Day 11, Part 1 Wimbledon

The semifinals, the business end. But if you stop and look around,

take all of this in, it will be too late. The nerves inside you, you

tense up, you cannot perform. The top guys just live it, perfect blend

of skill and instinct. Cilic is in the Wimbledon semifinals! And

sometimes a little bit of luck. Trust me, when you are at the top of

your game, you can almost see the point before it happens. What a

great athlete he is. He has done eight! But don't rest on your

laurels. You can't get carried away. Sam Querrey, a piece of tennis

history for him. Certainly don't underestimate your opponent, whoever

you are. He's simply one of the best of all time. There are four guys

left, they have got this far, they are in form, they are living in the

moment, and if they stop and look around and think about the final, it

will be too late. Wasn't that fascinating? Thank you,

Boris, wise words indeed. It is men's semifinals today year at

Wimbledon 2017 and in a few hours we will know the final two who will

contest Sunday's final. Anticipation and excitement in the act, always a

tense day but those who hold their nerve when they line up to serve

will be the one to make it through. The championship has had many

twists, turns, surprises and jocks. The final four is not the big four

we expected but the beauty of grass means even today with one

overwhelming favourite to win we should expect the unexpected. So,

here is the line-up. Sam Querrey is the big serving American who beat

Andy Murray in the quarters. He is much more, though, that an ace

machine, he has the shots and games suited for grass. His opponent is

the call and Clasie Croat Marin Cilic, he already has a grand slam

title on his CV and like his rival he service aces for fun and loves

this surface. Roger Federer is arguably the

greatest player of all-time, ye have one here seven times, 18 grand slam

titles and a win today will see him reach a record 11th Wimbledon final.

Not surprisingly, he is the to beat. Facing the Swiss legend is Tomas

Berdych, he was runner-up here in 2010 and on the way to that final he

beat Padua. He certainly has the armoury but he will need to fire on

all cylinders today to stand a chance.

Here is the order, first Bond Centre is Querrey versus Cilic and then

Federer against Burdick, so sit back and watch the drama unfold with us

this afternoon on the BBC. And don't forget you can watch all the matches

played today on the red button and the BBC sport website, including

mixed doubles, ladies doubles, and the wheelchair and singles --

wheelchair singles and doubles, and we would love you to get in touch

with us using the hashtag #Wimbledon. Sam Querrey is the first

American to reach the males semis in eight years. Marin Cilic is the

favourite to win this match. Tomas Berdych was beaten by Rafa Nadal

here in the 2010 final, he has been out warming up and a few weeks ago

he was here on the court hitting with better in preparation for

Wimbledon. Did he learn anything? We shall see -- heating with Roger

Federer. There is the man that Berdych has to

beat, Federer's last win was perfection, he has not dropped a set

here, there are no words to describe how good he is as a tennis player

and a sporting icon. And talking of sporting icons I am

here with two of them on Centre Court, men's semifinals day, it is a

special day. Bringing back the nerves a bit? Little bit, 25 minutes

to go, I feel like I am about to play. Especially when we are this

close! Don't step on it! I want to start diving now! I would not get up

again, though, that is my problem! But that is what it is about, if you

get ahead of yourself and think about the final you lose the

semifinal. It is about the moment, at four players having the chance.

Roger knows what this day is about, 42nd grand slam semifinal! He knows

what everything is about in tennis, it is incredible, he seems to be

arguably better than he has ever been at this age and in his comfort

zone, and these other guys he's playing, they have the proverbial

puncher's chants in boxing, they are big, tall, guys, they serve big,

dangerous. Emotionally, they can step up to the level they need to

win. Tomas Berdych does not have a great record against Roger, he has

had some big victories against him, he seems to be contented where he

was in the world. Every time they play a tournament where it is 32,

16, one guy wins, you have to be good at accepting and moving on.

Some of these guys going, how in the world can I get over the hump and

win one? You sort of say, except I will be five, ten in the world and

these guys are just too good. But here is a chance to turn your whole

career, take it up another couple of levels. Marin Cilic is the one guy

who has won one but the upside is so much bigger than the downside but to

me there should be less pressure on them. 42nd grand slam semifinal

bird-watcher, first for Sam Querrey and we saw him yesterday in the

ladies semifinals saying it gets to you. Definitely, I felt his grand

slam run started last year beating Novak in the third round and

reaching his first quarters. Before this tournament started he had a

handful of -- we had a handful of players who really impressed and Sam

was one of them, a natural, big serve at times and it could be years

day. This is the point you said probably changed his career here

because this was to go 5-1 in the fifth against Andy Murray. Without

question the greatest point he has ever played, the best point of his

life because this game was a double break, how good does it feel to see

that maybe he still could lose the point, it is a tricky half-volley

and you don't see a lot of emotion normally from Sam Querrey so it was

nice to see him let it out, all of us in the US have tried... You have

somebody in the semifinal! How was Germany doing? Not so good this

year! At any rate he got emotionally involved and people respect that, I

have said the same thing with Milos Raonic, in order for door fans to

get behind you a little bit, they have got to feel that you wanted

more than the other guy wants it, and that is the thing that is so

amazing with Roger, no matter who he plays, except for maybe Nadal, it

seems he wants it more than the other guy. All three of these guys

have to show something to the people watching, the people in the stands,

and to themselves. They have got to find a gear they have never had

before. You predicted it just three days ago, that the Americans would

beat the Brits here. You remember that?! I do, it has come true! Venus

yesterday, we talk about Roger at 35, she is 37 years of age and what

a perfect match yesterday. Beautiful so far, she has had a second coming,

her first title, the last one was a few years ago so it would be the

longest stretch between titles. She had a few off court issues but she

is more motivated than ever. You can see how much she wants it. I have

said this many times, the best thing that happened to Venus Williams is

Serena Williams, to watch your younger sister go by you and become

the greatest of all time, it is ironic but it is nice that the

person that has taken advantage of the fact that Serena is not here,

because obviously the draw is more wide open when she's not here, is

Venus, because she has been in nine finals, she won five, lost three,

alter Serena, and Serena is not here. It will be a tough ask but far

preferable to playing her sister and you get the feeling because of

everything that has happened she will go all the way. You certainly

do. What did you make of Jo Konta yesterday? Good performance, her

first semifinal, I don't think our last, she had that one chance at

15-40, second serve but Venus had a big serve, one or two opportunities

in a semifinal final, you don't get many, you have to earn it. Martina

was talking about it yesterday, maybe Jo Konta needs to add a bit of

variety or height over the net, a bit one-dimensional? I think

Muguruza has done that, I think maybe that is why she won the French

Open. I absolutely believe that is exactly what she needs to

incorporate. Venus Williams is maybe the second greatest grass court

player, it is not like she lost to someone she was supposed to beat and

I would guess she had a lot of very long, tough matches, stressful

matches early in the event, Garcia was close, she had to battle

extremely hard against Simona Halep, so considering the effort she put

out I would guess she was a little bit empty in the tank. You mention

Venus, her younger sister was speaking yesterday and talking about

Andy Murray, this is what she had to stay overnight, I think this was on

American television, when he was reacting to the first American

comedy directed the first American man, and Serena said, there really

should not be a female athlete that is not totally supportive of Andy

Murray. He has spoken up for women's issues and women's rights,

especially in tennis, forever, he does it again. That is who he is,

that is one thing that we love about him. He has such a wonderful mother

who has been such a strong figure in his life, he has done so much for us

on our tour, so we love Andy, we love Andy Murray. And that is from

Serena Williams? Well, I have had a lot of this over the last six years

from my daughters, you are a feminist, dad? So I have to embrace

this. Well said by Serena, that is all I'm going to say! You looked

like you meant it! We are going to move on now to Roger

Federer because he is back here at Wimbledon for the 19th time, back in

familiar surroundings in the semifinals, and he has been talking

to Rishi Persad. And he is through to his 12th

semifinal here at Wimbledon. He is simply the best of all time.

Roger, with your usual sense of occasion, 100th match at Wimbledon,

you make it through to the semifinals again. How special is

that? Very special, the crowd was unbelievable, they were the best,

doing a Mexican wave on Centre Court, you don't see that every

match! I thought they were quite into it. Me loss had his chances

late in the first set and I had to fend them off and come up with some

great shots to stay in it and I was able to somehow make the difference

so it was a good one. What are your thoughts on taking on Tomas Berdych

in the semifinal, a player you have had lots of battles with, including

at Wimbledon? Yes, we have had our fair share of battles but I think we

match up quite well. He is a big hitter, I try to fend it off with my

slice and make the most of it so I am excited for him that he is in the

semis and I look forward to the match. At every Grand Slam event

everyone talks about the big four, how do you view the last four

players left in the tournament? Obviously I'm a bit surprised

because I thought Rafa and Andy had chances to make it to the finals,

Rafa lost in an epic match against Gilles Muller, and I'm happy for him

that he was able to win a match of that magnitude against such a player

but that is how it goes, Andy was carrying an injury and so was Novak,

and it is hard, best of five set tennis, the other guys were playing

well. These players are good grass court players and we have got some

really big hitters in their and I am like the small guy so we will see

what is going to happen, but these guys just hit really, really big.

