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Roger Federer took the court first in his match against the clear underdog Tommy Haas. There were no breaks in the first set, but Federer took it, winning 7-3 in the tie break. There were no breaks in the second set either, and Federer won again, 7-5. The third set was much easier for the Swiss, winning it 6-3, on his way to his 20th grand slam final, an all time record (Ivan Lendl is second with 19). He will be going for his 15th grand slam title, also an all time record. (He is currently tied at first with Pete Sampras, both with 14).

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Roddick didn’t have it easy, as he was a slight underdog in his match against the local hope for a British Grand Slam winner for the first time since 1936, Andy Murray. Although Murray was better on the stats sheet, Roddick came up big in all the important points. Roddick won the game in four sets, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6. Roddick was able to save a break point in the fourth set with Murray leading 4-3, and had his serve carry him through into the tiebreak and on to the win, as Murray sent a backhand shot into the net and Roddick to his knees, overwhelmed with joy. It will be Roddick’s fifth grand slam final, with his only win coming in 2003 in the US Open. It will be his fourth grand slam final against Federer, and he will try to beat him in a GS final for the first time.

Roddick will be a huge underdog come Sunday considering his record against Federer, but as Murray said, with Roddick serving the way he is (recorded the fastest serve of the tournament against Murray, 143 mph/229 kmh), he can beat anyone. Him winning only two times in the twenty he and Federer have met might suggest otherwise. The British fans? Will have to wait another year and hope Andy Murray will make it a step further, and look better than he did today, especially on the points when it mattered the most.

Roger Federer was the first winner of the day, beating the giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6. Federer broke Karlovic once in the first set and once in the second set while keeping his serve throughout the match – the winning recipe against Karlovic, who couldn’t dominate the number two player in the world like he has others all tournament. He improved his record against Karlovic to 9-1.

Federer has now won 17 straight matches and reaches his 21st consecutive grand slam semi final, in his quest to reach grand slam no. 15 and become the all time leader, surpassing Pete Sampras.

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On Friday he will meet German Tommy Haas who will make his debut at the Wimbledon’s semi final. He beat in the afternoon’s upset match 4th seed Novak Djokovic who proved all the inconsistency claims about him to be correct. Haas beat him in four sets, 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. Haas has beaten Federer twice in his career, but has lost nine times. In their two meetings on grass in Halle Federer was the winner both times.

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The British hope Andy Murray took care of business in straight sets against the Spanish Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. This will be Murray’s first Semi Final appearance in Wimbledon, and he will meet another Andy on Friday, Andy Roddick.

Roddick faced Lleyton Hewitt and the two produced the thriller of the day, with Roddick coming out as the winner just before the sun went down, winning in five sets – 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Roddick landed 44 aces on Hewitt who seemed to lose a bit of concentration in the final games of the fifth sets, resulting in losing his serve and eventually the match.

Murray has a 6-2 record with Roddick, and in their only meeting on grass, three years ago in Wimbledon, Murray was the winner.

A couple of milestones were set last yesterday at Wimbledon – It was the match that ended the latest in Wimbledon’s history, at 10:39 PM and it was also the first one to be played from top to bottom under the new roof, the first indoors match at Wimbledon. And yes, Andy Murray is still on track on maybe becoming the first Brit to win Wimbledon since 1936 (Fred Perry). Murray beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets – 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 and most would agree that it was the best tennis played so far in this tournament. “I’ll have a pretty deep sleep after that one,” Murray said after the match.

Murray’s fourth round win over Wawrinka elevated him into the quarter finals and he will face Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, winner of the 2003 Roland Garros.

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In a replay of the Roland Garros Final from earlier this month, Roger Federer was again victorious against Sweden’s Robin Soderling, this time in Wimbledon’s fourth round. It didn’t come easy for Federer, despite winning in straight sets. He needed two tie breaks in the second and third sets and taking the first 6-4 in order to beat the Swede once again and advance to Wimbledon’s quarter final and now awaits the winner between Fernando Verdasco and Ivo Karlovic.

Roger Federer beat Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets on the Wimbledon center court, easing through into the the tournament’s third round and is yet to drop a set.

