Roger Federer is now one win away from becoming the most successful male player in Wimbledon history after beating Tomas Berdych 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 6-4 to book his place in the final. The Swiss will play Marin Cilic in the final after the Croatian beat Sam Querrey 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-5. Federer had more difficulty today than in previous rounds, particularly after the Czech won three games in a row during the first set, but he remained very focused in the crucial moments to get through in straight sets for the sixth consecutive match.

Heading into the first set tie-break, Berdych had the momentum after coming back from a break down and will surely have fancied his chances of upsetting the odds and taking at least a set off Federer. But the seven-time champion was in no mood to let that happen, and he hit a succession of excellent groundstrokes that the 2010 runner-up had no chance of getting back into court to take the tie-break 7-4.

Fans were treated to high-class tennis in the second set as both players served superbly. They also seemingly hit winners at will, with Federer racking up 19 and Berdych not far behind on 15. In the end, a tie-break was again the only way to decide it, and again it was the Swiss who won it 7-4. This time around, Federer really turned on the style, unleashing three brilliant forehand winners to race into a 4-1 lead, and then sharing the next six points with his Czech opponent to win it.

Federer looked to be in trouble in the third set when he went 15-40 down on serve with the score at 2-3. But he responded like the true champion he is by producing three stunning aces and another unreturnable serve to win the next four points in the blink of an eye. To make matters worse for Berdych, the Swiss broke him in the very next game by hitting some excellent groundstrokes that drew errors from the Czech’s racket. After that, Federer wasted no more time wrapping up victory as won eight of the next nine points on his serve to clinch the third set 6-4.

Federer said, “I thought it was close. It reminded me of the other matches I've had in this tournament on some occasions as there were chances for my opponent. But I was able to come up with the goods when it mattered. I played good in the breakers, or at least if my opponents didn't play well in the breakers, I was able to close it out. I never played with any sense of panic, which is so important when it gets to crunch time. (Today) was the toughest match. I'm happy I won all the big points today.”

The Swiss knows he may face an even more difficult match against Cilic, and he was asked whether the Croatian’s performance in the US Open semi-final in 2014, when he beat Federer 6-3 6-4 6-4, was the best an opponent had ever played against him. The seven-time champion said, “Possibly. I mean, if I say yes, it puts all the other great performances against me to shame. But I thought he played very well. Conditions were fast. He was clocking returns and serves at will. He was doing a great job. I think I had a minor chance at one point, but he was confident and feeling it and seeing it. To make it the number one great performance against me would difficult. But at that stage of the competition, late in a tournament, it was definitely very, very impressive.”

Federer also talked about his incredible 2017 so far. He said, “I was hoping to be in good shape when the grass court season came around. Of course, the goal after Wimbledon last year, this time around, exactly today to the day almost when I lost the semis, was to hopefully be back strong for the clay court season and the grass court season leading into Wimbledon. So the Australian Open was such an unbelievable surprise to me. Then to back it up in Indian Wells and Miami – during that part I couldn't believe that I was able to sustain such a great level. So, the first four months of 2017 were like a dream.”

The Swiss will play in his 11th Wimbledon final on Sunday. He said, “It makes me really happy marking history here at Wimbledon. It's a big deal. I love this tournament. All my dreams came true here as a player. To have another chance to go for (title) number eight now, to be so close at this stage, is a great feeling. I’m unbelievably excited. I hope I can play one more good match. 11 finals here, all these records, it's great. But it doesn't give me the title quite yet. That's why I came here this year. I'm so close now, so I’ve just got to stay focused.”