Let's look at some statistics here, 70 grand slam, 42 grand slam

semifinals, 101st Wimbledon match, 12 Wimbledon semifinal, 16 grass

court titles, 10,043 aces! Does it get any better than that?!

Absolutely not! Usually the umpire says the previous results when they

are warming up but here they went because otherwise... You would be

here or not! Your opponent may as well go back to the locker room!

Nobody has won more, it is an incredible achievement and for me

the most impressive part is that it has been over 14 years so the

longevity of Roger Federer, overcoming injuries and younger

players who are potentially better, no, he has outlasted them. We talk

about the big servers with Berdych and Marin Cilic and Querrey, but

this is how Roger was just placing these serves in the first set from

one corner to another. Here is a perfect example for Berdych, I would

look at this tape and I think early in the match Milos was trying to hit

the ball through to put a hole in him, hitting 135, 140, he is

blocking it back, I remember Roddick had a few headaches over that. Can

Berdych decide to do a bit more serving and volleying? Look at that,

that is how close he was going to the lines, no more than two feet

from either lying on the deuce court and it is only 9% that he went in

the middle, that is precision serving, Boris! There is a reason he

is called the best of all time. He not only has the highest first serve

percentage, he gets it on the line, it is within the rules, it is

allowed! If you are good enough, you can do that. 100% on his first

serve, it is a huge weapon and we tend to not talk about it. The big

hitters, Milos is one of them, not known for great returns, just

because you are six foot five does not mean you will have an incredible

server, so all these guys put a lot of time and effort and I think Cilic

is the best of the bunch of the remaining who can do more damage of

the return of Roger. The fact that you said, what was it, 10,043 aces?

He is up there with the all-time greats and we forget about that.

Maybe Boris can help me, how does his serve get better and better? He

has a great, loose motion, he doesn't use a lot of effort. Didn't

he do that when he was younger? It seems better than it has ever been.

He has perfected it and I think he has been studying well, the success

rate on which corner to serve his team does a lot of homework in

studying the game and his serve is the formation of that. If you cannot

be broken you are so much looser on the return game, he has two return

so much better, to chip, he goes back sometimes but the foundation

will always be the serve. Berdych, though, you have to say to yourself,

the people around him, look, the guy is about to turn 36, OK? I mean,

doesn't he experience one match out of six or seven or possibly more

where you just don't feel quite as amazing as you did all the others?

No, apparently not! And apparently we have got to mood. If we can just

took it one more time, Centre Court! Talking of big servers, Tomas

Berdych is one of the big servers and he has been talking to Bill

Jones. There is going under the radar in a

tournament and then there is doubt, Tomas Berdych style. Here he stand

in the semifinals, strangely unnoticed until now. Even when the

chance came to show his Wimbledon was, a quarterfinal against

three-time champion Novak Djokovic proved a huge anti-climax. Is this

it? I think he has defaulted. Hugely disappointed for everyone on Court

One but they will understand a 12 time grand slam champion do that

lightly. Pretty much from the beginning I felt there is something

not really usual in him and then the speed of the ball from him was not

coming the way that you are used to but you know that it is Novak and

once he decides to go on court you know he will commit to fight. It is

not the best way to go through but it is sport, and I take everything.

Not the euphoria that typically goes with a big quarterfinal victory but

Berdych is at least physically fresh and Roger Federer will ignore the

11th seeded champ at his peril. Berdych beat him en route to the

final in 2010. Feta is beaten. It is the winner of this young man's

career. -- Federer is beaten. But defeat for Federer is the exception

rather than the rule against Berdych, he has won 18 of their 24

career clashes, including twice this year. I played Roger in the open and

then in Miami and are lost, so now let's make the third one and I hope

it is going to be a good one and probably the best player right now

with the form and the way he's playing, so I think that is the

biggest challenge for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

I guess the good news in a way for Berdych, he has beaten Federer on

this court but the bad news is it was back in 2010. You mentioned the

last time they played was this year and they had match point. Berdych

can hurt Federer because he does not give him so much time to play.

Having said that I watched them out in Australia where Federer just

toyed with him so it goes both ways. The beginning is very important for

Berdych. He hasn't been in a semifinal in a while so he needs to

establish his form and grub incompetence. We were looking at

some of the big forehand that he hits, his victory against Dominic

Thiem, he has come through against Djokovic, it is a weapon? There is

no question he has got some serious muscle and he uses his legs, to me,

better than anyone, but you know what Federer will do, he will use a

lot of slice, for the big, tall guys, get it down low, so critical

for him to handle bats shot. How aggressive will he be? Will he chip

it back? Rojer will quickly take the offensive but a key thing is we all

know on grass, Berdych, he has a big serve but he has to be pinpoint with

his accuracy or he will be in trouble. Two becomes three, Tim has

joined us. We were talking about Tomas Berdych, he has got the big

weapons, hasn't he? Is he as good as he was a few years back? I don't

think he is far off, and for me he is a similar style of match up to a

Federer against a and the thing that disappointed me about Raonic in

those first two sets, he really never imposed himself, it is not

just outmanoeuvring Federer, Raonic had to bully him and I thought he

did that well in the third set, he did a good job of hanging in and

competing better soap Berdych, I think, has to go out there and try

to impose himself, be very aggressive and not let Federer used

his array of shots. If he is stepping on his backhand, making

Berdych move and change direction, it will probably end up being a

short afternoon for Berdych. He hits a lot of flatter, harder ground

strokes with Raonic, I was surprised Federer did not try to hit through

more, it is safe to assume Berdych will not do that, he will hit hard

and flat and it has been debilitating at times but he has to

believe, because I don't think he believes as much as he did a few

years ago. I think that is the keeper the Berdych game, he has the

weapons, he has the power, a strong backhand, but how much does he

honestly believe today that he can win? Absolutely, and talking of

Roger Federer, he has not dropped a set these championships and did not

drop a set winning in Calais either, we are looking about the skies, some

clouds overhead, I'll be going to have some sunshine?

We will see some sunshine but as we go through the course of today we

will see large areas of cloud as we have now, but it should stay dry. In

the sunny spells temperature could get up to 22, but in the cloud it is

more likely to be 20 and the breeze we currently have also eased down.

Into the evening we are looking at dry weather and variable cloud, a

bit of early evening sunshine as well, temperatures just slipping at

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

around as well, and between 12pm and 3pm there is the chance of some

light rain, 40% chance, but after 3pm that risk diminishes and again

it will be fairly cloudy as we end the day with a few sunny spells but

one thing you will notice about tomorrow is the temperature will go

up a touch and once again it will start to feel quite humid.

OK, thank you, Carol, as long as it is dry, the roof is open, we are

very happy. Let's turn our attention to the other match and a player that

no one has been talking about too much, the big hitting Croat Marin

Cilic, he has been talking to Lee McKenzie.

Oh, that is fantastic from Cilic! That is a beauty from Marin Cilic.

Cilic is in the Wimbledon semifinals!

Congratulations, at last a semifinal at Wimbledon, you have had to wait

quite a while? Absolutely but it was worth it, it wasn't easy against

Gilles Muller, he was serving great, played really well from the back of

the court but I would say that the second set changed a little bit the

momentum and gave me a bit more confidence from that point on and I

felt I was playing really good tennis. You have won a Grand Slam

before, does that give you an edge? It gives an edge of my own

preparation, everyone is different, everyone is their own individual but

in myself I feel that it has helped me to prepare a bit better,

especially coming to the stages of the tournament, I'm a little bit

more relaxed, I can rely on myself and I know I have the ability to

play that well at this stage of the tournament, and I'm feeling very

fresh physically and mentally. I believe mentally you have to be

really at the top, especially in a tournament like this to exist you'd

everything you want to and be ready for those challenges when they

arrive. How exciting do you think this Wimbledon championship is, how

open? I would not say it is open, especially before the tournament

when we all arrived here it was huge, I think a little bit bigger

group of players that were able to win, but still we had a few guys

that were in great form a graph and fudge it -- Rafa and Roger, always,

but it has opened a gap for a few more guys to believe and do know

that if they play up to their abilities they could get through the

draw. Tim, we haven't really been talking

about Cilic but he has a game that is built for grass? Absolutely, we

saw it at Queen's, match point in the final against Lopez, and when he

plays tennis on his terms with his size, his reach and his power, he

can cause problems. We saw it at the US Open a few years ago when he beat

Federer in the semifinals in straight sets, that is the type of

player he has got to be, on the front foot, looking to dictate, if

he is defending too much then it will be much harder for him. Also,

as far as Bullough goes, in his match, it went to five sets with

that one -- as far as Gilles Muller goes, he only lost four points from

his first serve insects two, three and five. First of all I have to say

that Gilles Muller did a fantastic job getting as close as he did after

the effort you put through against Nadal because I don't think anyone

ever wins after they beat Nadal here, but Cilic, these guys are poor

man, you say his game is perfect for grass... But so far he has not

proven himself here, though he does have the game for grass. He has been

in the quarters a few times, he had match point on Federer last year.

