Wimbledon 2016: Roger Federer comes from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic in last-right to keep dream of record eighth title alive
Swiss superstar moves a step closer to surpassing Pete Sampras' haul of seven at SW19 after epic five set victory
ROGER FEDERER dug deep to secure himself another little corner of the tennis history books.
The 34-year-old is already the most successful man ever to play the game but has now won more singles matches than anyone else too.
His 6-7 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-3 win over giant Marin Cilic was the 307th of his illustrious career and meant he overtook Martina Navratilova's record.
It's a fairly dull stat but what a way to do it.
The Swiss superstar fought back from two sets down and faced two match points to win a match that will become immortalised should he go onto win an unprecedented EIGHTH Wimbledon title this summer.
He now faces Canadian Milos Raonic in Friday’s semi-final — giving him just one day to recover from the hardest shift he has put in for years on court.
But, in this frame of mind, the aching legs will be more than compensated for by the sharp mind and buoyant confidence after such a thrilling victory.
It was a comeback that even Muhammad Ali — architect of the famous ‘Rope A Dope’ in his Rumble In The Jungle success — would have given a nod to.
The sunniest day of the tournament so far allowed Federer to play uninterrupted for 3 hours and 17 minutes to eventually bring down a man mountain in Cilic and complete a two year revenge mission.
Federer recalled how Croat 'blew him off court' at the US Open in 2014 and it nearly went the same way until the seven times SW19 king produced the greatest comeback of his career against an opponent seven years younger and a good four inches taller than him.
Cilic was bearing down on him with 132mph serves and dominated the early stages but did not bank on Federer's incredible mental strength and impressive physical powers even at his age.
After one hour and 15 minutes of one way traffic Federer was staring at an undignified exit against his bogey man.
It was almost sad to watch the senior statesman of men’s tennis being smashed around his beloved Centre Court.
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An old man should feel safe at home but for Federer the first two sets of this captivating quarter-final will be a horror movie when he looks back at the DVD package he gets sent to analyse every performance.
He took the unusual step of changing racquets midway through the first set as he sensed himself losing his grip in every sense.
He lost the tie break to drop his first set of the tournament so far — big news in itself.
Federer was then broken in the third game of set two and it looked like an easy day out for Cilic and a repeat of his one-sided triumph at Flushing Meadows in the last four two years back.
Federer has not battled back from two sets to love down in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2012 — ironically, the last time he won it.
By set three, he was taking to the shade as the heat built on Centre Court. He was in a dark place.
But, slowly, Federer turned the screw and cashed in on his greater mobility and the fact that no one has been to more semi-finals than him now.
Cilic began to double fault with more regularity and Federer sniffed a kill, bringing out all his old instincts.
He broke his opponent at just such a moment to move in and snatch the third set and kick the fightback into gear.
Federer was serving to stay in the match and delivered a 120mph ace in set four.
He challenged human error at every opportunity and got himself a precious point via Hawkeye no more than one millimetre with his ball brushing the baseline.
It all helped nudge him closer to one of the greatest wins of his career.
By set five Cilic was clearly flagging. He had stayed silent all match but had to ask for Federer to wait while a ball boy settled into position as the nerves and distractions kicked in.
Federer served himself up a 126mph ace to haul himself to the first match point of the game and he followed it up with another at 115mph bringing Centre Court to its feet and putting Cilic on his knees.