The major milestone Roger Federer just achieved at Wimbledon
Roger Federer has obtained his 100th match win at Wimbledon on Thursday morning (AEST), reaching his 13th semi-final at the All England Club and a showdown with long time rival Rafael Nadal.
The Swiss star recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, securing his place in the semi-finals of a grand slam for the 45th time.
The 37-year-old has a number of records under his belt, becoming the first to win a century of matches at one grand slam and also being the oldest man to make the last four of a major since Jimmy Connors at the 1991 US Open.
The champion is now preparing to face Nadal at Wimbledon, a match that last occurred in the 2008 final.
“We have a lot of information on Rafa and so does he about us. I know people always hype it up in a big way,” said Federer.
“They did that again in Paris this year (when Nadal won their semi-final in straight sets). I’d love to play against him here at Wimbledon.
“But I go about it like every other match.”
The two have met 39 times in their careers but only three of those have been at Wimbledon. The Swiss won their first two encounters in the 2006 and 2007 finals, with Nadal famously triumphing in 2008.
According to Federer, he was completely oblivious to the fact that he had become the first player to ever win 100 matches at the same tournament.
“A fan told me congratulations on your hundredth win and I thought, ‘Oh yes, you’re right!’” he said.
Speaking about the game against Kishikori, Federer mentioned the challenges he was forced to face.
“It was difficult. The beginning was brutal. Kei came out and was smashing return winners,” he said.
“I had to definitely make some adjustments and stay with him. It was really important for me to get the lead in the second set and protect it.
“Usually Kei is a great rhythm player. I just think at the end I served really good. It was a good serving performance today against a great return player.”