You say after the four, who could win this? I would say give this guy,

because he won the open, was Cilic, sixth is Raonic, and you are pretty

hard pressed to come up with someone you could actually believe could go

all the way with what they have to deal with to get here, so he has

positioned himself well. He is not always entirely comfortable with the

court, bouncing, staying low, that is something he did not have to

worry too much with Sam Querrey about, and the margins were so

small, he beat Sam 79 and 15 in the fifth set! The second longest match

I believe in Wimbledon history! Five hours and 17 minutes! We always talk

about the big four but on graphite always felt the fifth player was

Cilic. Excellent compared to the rest of the field, a natural grass

court player, the pedigree year after year knocking at the

quarterfinal and semifinal draw, he finally went through and he has the

weapons to win this title. And he made a change this year, he has

bought into Younus Bjorkman, I spoke to him at Queen's Club and said, I

will make him much more aggressive, get inside the baseline, and that is

what he has been doing? Definitely, that is the technical issue, to be

more aggressive, to look to dominate and take charge of those rallies and

his serve, the physical issues he is a good athlete, fit and strong. For

me, then, the final piece of the puzzle is mental, and when he has

really believed in himself and gone out there and had that clear game

plan, he is capable of beating anyone, and I think the mental side

for both of these guys is an unbelievable opportunity in the

semifinals to be playing each other, I think who deals with the occasion

best will end up coming out on top. A little bit of a weight, but here

they come. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. -- a little bit of a wait.

They are on court, we are ready for this first semifinal. Marin Cilic,

it is a big serve, his average first serve is 125 mph. He is not only

tall, he has long arms and legs. Its reach is incredible and he has a

Federer like fluid motion. His percentage is high, that is why he

win so many points. It can come to the net, he can hit the first shot

off the return. He has an overall perfect grass game. Exactly the same

thing with Querrey. You will not tell me he does not have a fluid or

brave serve. It is the mental part, ultimately. From what I have seen,

Cilic in the past has been more of a battler. He has dug a little deeper

and wanted it more. I don't know why it has been that Sam has accepted it

is OK to be 15, 20 in the world and occasionally make a run and beat the

top guys here and there like he did last year with Nadal in Acapulco,

but when you look at these two guys, they are both six wait six, can blow

you off the court with the serve, Sam has a great forehand, his

backhand has got better. The gal for some reason he has not backed it up

in the Grand Slams. Cilic won the open in the last few years and a

couple of quarters. There is something missing facing maybe a

Djokovic or Murray. Now it is his big chance. He has never reached the

semifinal of a Grand Slam, let alone a final. Cilic is a bit more

experience in the bigger matches. I think the start for Querrey is

important. If he can hit his spots, stay close in the count, three, four

or five, get the first set under his belt, that gives him a great

platform to be aggressive and make a slam final. Tim, I had to commend

you, I do not realise how important he was to the Wimbledon committee.

The players were not allowed to enter the courts until he finished

his comment, did you see that?! Absolutely. You're getting more

power every year. One yeah I might be able to get you into the locker

room! He has been saying about ever since they change the rule. We will

let Mac and ten debate that, now we will hear from the big man from

America, Andy Murray, who put out Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. He

has been speaking to Rishi. # Born in the US...

# Born in the USA. Finished on a huge Querrey ace, a

piece of tennis history. The crowd was all behind Murray but

the fans here are great people, they love tennis so I felt they were

cheering for great tennis and good shots and I felt I got a really warm

embrace, which is really nice. You are the first American through to

the semifinal of the Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in

2009, how does that feel? Great, it is one of my favourite tournaments

so to be in the semis is exciting. To McCready is in a row that the

defending champion and world number one, an impressive record. I love

playing here, love playing on grass. -- two years you have knocked out.

You have a smile on your face because you are through to the

semifinals, but you are generally smiling. Have you always been a

happy character? I have always been pretty laid back, I have a great

group of friends at home, we are always joking around and having fun,

that is how I have been since I was a little guy. I try to take that on

court. Looking to the semifinals against Marin Cilic, you and he

played the second longest match in the history of the men's competition

five years ago. Marin Cilic is through to the fourth round after a

five set epic. That was a tough match, 17-15. I lost one more match

to him 6-4 in the face. Hopefully I can figure out a way to beat him

this time! If I play well like I have been over the last few matches,

I might be able to. Tim, talking of that marathon

against Cilic, he has had 35 set matches in a row, he has been on the

12 hours and 39 minutes, playing 29 sets. It is fatigue and issue? I

don't think so, coming through to the match Connie semifinals at

Wimbledon on Centre Court, adrenaline will kick in. Whatever

happens, he will be tired next week but I think when he is going to be

out there and get into the thick of the match, they will be fine.

We were looking at these guys surfing the net here, they are so

big! -- serving macro the nap. It makes it easier when you are that

tall! It certainly makes it easier to serve! Back-in nowadays that all

men were big and heavy, they could not move. -- back in our day. But

they are agile and they can move like the little guys. The ball toss,

is hardly moves at all and he is difficult to read, Sam Querrey. This

is the ball striking. That is what you want, you want to be tough to

read. We often talk about the commentary booth. Sam has a nice,

easy motion and can do a lot of different things. That is what you

want to do, disguise your serve, disguise the pace and the

unpredictable. -- be unpredictable. Neil Arscott eight service, you have

to use all of them. -- Milos cost eight serves. It is important to

hold your serve well? They will both feel the butterflies, they have not

been at this occasion for quite a while. Maybe playing so many sets

already takes its toll. He played twice in the championship already in

five set matches, that'll be the difference. There is not much use in

the body serve. Not like Venus yesterday. There is holding serve,

that is a great platform to play from, but the one that really holds

serve comfortably can put pressure on the opponent and free you up on

the return games. If you are holding so comfortably you feel you can be

more aggressive and hopefully look for those opportunities, create a

break point chance and take it. One or two points decide each set. Sam

Cane out well against Murray. It was the best I had ever seen him battle,

come from behind on a number of occasions. The old Sam Querrey would

have lost that in three sets. I know he has a bad record, is an extremely

close matches against Cilic. It is not a major asked you think you can

pull this off. We had better move from Centre

Court. Thanks to Boris and Tim. Mac is on his way to join John Inverdale

in the commentary box. JOHN INVERDALE: How did we get here?

Courtesy of a talented Russian who disposed of the number five seed

several days ago, but it seems like a long time since Stan Wawrinka left

the stage. A big serving man from Luxembourg did for a fair and Andy

Murray's dodgy hip. So we have never seven another 24 vying for a place

in the final. They have met here before, their last game was 17-15 in

the fifth. We could be in for a long afternoon in front of royalty and in

front of Kings and Queen's of the entertainment world, the sporting

world. It really is a who's Who of the gossip columns in the Royal box

today. There is Jude Law. And here is John McEnroe, how are you? JOHN

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

while. Lots of people are saying this will be just a serve fest, but

there could be wrong. There might be a lot more to this than not. Let's

hope so. Who is going to be more aggressive

today more consistently? Whoever that is, I believe, will be in the

final. If you have been watching tennis

with us across this summer when Cilic got to the final at Queen's

and had a great run here at Wimbledon, you will be very aware of

this over exaggerated bouncing off the ball, which gets more and more

exaggerated, the tighter and tighter the match gets. He has had a couple

of time violations for it, not just here but at Queen's.

Maybe he has watched his buddy Novak Djokovic a little bit too much. I

think we got to APB, or a PW, personal worst, of 23 bouncers at

one point. It is very tough to do if you think

about it, it is not like he is doing the same amount. He would have to

count if he was doing that, which would waste energy and require more

concentration. It is hard for the guy give the rent, you are not sure

when the serve will come. And having drawn attention to it so early, I

apologise if you get completely neurotic about this at home over the

next three hours! A straightforward start the Croat. Jonas Bjorkman has

come on board with Goran Ivanisevic -- is Goran Ivanisevic and Marin

parted ways around a year ago. He seems to has some great had gained

his trust. York then like to be aggressive, he has encourage Marin

to do more of it. -- Bjorkman liked to be aggressive.

It is tough to stop and go back in the other direction, you will see

both guys try to go behind. Not as nimble as the mere mortals of

six foot one, two or even smaller! From one end of the spectrum to the

other in terms of serving techniques, this is very, very

simple. Very regimented. Great shots from Cilic.

It should be pointed out that both guys covered the court well, moved

well, for as tall as they are. This is a real heavyweight contest.

When the ball is hit, it stays hit. Maybe at the end of this game you

will go from one extreme to the other in the weights divisions of

tennis. UMPIRE: Replay the point.

