Roger Federer falls to Milos Raonic in Wimbledon semifinal

WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer's hopes of a record eighth Wimbledon title and his perfect record in semifinals here were dashed by Milos Raonic, who broke late in the fourth set and then ran away with the fifth to claim a 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Raonic, who becomes the first Canadian man to reach a major singles final, will face 2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in the final, who cruised 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 over Tomas Berdych in the second semifinal. Raonic, who had a much tougher day at the office, expressed relief at his survival.

"It's an incredible comeback for me, really," Raonic said. "I was struggling there."

Federer had looked in full control of the match until late in the fourth set, when he let a 40-Love lead slip in the final game by hitting consecutive double faults.

"Opportunities were all around the fourth set," Federer said. "I think I pushed him on a few service games to get the break. But somehow I couldn't get it done. Either he served well or he hit the line on the serve, or with the forehand, he did a great job there. It was always going to come down to a few shots here and there. Unfortunately they went his way today. It's disappointing for me, clearly."

For Federer, who had won all 10 of his previous Wimbledon semifinals, there was injury added to insult, with an awkward fall that seemed to tweak his left knee bothering him for much of the fifth set. Federer played on through that game, but Raonic would break, and then rode his thundering serve through to the finish line.

"I don't know yet; I don't even want to know," Federer said of the extent of the injury. "I just felt not the same afterwards. Regardless, he played a great breakpoint to get the break.  From then on, if I would have been fresh as a daisy or injured, maybe wouldn't matter because he was serving 140 [miles per hour] anyway."

Raonic, who has been considered one of the leaders of his generation for years, had struggled to break through at a major against Federer or any of the other so-called "Big 4" (including Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal) which has dominated the men's game for his entire career.

Raonic had been routed in straight sets by Federer in the semifinals here two years ago, but proved a far more formidable opponent immediately in this match, and never looked unsure of himself despite the deficits he faced on the scoreboard.

"It's something you got to try to put aside very quickly," Raonic said of Federer's aura. "He has the most decorated achievements and successes in tennis, more than anybody by a good amount at this point."

"But you're playing who Roger is today, not who he's been the past few years," Raonic added. "So you try to focus in on that and what you need to do, try not to spend too much time and attention thinking about him. Especially for myself, I've got to always worry about myself first."

Federer, who paused to acknowledge a crowd that had once more been on his side as he walked off Centre Court, later assured gathered press that he had not been bidding farewell to the tournament for good.

"Yes, I hope to be back on Centre Court, to be very clear for you," he said.

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