Heather Watson. 1-2, second set. Well, that is a

:42:34. > :42:40.great serve. So calm in her delivery, the way she sets up for

:42:41. > :42:52.it. 99, beautifully placed. Effortless power on that one. Ace.

:42:53. > :43:11.That was well placed as well. Leading to a simple killed.

:43:12. > :43:17.What a striped forward game this is turning into their straightforward.

:43:18. > :43:25.Three excellent serves very well placed and put away at the net for

:43:26. > :43:26.Henri Kontinen. Very much made his presence felt in this Mixed Doubles

:43:27. > :43:46.match. Lots of this going on, lots of

:43:47. > :43:56.signalling. He is just being bossed about by Heather! She told him to

:43:57. > :44:06.move further across. Maybe the advice was not quite what he wanted.

:44:07. > :44:11.He did as he was told. He did. Well, we have too, don't we? That is how

:44:12. > :44:31.it is, that is life! Exactly, quite right! They are still talking here.

:44:32. > :44:36.They might have to do a bit more signalling because they have just

:44:37. > :45:03.given away what they were going to do the first time.

:45:04. > :45:13.Her serve has just started to the accelerator, 75 miles per hour, that

:45:14. > :45:28.last one. -- has started to slow down.

:45:29. > :45:46.They have taken full advantage of the weakness.

:45:47. > :45:55.Oh, that is the first error he has made. Hardly missed a volley out

:45:56. > :46:20.here. He was so sharp and so close to the net as well. Break point.

:46:21. > :46:33.And the relief given voice by the crowd. Yes, huge disappointment for

:46:34. > :46:37.Elena Vesnina, massive opportunity. She didn't quite moved her feet up

:46:38. > :46:39.to the shorter ball as it went up inside the court. She took a bit of

:46:40. > :46:56.a lunge at it. So he looked in disappointment, at

:46:57. > :47:04.the ball was certainly in the tramlines. He is going to challenge.

:47:05. > :47:15.I believe the call was right. Yes, that is long way out. It was long

:47:16. > :47:22.than I thought. -- longer. A chance to put this game to bed. To the

:47:23. > :47:32.relief of everybody concerned supporting the British player here.

:47:33. > :47:48.He is going to tell her something different now.

:47:49. > :48:15.Escape. Well, that was really playing the get out of jail card,

:48:16. > :48:22.wasn't it? Back to Soares. That was a loud shout. Yes. It came from the

:48:23. > :48:37.beard. That was Soares who suddenly lost

:48:38. > :48:46.his serve in the penultimate game of the first set. He lost it to love.

:48:47. > :49:19.This contest not entirely predictable.

:49:20. > :49:44.Oh, that was nearly right in our commentary box! I think I would have

:49:45. > :50:22.headed it if I didn't have a glass in front of us.

:50:23. > :50:49.You can see the second serve points won, 52% for Soares and Vesnina.

:50:50. > :51:01.Oh, another one! That is extraordinary! Maybe because of the

:51:02. > :51:05.pressure of the return of serve. Break point yet again for the Watson

:51:06. > :51:20.racket. Well, great hands by Vesnina, she

:51:21. > :51:22.didn't flinch or panic, never backed away from the net and she kept that

:51:23. > :51:47.racket head firm. Strange to know where to serve with

:51:48. > :51:51.Kontinen because he has returned so well and hit some absolute screaming

:51:52. > :51:53.returns off that backhand, but he still manages to be so strong in the

:51:54. > :52:26.forearm. Break point. Superbright! It has brought the

:52:27. > :52:27.smiles back on the court and off! That was definitely point of the

:52:28. > :52:40.match. Oh, there it is a game! He can't

:52:41. > :53:08.miss it. Well, this really is a chance on

:53:09. > :53:14.second serve. Where will he served, into the forehand this time, or be

:53:15. > :54:29.brave into the backhand? Yes, same again. Don't worry, says Henri.

:54:30. > :54:39.SUE BARKER: Everybody having for -- having fun. Right back with this

:54:40. > :54:41.semifinal. The Centre Court is the other Mixed Doubles semifinal

:54:42. > :54:47.featuring Jamie Murray and Martin Hing -- Martina Hingis, the number

:54:48. > :54:56.one seeds, 4-1 up, two breaks of serve. And they have been playing

:54:57. > :54:59.the feature match. Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis on the red button. We

:55:00. > :55:04.are heading back to Court Number One.

:55:05. > :55:18.I'm sure the debate in the crowd must be about how many break points

:55:19. > :55:23.have, their way, particularly on the Soares service. And ten out of 11

:55:24. > :55:34.times, the British and Finnish partnership have been repulsed. But

:55:35. > :55:43.in the main, of their own volition. I hope they are not going to haunt

:55:44. > :55:46.her. Easy game to play from the commentary box! Chances do have to

:55:47. > :56:11.be taken. Well, that serve has so much spin on

:56:12. > :56:15.it and slice. And it comes right round the outside of that ball, at

:56:16. > :56:18.such an acute angle, it is virtually impossible for Vesnina to get any

:56:19. > :56:40.racket on that. Oh! Both men enjoyed that, and so

:56:41. > :56:47.did the ladies! Amazing pick-up from Bruno Soares, another really acute

:56:48. > :56:57.angle. Could not quite control that ball, Heather Watson, she did well

:56:58. > :57:02.to move quickly across to it. So tough to receive this serve because

:57:03. > :57:05.you try and cover the one down the middle, sometimes you serve it there

:57:06. > :57:09.and sometimes he swings it wide, and when you have decided where he is

:57:10. > :57:33.going, you are just a fraction late on it.