Cilic knew it was in. A little bit unfortunate for him, he will have to

look at a Querrey first serve again. I can never understand that rule. It

should be a second serve, right? I agree. Mentioned these guys being

heavyweights, in the Royal box there are a couple of guys in boxing

weight categories, they would be lightweights, barely middleweights.

Rod Laver and Ken Russell are up there, 78 and 82 respectively. Five

foot seven, five foot eight, ten stone. It was another world.

You know Sam Querrey well. Is he the kind of guy who will see this as his

date with destiny, or is he much more pragmatic? I would think it is

more pragmatic. A very laid-back, Southern California boy.

I haven't seen the fire in Querrey that we had hoped, as Americans. A

very good career. Very language. -- languid. Bash, Bosch from Cilic.

That is 109 Aces macro at this championship. SUE BARKER: Is still

on serve and we will be right back with this semifinal on Centre Court,

but we will tell you what is happening elsewhere in the men's

wheelchair singles, Alfie Hewett of Britain has just broken the serve of

Gustavo Fernandez. That is the feature match on the red button, on

court 17. Alfie Hewett going well, a break of serve up in the first. On

Court Number One, semifinal and the ladies doubles of Anna-Lena

Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke against the number two seeds, Ekaterina

Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Just one game at all. That is on the red

button and sport website. This is a very relaxed Roger Federer a few

moments ago. The guy who looks after him, Tony. Just enjoying a match on

Court number three. Looking very relaxed. You would not know he has a

semifinal later, but he does. We look forward to that as he takes on

Tomas Berdych. Let's go back to Centre Court.

JOHN INVERDALE: On serve at the moment, pretty much what we would

have expected. JOHN MCENROE: Extremely difficult to

get the ball above, lob over them, that is for sure. I would expect or

anticipate both these guys will try to get the ball low when they

approach the net. Easier said than done at the pace they hits out. --

hits out. How many tie-breaks do you anticipate? I would say two.

Nice and easy does it for Big Sam. How big a deal will this be in the

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

Will they be up for this? I hope it is becoming a bigger deal. He

himself has said publicly that, in essence, he never thought he would

get to a Grand Slam semi. If you asked him a year or so ago he would

have said no. Not many people have expected this. But with Venus in the

final, things are starting to build. And in the juniors, especially

women, junior girls here, there are American players all over. I don't

think they are yet getting up for them! No. But looking ahead. Let's

hope. Lovely dexterity in the net from

Querrey. Both guys had a surprisingly good touch, which would

seem to encourage them to move forward, to be able to execute like

we just saw Sam do. Tremendous shot. Very dependable for

Cilic. That ball was dispatched by Cilic. A

really interesting piece which I might lead to a couple of times,

with Goran Ivanisevic who used to coach, in the paper this morning.

Goran said he first saw him play at 14 years old, he smacked the ball so

hard it was not true, but it never went in. But even allowing for the

fact that the ball never went in, he knew he had the talent if that

access could be curbed and technique brought into it. He said he thought

at that stage... He knew he would be a class top ten player at

potentially a Grand Slam winner, which he is now. Maybe too many

people are obsessed about keeping the ball in play and technique when

they are young, rather than letting the joy of smacking the ball consume

people. He seems to love playing the game? I agree. Emotionally, when you

see a kid, it is important they enjoy themselves, especially as they

are growing up, before it becomes a job. It is a tremendous job. It is

nice that it was Goran Ivanisevic, I believe, who emotionally helped

Cilic get over the hump, made him believe in himself enough to win the

US Open. It is disappointing for me personally having seen how well they

operated for a while that they are no longer a pair, coming from the

same country I am sure that Marin idolised Goran, certainly looked up

to him. Goran says in the paper that in this country we cannot imagine

what a big deal this match is for the people of Croatia today.

I don't think people can imagine, watching on TV, how big they are and

how hard they are hitting. It is incredible to see these giants

operating. For all the wonders of television,

sometimes to the cathode Ray jeeps and the size it -- cathode ray tubes

and the size of the television, we cannot convey how powerfully the

ball is being hit. That is the ball that you stop

running for when you 40-0 up and you that big. Let me hit another serve!

He really struggled that well. -- struck that well. He has had three

consecutive five set matches, Sam Querrey.

Very few guys can have the Rafael Nadal approach which is to play

every point is if it is the last. Sometimes you had to be strategic

about your effort when you are a mere mortal, unlike Federer and

Nadal. It is not a particularly good

approach, tough to hit the outright winner.

That is a good move forward by Cilic. He did play a five setter

against Gilles Muller, but the legs need to be fresher.

I think who deals with the occasion best will end up coming out on top.

That is a sensational backhand from Querrey. Considering it's the weaker

side, he certainly did that well. Also hit it well towards the end of

the marine match. Third pace of this match but Cilic.

-- third ace. Talking about the speed the ball is hit at and the

ace, we have a charity thing here called Children In Need every year

and one of the prices people bid for this year was to be at Queen's

earlier this year and play with some of the players there, and they got

to play against Sam Querrey and John Isner. Second prize! These were

decent club players, a great thrill for them to have a great day out at

Queen's, etc, but I was talking to them afterwards and they were saying

even though they are tennis fans and have played and watched all the

love, until they stood and received serves from Querrey and Isner, they

simply had no perception of how quick the ball was going, how little

time you had to see it and as a consequence how little time you had

to react. It is hard for 99.9% of people watching to have any

understanding of that. A little comparison, when I was coaching

Milos Raonic last year, we would go on the practice court, when he got

ready to serve he would literally tell me where he was serving and I

still got about half of them! Doesn't mean I'm going to win the

point! So I would suggest to you when Querrey and Isner went out

against these club players they didn't even bring out their big

serve! I'm sure! Backlogs won at 128 -- they clocked one.

You don't need to take much of a backswing when you are trying to hit

returns with these guys. Cilic way back, trying to get that tiny bit of

time. This is an opportunity at 0-15 second serve.

That is what you do to a guy who is standing far back, hit a short

angle. At 106. But the speed doesn't matter, does it?

That is a beautiful play. Andy Murray is very good at using that

left arm to sort of facilitate and make it easier for him to dump it at

someone putts beat. I was wondering if either of these guys would do

that, that was nicely done by Querrey. Second ace of the match

from him. You can see what a difference that one forehand, that

angle, he missed made in that game. Huge difference between 15-15 and

0-30 there. Subsequently ran through the rest of the game. At the moment,

I'm not sure if it is possible to meander at speeds of 120 miles an

hour but at the moment we feel like we are meandering toward an

inevitable first set tie-break. Some big hitting. Big, but so clean

as well. Well, that game came and went in the

blink of an eye. You look at these two guys, Sam Querrey ranked as high

as 17 in the world 6.5 years ago, he has hovered in the 30s, 40s, 50s for

most of his career. You could argue underachieved in certain ways. On a

hard court, fairly quickly paced court, you think these guys would be

able to... How the heck is anyone breaking these guys? It has got to

be how tough... I'm just thinking, with both of them, that their bodies

can only take so much punishment. The grass benefits them because the

wear and tear is not the same and if more events were played on this

surface, it is not that the other courts aren't quick but their bodies

can recover more quickly. But the only only way they are going to be

broken is almost a mental aberration in the part of the server, a

drop-off in intensity, if Cilic gets nervy, that is what happened to him

at Queen's against Lopez. Didn't he have match point against Lopez? He

was extremely close and Lopez has got a big serve. I just think, by

don't they keep that focus and concentration and be able to do that

on hard courts? Was that Barry Gibb?! It was, fresh from

Glastonbury a couple of weeks ago. When the feeling's gone and you

can't go on, Andy and Novak would empathise with that.

That was over the wicketkeeper. There is Barry Gibb.

It is the same way that tennis players dream of hitting a serve

that big, single stream of hitting a note that high! -- singers dream of.

A couple of opportunities on the forehand side missed. And then that

happens. Ten games in 28 minutes. We are going at quite a pacey. It is a

good thing they invented the tie-break or the second semi might

not play today! I'm sure we may remind you of this once or twice

over the afternoon but the last time these guys met here it was 17-15 in

the fifth. Three of those sets were tie-break.

Well played. In your days, would you rather have played a semifinal first

or second so you knew exactly what time you were going out? I would

definitely prefer to play first. In those days, as you are well aware,

there was no roof so I played a match that carried over the next

day, and that does not help things, having to play the next day again

against a well rested opponent. Forehand a little bit off here other

Cilic. Sam Querrey has to be seen that. He will test it, use his

backhand slice, maybe, to try to get that ball low.

His forehand is all over the place, Cilic! Risky, it was over the lower

part of the net, but flat. Certainly got the job done.

Great shot of Cilic there and a great shot as well. Of a battalion

of photographers at the far end of the court as well who are in direct

line of fire of Cilic's serve as well, just behind Querrey there, a

bank of 40 or 50 photographers, just a great picture.

