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Wimbledon: Roger Federer inches closer to his eighth title, Djokovic forced to retire

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer's path was cleared for a record eighth title as two top seeds bowed out with injuries hampering their play.

London, July 13: Roger Federer gets one step closer to his eighth Wimbledon title as he beat Milos Raonic in straight sets on Wednesday (July 12) 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the centre court, just moments after the home hero Andy Murray crashed out.

Sam Querrey stuns Andy MurraySam Querrey stuns Andy Murray

Federer's victory came minutes after second-seeded Novak Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych with an elbow injury.

File Photo: Roger Federer (Image Courtesy: Wimbledon twitter)

Djokovic, a three-time Wimbledon champion, had a trainer work on his right elbow after the first set ended. He also had a trainer work on his right shoulder near the end of his fourth-round victory against Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday (July 11).

"It's the elbow. Over a year and a half it's been bothering me," Djokovic said after the match.

"I probably spent about two and a half hours on the table today. There's no way out if you don't feel fit. I'm going to talk to the specialist to find a long-term solution to solve it."

File Photo: Novak Djokovic (Image Courtesy: Wimbledon twitter)

Djokovic stopped the quarterfinal match during the second set while trailing 7-6 (2), 2-0.

At the end of his news conference, speaking in Serbian and translated through an interpreter, Djokovic hinted at the possibility of taking a long break.

That would be a first one for Djokovic, who has been the best player on tour for about a decade. He won the first of his six Australian Open titles in 2008, and won four straight majors from the 2015 Wimbledon tournament through last year's French Open.

"The specialists that I've talked with, they haven't been really too clear, mentioning also surgery, mentioning different options. Nobody was very clear in what needs to be done," Djokovic said.

"Yeah, I guess the break is something that I will have to consider right now."

Federer will play Berdych in the semifinals as he chases his first Wimbledon title since 2012. This will be his 12th semifinal appearance at Wimbledon. Berdych reached the Wimbledon final in 2010, losing to Rafael Nadal.

The 35-year-old Federer can identify with the physical woes of Djokovic and Murray, having gone through the same thing last year.

"Last year I had a hard, hard time practicing through the clay-court season. The grass-court season was difficult because of the back issues I had, and the knee issues. I was really lacking practice, really," he said.

"I'm playing very well. I'm rested. I'm fresh. I'm confident, too. Then great things do happen. Confidence is a huge thing," Federer concluded.

Raonic said after his defeat to Federer, that the Swiss is moving well, but that's not the only thing he has going for him.

"I think the thing I was most impressed with, at least the years I've been on tour, he was extremely sharp mentally always in the right moments, just always on top of things," he said of Federer.

"He kept a very high gear the whole entire time without giving many real glimpses. I think that was the most sort of defeating thing."

Murray also lost on Wednesday (July 12), yielding to American Sam Querrey in five sets. Murray was hindered by a sore hip.

Querrey faces Marin Cilic who defeated Gilles Muller 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 on Wednesday (July 12) in the other semifinal on Friday (July 14).

OneIndia News

Story first published: Tuesday, August 8, 2017, 11:07 [IST]
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