PLAYING FOR HISTORY

Federer advances to 8th final, while Murray makes 1st

Associated Press

wimbledon, england

Roger Federer is back in the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2009. If that seems like a long gap for the six-time champion, imagine how all of Britain feels: Andy Murray is the first man from the host country to play for the title at the All England Club in 74 years.

Already the owner of a record 16 Grand Slam titles, but none in the past 21/2 years, Federer can equal two marks held by Pete Sampras with one more victory Sunday: seven Wimbledon championships, and 286 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. So far 0-3 in major finals, without claiming even one set, Murray can become the first British man to collect any Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships in 1936.

“Everyone loves Roger at Wimbledon, but a majority of people are going to want to see Andy win this time. ... They can inspire Andy. They can pick him up. But at the same time, they might make him feel like he’s pulling all the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders. That’s a lot to deal with,” Sampras said in a telephone interview. “And he has to play Roger Federer, so he’ll have his hands full.”

After seeing his grip on the grass-court Grand Slam tournament slip away with a pair of quarterfinal losses the past two years, the third-seeded Federer reasserted himself by beating defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Friday.

Djokovic or Rafael Nadal won the nine previous majors, and both surpassed Federer in the rankings. But after losing six of his last seven matches against Djokovic, all on clay or hard courts, Federer had the upper hand on grass, the first time in 27 career meetings they’ve played each other on that surface.

Not since Bunny Austin in 1938 had someone representing Britain won a men’s semifinal at Wimbledon — until, that is, Murray hit a forehand return winner that clipped a sideline to eliminate No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. After a replay review to make sure that last shot was in, Tsonga and Murray hugged. The Frenchman put his hand on the scruff of Murray’s neck and they had a lengthy chat near the net. Then Murray sat in his sideline chair, tilted his head back and closed his eyes, the sounds of a raucous standing ovation ringing through Centre Court.

“A big relief,” Murray said. “It was a very emotional end to the match. I’ve just got to try to keep it together for the final.”