How do you get the money shot? Keep clicking! Was that your advice when

you were coaching Raonic, just keep hitting? That was certainly part of

it! Certainly part of it with these two guys is that you try to

encourage them to believe in variability and go for it, use

variety, but most of all think the reason Cilic's career has been

superior is the fight inside him, the emotional aspect, it helps

engage the fans, helps fans get behind you, helps your box to

continue to bring the type of energy you hope, those things play a

factor. His career has been blighted by injury, intermittent injuries,

season after season after season, and that must, after a while, take

its toll? No question of that, as we were talking about just before this,

the amount of travel, the amount of matches, the amount of tournaments,

the surface, go run on concrete everyday for hours on end and see

how it feels, stop, start, go the other direction when you are as tall

as these guys. And their weight. Well, he has done it once already

but he has to do it again, holds serve and save the set.

I notice one of the guys in his box has got a cap with Borg on but

nobody has got a cap with McEnroe on. You would have to notice that.

Well run, Querrey, there. His coach, in the blue, has done an excellent

job to get in to believe more, battle harder. Paid off in that

point against Andy Murray. If I were Cilic I would use more of

that backhand slice as well because he hit them cleanly and that ball is

going to be a tough ask the Sam Querrey to handle.

Looks to me like Cilic is trying to adjust his return position a little

bit to take away that angle, step a little bit closer. First challenge

of the day. And so, after 35 minutes, we reach

the point we thought we would do 35 minutes ago.

UMPIRE: First set, tie-break. Each player receives one additional

challenge. Is it more important for Querrey to win this than Cilic, if

only because, after three consecutive five set matches, he

probably doesn't want another one? Yes, in his own lifetime and with

Murray, those two factors would make it more important for this guy. Sam

Querrey, the American things got a little bit tighter for both these

guys. Every point seems to matter more. Subsequently the legs start to

get a little heavy, the arm. And because the prize at stake is so

big. A great get by Querrey and the point

you made earlier, just make people play one more shot, one motion, and

Cilic goes long. Yes, get that into my skull, make them earn it, and

this one should have been put away. That is a great shot from Cilic. I

thought that was wide, he chose to play it. He is still looking at the

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

having a look. Academic, mind you. It was out. The ball was out. That's

a tough one for Querrey. You would be very brave to stop playing in a

situation like this. Very tempting to take that in the

air, that was well left. Fortunate that he would have trouble reaching

it so he chose to run back and let it bounce. Excellent job, benefited

by that call, given him a big lead, 4-1.

Well, Querrey had to win that point. Probably on the back of the back of

the line. So hard as a player not to look at that line, you take your eye

off the ball, hoping it will go a little bit long, and it didn't.

There is his coach, he has done a fine job getting Querrey here, he

has never been in a Grand Slam semi. Very quiet on centre but I think

everybody is just a bit tense. And as long as it remains one

mini-break, Querrey is in the game. 14 bounces there. Brilliantly played

by Querrey! Really aggressive challenging Cilic there. Cilic would

have to slice this, a mis-hit, he forced the issue, took away some

options from Cilic, really well done. Nice touch, too.

UMPIRE: Mr Cilic is challenging the call. How big a challenge is this?!

The margins in top-level sport. UMPIRE: Mr Cilic has two challenges

remaining. And just when you thought Querrey

had the initiative, nobody does. Cilic much more animated than the

big American. Whatever happens here, it is set

point after this. Almost too much time to think about

that one. That was a second serve from big

serving, big hitting Sam Querrey at 88 miles an hour, but it is set

point for the American. Sixsix, 6-6. You shouldn't be

surprised, the margins had been soaked in when they played here. The

good thing about this set, though, is it has not just been about Serbs,

there has been some neat footwork, nice touches at the neck, good

ground stroke. There have been matches at this championship this

year when you have had big guys against big guys where it has just

been walloped, no rallies, I did a match in the championship where the

longest rally was four shots, this has been engaging and it has just

been on simmer at the moment, maybe it will boil over as the afternoon

progresses. UMPIRE: Mr Querrey is challenging

the ball Haka call on the service line, the ball was called in. More

in hope than expectation. It was very close.

Someone has just fallen over in the stands, sixsix, second serve. In

purely tennis terms, Irish and that will mean he will get the first

serve back but you can see the various members of the Armed Forces

are going in to the stand on the left of Sam Querrey and James

Keothavong, the umpire, on the phone to Wimbledon officials just

clarifying what the situation is here. I can't actually see if it is

a man or a woman or who it was but somebody has clearly collapsed, just

five or six rows back from the court edge. Just as the sun came out, it

is not particularly warm here today, but Muti, low 70s temperature. And

Sam Querrey watching it like a hawk what is going on there at the

moment. I think this happened with an earlier match, a big delay.

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

obviously hope whoever it is is OK. Our line of sight, it was a lady in

a pink hat, obscured by people standing up in front of her, but she

is able to walk away from courtside and is being assisted down the steps

by a couple of the guys from the Armed Forces here, so hopefully she

is going to be all right. The area. -- dare we are. In the meantime, for

these two giants, the stress level just went up. A lot more time than

they anticipated to think about this 6-6 point of the tie-break.

Does he get his first serve back? Yes, he is going to get a first

serve now. Should he get a first serve? Either way, given the

circumstances... Maybe it was the delay, maybe his

mind wasn't quite there. That is a bad error from Cilic, and so Sam

Querrey, one big serve away from the opening set of this Wimbledon

semifinal. SUE BARKER: So Sam Querrey takes the

first set, that delay probably did cause some upset. We are switching

this match over to BBC One now. Well, Henman Hill busy once again,

everyone watching the drama unfold on the big screen, everyone enjoyed

in their Wimbledon experience. There is a lot of action on the outside

courts, everyone looking forward to Roger Federer coming out onto Centre

Court later on to face Tomas Berdych. I say this much is

continuing elsewhere because over on Court Number One it is a semifinal

of the ladies doubles, and they have just broken so they will be serving

for the opening set. That is our feature match on the red button and

also on the BBC sport website as well, so that semifinal continues on

Court Number One. We are heading over to court 17 for the semifinal

of the men's wheelchair singles, a crucial stage for the French Open

champion against the number two seed from Argentina, Hewitt has taken the

first set 6-4, four games all, so let's join the commentators on court

17, Peter Norfolk alongside Nick Mullins.

We are nearing the back-end of the second set, we might be nearing the

back end of the match if Alfie Hewett can win a couple more.

I think you are right. If Alfie can keep the pressure on Fernandez. He

might struggle. But not like that. Gustavo Fernandez, the 23-year-old

Argentinian. The best player in the world right now. He moved to the top

of the charts earlier this week. An emotional moment when he was having

lunch with his coach in the players lounge and found out he was the

world number one. He is a favourite with the players. He is always

positive, never negative. Eyes on the ball. Weak forehand,

top-spin. He just pulled it too much. Hewett

created the opening and pulled his backhand, it went wide at the

sidelines. Great shot. It is brave. Look at

this. Going for the sidelines. He has is to be brave if he wants to

break here, Fernandez. Which she has. Holding onto your

serve has been an issue in this match so far. There have been fewer

hold land breaks off serve. -- fewer hold van breaks off serve. The South

American has given him a chance of taking this contest into a third.

Alfie Hewett, the 19-year-old from (INAUDIBLE)

. Doubles champions here, famously, last year, with Gordon Reid. Gordon

Reid's premature departure in the singles yesterday means that Hewett

is holding onto hopes in the men's singles. Reid lost to Stefan Olsson,

who already beat Shingo Kunieda in the first semifinal. So the winner

of this will play the Swede in the final over the weekend. The world

number one has been forcing himself back into this contest in the second

set. Here he is, serving to square things up.

He has gone again. It is not the first time in the match or at

Wimbledon but Fernandez has had a tumble out of his chair. -- that

Fernandez has. He will need a new chair with a longer frame. All of

his weight is up top, because he is so strong. He needs to look at the

setup of his chair a bit more. Hewett has an opportunity of

extending the second set. That's lovely. Whenever Fernandez

comes into the mid-court, a lovely mid-court drive volley. Good timing.

Good allies. -- good eyes. I was just about to

say there has to be a drop shot coming!

You can see the ball died when it goes on to the much green patch,

much harder to push the chair through that.

That is not a good time to do a double.

It hasn't been easy, holding onto your serve all match.

And we have talked about the reasons for that, Peter, and the fact that

from a server 's position you are in a static position, unlike the

receiver, who is already on the move. And the receiver is

anticipating where the server will serve. When you are serving, you

pick your spot. He has to work out which side is his weaker side. I'd

be going really wide to make him push out wide.

Look at this! Fernandez did not move very much, rolling over the

baseline. A lovely backhand. If I was Hewett I would be exploiting

Fernandez's chair instability, making him move from side to side,

into the Green zone. That will curl in. Come in and go across.

He is unusual amongst wheelchair tennis players, Pete, he has no

control from his abdomen downwards, which makes the stability and

balance much harder for Fernandez. It sure does. He made that look

easy, but if you look at the other top players, they have a different

disability which, personally, gives them an advantage on their mobility

because they have got abs and they can use them to turn. It gives it

more stability and strength. Look at that.