:57:34. > :58:05.Oh! Superb! Right in the line-up that, Annabel, and see how it curved

:58:06. > :58:09.away. We are so close to it with our commentary box and you really get a

:58:10. > :58:13.sense of how he directs that ball with that hand right at the top of

:58:14. > :58:16.the swing, and it comes outside the top of the wrists and it really is

:58:17. > :58:32.the most extraordinary serve the witness. She is saying, yours! Very

:58:33. > :59:18.well played by Vesnina. Back on the deuce Trail.

:59:19. > :00:30.court season but in the final of Wimbledon, working well!

:00:31. > :00:49.Well the points are getting better and better from all four players

:00:50. > :00:54.here. Quick hand skills at the net. Finally, Vesnina giving way with the

:00:55. > :00:55.forehand volley. Tricky when it is down that low. Tension will be

:00:56. > :01:23.mounting. A quick apology. I don't think he

:01:24. > :01:28.meant to chuck the raquet but tried to spin it up in the air and wasn't

:01:29. > :01:51.able to catch it. A quick apology to the umpire, there.

:01:52. > :02:05.Oh! Well, he's hardly men and an error, Henry Kontinen. But a little

:02:06. > :02:09.late getting across to that one. Trying the almost impossible shot

:02:10. > :02:21.there. I think he just made a home run.

:02:22. > :02:28.Well, that made up for the earlier mistake.

:02:29. > :02:33.That seems to be his favourite return of serve, the single handed

:02:34. > :02:40.backhand. No problem stepping up to it, to get the raquet face to follow

:02:41. > :02:41.through. He is incredibly strong on the forearm.

:02:42. > :03:16.I thought that was wide. Rock solid from Bruno Soares on the

:03:17. > :03:21.backhand volley. Knew he was going to cross. Serving into the forehand

:03:22. > :03:26.and Heather doesn't have the power on the forehand. So the ball

:03:27. > :03:27.slightly floated and that gave her the opportunity to cross.

:03:28. > :03:39.. Oh?! . What happened there? I think

:03:40. > :04:06.she looked down with surprise. So, Brazil and Russian, ahead by a

:04:07. > :04:12.game. But what a tore duous second set this is! It really is. It's on a

:04:13. > :04:18.bit of a knife-edge. One let up from these two and it is virtually game

:04:19. > :04:22.over. But they're hanging on here. Keeping that scoreline tight and it

:04:23. > :04:26.keeps the pressure on Kontinen and Watson.

:04:27. > :04:32.But it's definitely been played in really good spirits. I mean all four

:04:33. > :04:36.of them. I mean, Heather has literally not stopped smiling since

:04:37. > :04:39.the moment she walked out on to court. They are really enjoying

:04:40. > :04:46.themselves. But somebody has to win and somebody

:04:47. > :04:52.has to lose. There's a possibility while the two

:04:53. > :05:00.semi-finals are being played of having two Britons in the final if

:05:01. > :05:06.Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis do through the other match. On the

:05:07. > :06:03.other hand... No, leave that thought aside.

:06:04. > :06:10.I think Henry Kontinen's got into the minds of the opposition. They

:06:11. > :06:15.don't quite know where he's going to go. He's been darting all over the

:06:16. > :06:20.place. Covering most of the court. That in itself has brought about two

:06:21. > :06:21.unforced errors on the return of serve.

:06:22. > :06:49.Absolutely. Well, Vesnina there made up a lot of

:06:50. > :06:54.ground. Yeah, a nice slice backhand. Got it

:06:55. > :07:00.deep enough and with a nice finish from Bruno Soares. In step the both

:07:01. > :07:04.of them at exactly the same time. That's what you want with the pair

:07:05. > :07:15.of them, to move together, to cover the court together.

:07:16. > :07:22.Good serve! Well, three errors off this serve from Heather Watson. It

:07:23. > :07:24.is a spinning serve, not a big pace serve but just well placed with a

:07:25. > :07:49.lot of spin on it. It's much long they are second set.

:07:50. > :07:52.But this is where at this point it is 4-4.

:07:53. > :09:22.But the first set swung. A very different service game that

:09:23. > :09:29.time. Having had to fight so hard for it the previous time to face all

:09:30. > :09:34.these break points. But that one was much more straightforward. More

:09:35. > :09:40.first service into play. Not a lot in this, is there?

:09:41. > :10:15.Definitely not. Interesting whether he's been caught

:10:16. > :10:19.by something during the course of this match, something is troubling

:10:20. > :10:23.his forehead, there. Extraordinary. I don't know if he's been strung or

:10:24. > :10:27.banged his head. I don't remember him having that when he walked on

:10:28. > :11:05.the court?! Oh, superb stuff! And he was right.

:11:06. > :11:28.He got it in the end. Well, Vesnina using all the pace of

:11:29. > :11:40.that smash and here, Heather Watson casual with that lob.

:11:41. > :11:43.Oh! Lovely. Excellent.

:11:44. > :12:49.That was balletic! Good serve, just couldn't get round

:12:50. > :13:42.it enough, Heather Watson. Well, Heather is on fire at the

:13:43. > :13:47.moment. Look at that use of the left hand. A curve right round the

:13:48. > :13:49.outside of the ball. Staying low to the ground and really leans in on

:13:50. > :14:16.that backhand. A big discussion going on here. This

:14:17. > :14:59.is absolutely crucial, isn't it, this next point.

:15:00. > :15:10.So, they have to hold to take it to a tie-break.

:15:11. > :15:16.But it's been such a mixture. Some wonderful rallies. Brilliant shots.

:15:17. > :15:21.Mixed in with a number of failures at key moments and then total