A hold of serve is a bit like a break of serve at the moment, so

this is huge. Fernandez as world number one,

taking over from Gordon Reid of Great Britain at the start of the

week. The British league coaches there

looking on. Stuart Wilkinson, Karen Ross.

There you go, he has donated. He has held on and now he is a game away

from the Wimbledon final. -- there you go, he has done it.

It really has been some 12 months for Alfie Hewett, backing up his

success in the doubles last year with a couple of silver medals at

Rio in the singles, when he lost to Reid. And with Reid in the doubles.

And then for the first time he became a Grand Slam singles

champion, beating the guy he is playing today, Gustavo Fernandez, in

the final. It means a lot to get a Grand Slam is a singles. Doubles you

are doing it with someone... I always wanted my first singles,

because it made me a bit more confident. You can see that Hewett

has brought that with him. Even though Fernandez is the world number

one, Hewett was down in that match, so he knows he can win.

You would have to look at a break coming up, a break to take the match

for Hewett. You can see that the breeze is

getting up, which will not make it any easier. We talked about the

stability that Fernandez has to work so hard to find. It is a particular

problem, trying to get the balance right. Making sure there is enough

power in it as well. Well, a touch of fortune, but he had

worked hard for it at the end of the most impressive service going as his

semifinal so far. And we are heading into a tie-break. He is working so

hard to promote Paralympic sport in Argentina at the moment, maybe more

than any other athlete. He was a front-page story on one of the

biggest papers in the world back home when he became world number

one. And here he is in Wimbledon. I am sure lots of you have seen

loads of wheelchair tennis over the last few years, but a reminder if

you are saying hello to the sport for the first time, they have to

bouncers, although very often the players only use one. -- they have

two bounces. Tie-break rules are the same.

Fernandez has done that a few times, return of serve, backhand

crosscourt, out wide. A couple of mini-breaks for the

Argentinian. A double fault, and costly for Alfie Hewett. Not a good

time to double fault, a tie-break. Change ends.

He served well in this tie-break, Fernandez. He has.

Is here on court 17. If you know your Wimbledon, we are on the little

strip of courts in between Centre and number one. The finals at the

weekend will be played on Court three. It has the benefit of

Hawk-Eye, which we do not have on this court.

And he has got five set points, the new world number one, Gustavo

Fernandez. It is cool, isn't it? 19 years old,

Hewett, serve, bam! Once again, Fernandez had to work

hard to stay in the sports chair. You are absolutely right. He did not

been for in a foreword to get the curve to bring the ball back in,

because the chair was tipping. His lead has slowly been eroded away.

However, the second set is gone the way of the South American and we

will need a further deciding want to decide which of Alfie Hewett or

Gustavo Fernandez will take their place in the Wimbledon final.

SUE BARKER: That is the tie-break. We will be back with it, going into

a third set, but we will update you with what is happening elsewhere. On

court 14, Anya van Koot of the Netherlands is taking on Diede De

Groot of the Netherlands, who put out Jordanne Whiley yesterday. Didi

DeGroot, it is going well for her. That is on the BBC sport website.

We look forward to the weekend and the finals of the wheelchair events

tomorrow at 11am on BBC Two. That is the ladies singles final and the

men's doubles final. That is at 11am on BBC Two, Steve Brown will join

Clare Balding for that. It is men's semifinals day today,

and coming up later this afternoon...

Yes, Roger Federer will be on later today on BBC One.

At the moment, the first of the men's semifinals, Sam Querrey took

the first set on the tie-break against Marin Cilic, it is on serve

in the second, that is on BBC One. That's what is happening elsewhere,

back we go for the deciding set. COMMENTATOR: The South American, who

played so much tighter in that second set, far fewer unforced

errors, a higher service percentage as well. It means that Alfie Hewett

of Norfolk will need this decider. Again, it is an almighty tumble. He

is back up again in double time, Pete. You spend a lot of time

thinking about the design of these chairs. We can see for ourselves

that he does not have the stability you would expect that the moment. I

think he needs a wider camber and a longer subframe. He is not worse

than wherefore it. Actually, perhaps he should get a skateboard and elbow

pads and kneepads! For technical imbecile is like me, what would a

longer subframe mean? He has an anti-tip at the back so he does not

followed backwards. -- fall out backwards. I am not quite sure what

that was. There was a let, second serve.

Hewett has found himself in trouble whenever Fernandez has forced him

deep behind the baseline with that power. Hewett 's success comes from

(INAUDIBLE) Bats was a great get by Hewett.

-- that was. Look at Fernandez, right into the court. I will come

back to the subframe in a minute. A lovely backhand by Hewett.

Controlled. High hustling from Hewett. --

high-quality hustling. An important game, the first game in the third

set. Took a kick, didn't it. Hewett was

expecting it to come into him. Bit of side spin Ando kick from the

grass, that took it out of his reach. -- and a kick.

You can see that when Fernandez is really stretching, he starts to

struggle. He could do with quite a few more of

those free points. We have been underlining the

importance of the whole serve in this match so far. And the first in

this deciding set begins to Argentina -- belongs to Argentina. A

couple of big serves, a bit more pace and purpose. What about the

subframe business, Peter? The real one is to stop them falling out

backwards, in basketball it is much shorter. It must not protrude past

the back wheels. At the front, he keeps falling forwards, he needs it

longer. Because he is satire and flatter and all his power is at the

top, he needs it slightly longer at the front. It will make the chair

track better, role better and give him forward stability. You can't

have a too long because then it will impede his forward shots.

Hewett recovered from losing the first set in yesterday's

quarterfinal to come through against the Frenchman. Got better and

better. Gustavo Fernandez marked his first

match as the new world number one, taking over from Gordon Reid, by

beating the world number three yesterday. That was a big match for

him as well, a good win. First ace of the match. Fewer races

than Fernandez but tight on the double faults. -- fewer aces.

Nicely played, approaching the net, winning the point.

The break of serve and a cry of, Val Moss -- Vamos. It means a lot to all

the players. Fernandez is the reigning Australian Open champion,

won in Melbourne at the start of the deer. For a while he was the French

and Aussie champ but lost to the Roland Garros title last month,

beating by the bloke he is playing today in the final in Paris,

squandered two match points that day. An opportunity for a modicum of

revenge over the next half an hour or so, or however long is left in

this semifinal contest. They have both still got doubles left yet.

Hewett set himself up really nicely there.

Great pick-up, Hewett was facing completely the wrong way. What

balance. He is so poised. Really good chair skills.

Good wine to serve there by Fernandez.

He has just increased it by a couple of gears. Second hold of serve. A

little bit of Argentinian tennis history as well for this man when he

went to the top of the world rankings at the start of the week,

never had an able-bodied number one, he is the first, therefore, for his

nation. They had a number two in 1975, for those whose memories

stretch back that long, and Gabbiadini in 1991, but all very

emotional for him at the start of the week, a few tears. He is a good

guy and he is flying the flag right now for Argentina here on the green

lawns of Wimbledon. And he is in a very handy position in this third

set. Yes, well-deserved, he has worked extremely hard to be here,

his work on the training courts, their tempo is massive, they really

beast themselves and they do it for the glory, like this, it means a

huge amount to get through these matches, to get to the finals.

Peter Norfolk ear with us today, Britain's best ever quad tennis

player, the Quadfather. I feel like the old father at the moment! Your

power grows and grows, ten grand slam titles in the singles and

doubles, Paralympic medals, couple of golds. Thank you for that, my

kids still don't know what that beans. Surprised to hear that, you

have got enough pictures at home! It was so long ago Hewett would have

probably only been about seven! How scary is that?!

Huge hitting by Fernandez. Really taking the initiative.

That has been the star attraction from Hewett's perspective today,

that backhand down the line. Yes, and he's going to need that.

He doesn't need those, no more double faults, not at this time

because he has given an advantage to Fernandez and if Fernandez goes 4-0,

I would not say terminal but a great platform to keep going.

Second serve wasted. Good second serve from Hewett's point of view

but Fernandez wasted it. He has done a little bit of

chuntering over the course of this contest, Gustavo Fernandez, a

running conversation with the umpire, he has not been overly happy

with some of the line calls but we don't have the benefit of Hawk-Eye

here on court 17. The problem is Fernandez is letting it affect him.

Hewitt is on the board for the first time in this deciding set. If you

have recently joined us, this men's semifinal for the right to play the

Swede Stefan Olsson over the weekend.

And this is Britain's Alfie Hewitt, teenager from Norfolk.

You could hear Alfie chuntering away going, what are you giving back

here? He is right by the back fence and it is hard work pushing there,

the ball does not lift up, it stays really low.

He has got to take it to Fernandez, attack second serve, first bounce.

To a certain extent he is being pushed into the food village behind

the green awning by the power of the Argentinian at the moment. Yes, you

are right, the power of the serve. But actually if Fernandez does not

use his power, Hewett is all over him.

It is difficult to work out a route back for Alfie Hewett right now,

particularly with the way the world number one has picked things up. You

can see the determination. As long as the momentum keeps with

Fernandez, although there has been some swings in this. An

extraordinary story of his, he fell off a chair when he was just a baby

and suffered a spinal injury which means that he has no control below

the abdomen, as we have been talking about, and he is also fighting the

battle in Argentina for Paralympic sport, they have not yet made

progress, had the development we have had in this part of the world

for a long time, so it is a tough old battle for him in Argentina at

the moment. Argentina doesn't have the same sort of awareness, I

suppose, that we do, so living with a disability like that is difficult,

and as a Paralympic athlete he struggles to get sponsorship and

stuff like that. It is hard for him, he has got to prove a lot more than

say we do to get the same sort of funding. Well, a trip to the

Wimbledon final will only help his profile and he is close here, two

games away. Yes, that will do him. It will be great for the South

American countries. He thought that was out, he thought that was wide.

He doesn't think the calls are going for him.

Got the look on the got the good luck on the net there. Oh, he has

lost the racket! He has won the point!

Watch this! He hit the ball before he threw the racket, if he had

thrown the racket and then hit it he would have lost the point, but he

got that, unbelievable. Dear oh dear. Who needs a racket?! Much

overrated. Got to love him, haven't you? I'm not sure love is the word

Alfie Hewett will have swimming around his mind at the moment! But

from a neutral perspective, absolutely, he has been great today

and he is good for the sport. Oh, yeah! He wants it, he has got a

smile. And he is nearly there. Not far away from turning the tables

after being beaten by Hewett at Roland Garros in the French Open

final. But that the power in his arms and shoulders, he is built like

a back row rugby player, it is ridiculous.

That is why he is strapped in tight to the chair, so that when he puts

that power down he does not come out of the chair.

That was a good get by Alfie but still lost the point.

What a get! See that pirouette by Hewett, half-volley gets? That was

magic on wheels by Alfie Hewett. Fantastic tennis. Don't get that in

the standing up game! Mind you, in the wheelchair game you don't get

through the legs, that would be quite difficult! Through the wheels,

I suppose? Going to question that one. No, a wry smile on his face, no

police questioning the course, he feels they are not going his way. It

looked a little bit long but he will argue otherwise.

He needs to concentrate, though. Still another break point.

Where is the sport in this country at the moment, hearing that more and

more are taking it up at the clubs around the country, the tennis

foundation, the charity that helps promote the sport, working so hard

to bring people in off the back of the success of people like you,

Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett winning here last year, Paralympic

medallist, whereabouts are we? Are we making the progress you would

want? Great Britain is at the top of the rankings, last year we won the

most tennis Paralympic medals, the most Grand Slams, Giordano, Gordon,

Alfie. But in terms of wider participation? We have got more

people playing, tennis chatting to tennis centres from the tennis

foundation, it is about all-inclusive sport, anyone can go

and play, go to their local park, play for recreation, rehabilitation,

competitive, play at Wimbledon now. So many more people playing, there

is the UK series. It is in good shape. Hewett serving to stay in the

singles at this year's championships.

Hewett will be back later in the doubles alongside Gordon Reid,

starting the defence of their title against Fernandez. Get that

entertainment when Gustavo is on the court, flying around on his wheels!

Look at this! He must think he is Boris Becker! They should get him

down to have a game in a chair on the grass. I don't think Boris would

fancy his chances against Gestapo. I don't think many of us do. He has

got to be careful, that is going to hurt. Two points from a place in the

final. You can see he is prepared to do

anything to win the point. Lovely forehand down the line. Two match

points. Saved one match point, lovely serve

out wide. Saved two match point and now he has

a game point. Fernandez has squandered those.

He is continuing to defy the South American.

He has got stacks of support from his friends and family in the stands

here on court 17. And Alfie has got history with Gustavo, only just won

the French Grand Slam, Hewett was down big-time, came back and won

that, so he knows that Gustavo must get nervous. Yes, Fernandez had a

couple of much point in the second set tie-break at Roland Garros,

didn't take them, Hewett won the third set, became French Open

champion. He has got three match points for a

place in the final. He has not really had the luck, the

rub of the green. He has done it. Points to his

ticker. There will be no singles success by Alfie Hewett at this

year's Championships. He might be able to do it again in the doubles,

but this is all about Gustavo Fernandez, in the week that he

became the world number one, it is turning into an extraordinary week

because he is now a Wimbledon finalist. Fantastic. Great work. You

can see what it means to the coaches, Fernandez is so happy. I'm

sure there is a big hug coming, it means so much.

Enjoying the celebrations there out on court 17, Fernandez is through to

the final. Where he will meet Stefan Olsson, he put out Gordon Reid

yesterday, he is last year's runner-up, he came through against

Shingo Kunieda of Japan, so the unseeded Olsen is through and will

take on Gustavo Fernandez in the men's singles final at Wimbledon. It

has not been a good tournament for the British players in the singles

here at Wimbledon. And in the ladies singles, Sabine Ellerbrock of

Germany has put out the number two seed Yui Kamiji. It was a really

tight one, 7-6 in the first set, nothing between them, Yui Kamiji has

won three Grand Slams but never Wimbledon, but she will be competing

in the doubles with Jordanne Wiley of Great Britain, but well done to

Sabine Ellerbrock of Germany. And she will face DeGroot who came

through against Van Koot, so DeGroot will take on Ellerbrock in the

ladies singles final. Over on Court One it is the ladies

doubles semifinals taking place, the first one is on court at 1pm, it was

won by Makarova and professionally in straight sets, so they are

through to the final, 7-5, 6-2, and into the final on Sunday. And just a

reminder of our programmes tomorrow, the wheelchair ladies singles final

and the wheelchair men's doubles final will take place starting from

11am on BBC Two, Steve Cram will join Clare Balding for that one.

And the ladies singles final will be tomorrow, Garbine Muguruza against

the five-time winner here Venus Williams, that will be one to look

forward to, that is on BBC One tomorrow at 1pm.

It is men's semifinals day today and on Centre Court at the moment it is

Sam Querrey against Marin Cilic, one set all, 3-2 in the third, they have

both had a break of serve in this third set so nothing between them at

the moment, that match is going to be on BBC One, over on BBC One right

now. So that is on Centre Court. Later on

we have the great man Roger Federer for his match against Tomas Berdych.

So all that to look forward to on men's semifinals day.

In the build up to women I have been travelling round interview sop of

the legends of the game, that included the man I was talking

about, the great man Roger Federer. And I spoke to him, about his

incredible love for this event, and this club.

Asking where is the locker room and like where can we warm up, what are

we allowed to do? When do we play? What is the routines and all these

thing, everything was so new, it is like living a dream world. Do you

remember your fist junior match? Yes, I do remember it as well. It

was between Court One and Centre Court, one of those upper courts

there, and I played I a German or Austrian other junior, I was so

nervous and ended up winning the match comfortably, thankfully. I

remember you saw the National Health Service not the right height. ? Yes,

that is so true, probably after three or five games or so, I went to

the umpire, and asked him could you check the net, I have the feeling

that is way too high, because I can't serve and I don't know, it

just felt super odd the whole thing, he is like, I've checked it before

the match, like we always do here, and I am like well, yes, do you mind

checking it, downstairs, and like, see if it is really correct. He

went, told you so, it's right. It was terrible. So many to choose

from, do you have one match that stands out for you? Yes, I like the

junior Wimbledon finals because you know, winning or losing the finals

was a big deal and getting the trophy presented on Centre Court,

like in the stands and the Royal Box, was very special, I was very

nervous because they made us wait in the old enclosure where the locker

rooms were on the Centre Court, right up behind the Royal Box, so I

could be in the locker room where Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe used to

play, so that was very cool, but then of course, I think the 2001

Fourth Round against Sampras was my special match, that I don't know,

made it all so worthwhile, all the hard work, and, and then I realised

how much fun tennis can be. You have fallen in love with Centre courts

and everyone remembers Grand Slam titles so your first Grand Slam

title, is that still one that is the most special to you? Yes, think it

was most emotional, it was so real, to receive the trophy which feel

like magical in itself, and then you have to speak to the crowd, whereas

back in the day you didn't have to, all you got with a trophy, showed it

and that was it. Now we speak, so the whole speaking to the people, in

the stadium, people at home on TV, is very emotional for me, because

how do you explain how you feel right now? It is a dream for me,

coming true, and I was joking around when I was a boy, you know I'm going

to win this, and... APPLAUSE

Thanks to everybody. It's great. Congratulations, Roger Federer.

It came crashing down on me, in a way I am happy it was like this,

because I lived it full, and I look back and I think, I can feel every

sequence wint through, even though it is almost 15 years ago, my career

could have stopped then and I would have been a complete human being and

tennis player. Moving on a few years to 2009. For me, that was possibly

the best Wimbledon final. It had everything. It was OK, can Roger

regain his crown? The record was on the line, of getting I think,

getting to my 15th Grand Slam after 14th at the French Open. My wife was

pregnant with twin, nobody knew that other than the family and my friends

and it was like this, sort of the perfect summer really for me,

somehow found a way squeeze it out and get the win, and break the

record, and Bjorn Borg was there, John McEnroe was there, and... Pete

was there. Absolutely, Pete came, which was, you know, very rare that

he comes and shows up, so, and, all that against Andy, who you know, I

have so much respect, I love him, it felt so good but it felt so wrong

beating Andy because he deserved it. The week before, do you often sneak

on Centre Court alone? Not so much. I am not the guy who looks and just

looks at Centre Court and tries to visualise what could happen, you

know, for the next few weeks. Or look back even? Or look back for

that matter, yes. Not really, but I guess I enjoy sometimes having a

small glance, like a love having a small glance on Court Number One,

which is easier when you are walking back-and-forth, you can walk a few

steps up and see Court One, everything is so neatly done at

Wimbledon. It is little moments time and time again that you go that

bring flashbacks from history, for me, personally, but also from other

amazing matches being played there. His love affair with Wimbledon

shines through, doesn't it. He will be second of the matches on Centre

Court against Tomas Berdych. You may have a long wait because Cilic and

Querrey played the second longest match in the tournament's history

back in 2012. 17-15, took five-and-a-half hours and they are

locked in battle. A set and four all. So we will see Roger Federer

later on today. We will head back to Court Number One, shortly, but first

Tim Henman tell us about the key element that makes Wimbledon the

most unique of the Grand Slams. The feeling of the grass under your

feet is almost like the most perfect carpet.

The perfect foundation, play great tennis on. It is inevitable that a

living surface is going to change, because it's alive.

That is such a challenge for the players because there's no other

surface that will change so dramatically over a tournament.

The begin of the grass court season, the ball is going to be skidding

through a bit more, it will bounce a little bit lower, the courts dry

out, they get harder, the ball will bounce higher. I think grass court

tennis is more exciting because there were more variables.

That is why I think you have seen some the best match ups, we have

ever seen in the game take place at Wimbledon. Women is the greatest

challenge. Grass court tennis is what it is about. -- Wimbledon.

And it is a surface that Tim certainly loves, and he is a big

part of the club here, the All-England Club, he is on the

committee for not only the courts but the order of play as well. So we

are heading, as I said over to Court One. This is the second of the

Ladies' Doubles semifinals fee. As you can see it is early stages now,

just one game has been played so let us join our commentators on Court

One. Ninomiya to serve.

5'1, from Japan, ranked 62 in the world.

First Grand Slam semifinal as it is for her partner. Semifinals in

Southsea near Portsmouth. Their only tournament together.

It is a huge day for them. They played a wonderful quarterfinal,

this pair. Have for for give her for a few

double faults today. She is shortest on the court. Doesn't hit with a lot

of spin, he is quite flat. That is the side they are going to

work on for Niculescu, unless she connects that perfectly that

forehand does tend to sit up a little.

That was a really awkward bounce, there, from Niculescu. And Ninomiya

will get used to that pretty quickly in this match, there is not many

straight bounces that come off the racket of Niculescu.

Break points. Just what I mentioned, if you can

take her that step wired and not let Niculescu get behind that forehand

swing, she will have some problems. Such a busy player, Ninomiya.

Quick, you need to be, when you are 5'1. They are a good combination,

Niculescu has the better serve. Ninomiya served first for the team.

Good positive play there from Chan. This one here, Niculescu just

choosing to hit and come forward, not doing enough. The Japanese

player couldn't get up over Chan's head.

Third break point of the game. Mentioned what a big day it was for

Ninomiya and Voracova. But it is for Chan and Niculescu. This is the

first semifinal as it is for Niculescu. They have only played one

tournament together too, so nerves could play a big part.

Some great hitting, perhaps that could have gone over the head of

Niculescu. Nice finer from Chan. Not afraid to be nice and aggressive

with her volleys. You see the crowd look at each other

like this, "Well I've never heard of Ninomiya or Voracova before". The

forehand side is the side that can let Chan down, that extreme grip

doesn't work so much on the grass, she likes Claire and hard court much

better, bounce suits a little hiring. She is still above the net,

Voracova, but she is bending down. Hope they didn't have a row last

night? She'll know about it! Superb.

This is when Niculescu has to be a bit careful. She let that one drop

and she craves some space, she doesn't really punch that volley

away, she tends to just lift it a bit. But what a shot from, she will

be happy, that will give her a little confidence.

Close. Challenged by Niculescu immediately.

That's why. They were in control of the point.

First serve again. Four break points saved. Super hold.

Smart play there from Ninomiya, just really taking away that backhand

shot of Chan on the return. Focussing on that forehand, they are

focussing on a nice drink Chris. Don't blame them.

Hits ball very flat, Voracova, as does her partner.

Perfectly on the frame. Perfect that one.

Save on restrings. Football called.

-- foot fall called. Good one-two combination there.

The fact she stands so wide, really can come in on that left hip of

Voracova. We know she loves that off backhand.

Confident moving there, from Ninomiya. Just moving forwards with

the drive volley. Stays very low. Good pick up from Voracova, but very

solid off that shot. Great play.

From Voracova, I think that is very smart. If she the get something a

bit short e get the ball back quicklitor, the server, a lot of

Sob initiative for Ninomiya and Voracova. And it is, when you think

about it, the names, they are not familiar, unless you really are

tuning in specifically to watch this match, to follow them, because you

have seen them in their careers and so on, it's new ground for everybody

here, and it is such an amazing opportunity, to make a Wimbledon

final. Yes, I think we are seeing it across the board, whether it is in

single, doubles, there seems to be a lot more variation in the players

that are getting through to the latter stages of events, and think

that is great. You see these young juniors and they see players like

this, they give themselves a good chance. It is learning the skills of

doubles early on, particularly for these lady, it really does put you

in good stead for later on in your career, that is something the

Japanese focus on. It is a real common thread with the Japanese, its

is great to see. Skies clear.

Voracova the last to serve. With the break, leads 2-1 first set.

Always does that with the shoulders before every serve.

It's in. We know Niculescu loves moving

forward. They are going to start doubting their movement, and

doubting themselves, if Voracova can keep putting in these terrific lobs.

That is just a yip. It is like Nadal putting the hair behind his ear,

although he goes through about ten things before he serves. I hope he

is is not watching this match, he will do the shoulders as well. Great

hands from Chan, tracking her opponent across the net, when you

watch her eye, she's so good at watching what her opponent does,

she's now looking, hands behind the ball, great pick up.

Always looking to poach, Niculescu. They all are. Chances to get the

break straight back. Timing of interceptions is crucial.

Just as your opponent is about to hit, ideally.

So difficult. So difficult to respond to that amount of slice.

She is a totally individual player Niculescu, there is nobody like her.

She is so unique, so skillful, how hard is it to return a slice like

that. Ask Fed, he doesn't do it a lot.

Just waits for the perfect moment there Chan, you can notice Niculescu

preferring to hit the backhand, she can come over that, the top edge of

the racket will come on top for the backhand, but, not for her other

side. Being solid is her mantra, might be

happy with missing that return. Just releases a bit of pressure

there, Chan. Nice touch.

Got so many different shots Niculescu. She has so many different

sounds as well, when she hits them. She telegraphs what she's going to

do, almost. Niculescu played in the singles

here, lost to Rybarikova, the eventual semifinalist. A lot of the

top female players still play doubles. It is a great training

ground. If you have a dip, the other player can try and pick you up, say

come on, don't worry, this one, next one. There is no question about it.

I think it is very much shown here at women by one athlete that has

played a lot of doubles in the past. Is Muguruza. She played with Suarez

Navarro. The fact she put all those years, Muguruza, in the doubles

court, moving forward, is helping her currently at Wimbledon. She is

one player that is averaging in every match ten times coming into

the net per set. That is 20 balls moving forwards that she is able to

execute in singles. Very positive.

Mixed doubles with Santoro, that would be a puzzle for players to

solve. Ninomiya, 2-3, first set. She has a bit of everyone, Ninomiya,

like I say, of all the doubles players from Japan. There has been

so many good doubles players from Japan.

And respect, there is no question about it that Ninomiya would have

picked up a lot of characteristics and been really influenced by past

players from Japan. She gets a little lucky here though.

I reckon the little one takes a bit of handling.

They aried for it, Coric, you could see -- Voracova, there is only one

direction that balling is coming and that is up.

One of those should be at work today!

A little flat footed there, Voracova. Serve comes at the body of

Chan, she invariably goes the right at the net player.

It is almost impossible, isn't it, to hit a passing shot with a slice.

So hard. She really does vary the serve very

well, Ninomiya. A good old-fashioned chip and

charge. Yeah. If she can get the ball to sit down low on the grass,

that's where Chan can step in and be effective. Point break.