He finished off Garcia Lopez comfortably, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Federer was never really troubled by the 26 year old Spanish player who this was his first visit to Wimbledon’s second round. Federer now waits for the winner between Kohlschreiber and Minar.

Roger Federer began his 2009 Wimbledon title recovery mission on the right foot, beating Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. Lu wasn’t rolling over in the first set an letting Federer ease through the beginning but he didn’t have much to give afterwards.

Federer fell behind early in the first set, losing serve to trail 3-2 at one points but broke Lu twice to win the set and pave way for a comfortable 3 set win. Federer is now 41 out of his last 42 matches in Wimbledon, with his only loss coming in last years final to Rafael Nadal. Nadal isn’t here in 2009. No. 6 title getting closer for Roger?

James Blake makes another early exit at Wimbledon, this time the first round, losing to Italian Andreas Seppi in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6. Blake is the first seeded player to lose this year at Wimbledon, although Seppi is 50th in the world while Blake is 17th, making this an upset but not a huge one.

Blake also lost in the French Open on his opening match and hasn’t gotten past the third round at the All England Club. Seppi has also never been later than the third round at Wimbledon.

On June 22, 2009, the 2009 Wimbledon Championship begin.

With Rafael Nadal out, Roger Federer is the clear favorite to win Wimbledon for the sixth time and winning his 15th grand slam title, the all time record he’s aiming for. Even if Nadal had not announced his withdrawal from the championship, Federer was the favorite. Coming after a win at the Roland Garros and his Madrid Masters win over Nadal in the finals gave him the favorite tag once again, even with Nadal on the playing field.

But Roger Federer isn’t alone in London. There are a few players that have a chance, even if a small one, to upset Fed-Ex and become Wimbledon Champions for the first time. (Hewitt, the only other Wimbledon Champion playing in the 2009 tournament isn’t one of them).

Andy Murray, United Kingdom

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Number three in the world, and the number one Brit. The latter is the important number, cause it brings so much expectations and pressure every Wimbledon on one player, to become the first British Wimbledon Champion since Fred Perry in the 1930’s. Back in April we gambled here the Andy Murray would win his first Grand Slam by the end of 2009. With Federer getting the Nadal and Roland Garros baggage off him, things are a bit more complicated.

Murray has had a good season so far, winning four singles titles, including the 2009 AEGON Championships in the Queen’s club in London, beating James Blake in the finals. The fact the Federer hasn’t played since the Roland Garros might be in Murray’s favor but that’s not a given. Until the fourth round Murray isn’t supposed to face any difficulties, and he can only meet Federer in the final. The fact that Murray has never been in a Semi Final at Wimbledon might be a bad sign, but he is a better player now than before. I see a final in Murray’s two week horoscope forecast. A win? things look foggy on that…

Andy Roddick, United States

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Andy Roddick? Really? He didn’t just write Roddick did he?

Yes, Roddick. He’s not the favorite, but he has a fighting chance. Why? He played pretty well in Queens last week before twisting his ankle in the Semi Finals against James Blake. He didn’t drop a set in the tournament, including in that game, they stopped in the first. More reasons? Roddick is a huge server, and players that serve above 220 Km/h are always dangerous at Wimbledon. His volleying has looked much better recently, and serve-volley is a very good recipe for Wimbledon.

Why not? Well, despite Roddick having a pretty comfortable draw till the Quarter Finals, there are better player from there. He hasn’t been to a Grand Slam final since 2006 and there’s the Federer thing. His record against Fed is 2-17, not something to smile about. He’s lost to him in the Australian Open and in the Madrid masters this year, and he’s also right back from that ankle injury. Chances? Very very slim, but still, if things click and a little luck, who knows? Roddick might reach the finals. Beating Federer, that’s a whole different thing.

Novak Djokovic

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It’s amazing if you think about it – Djokovic is one of the only Grand Slam Winners actually playing in this tournament. With Federer and Nadal grabbing every possible Slam, Djokovic is the only one to win a grand slam not named Federer or Nadal since Safin in the 2005 Australian Open, the same title Djokovic won in 2008. He’s beaten Federer twice this season, including the famous racket incident match. He’s reached the Final in Halle last week, losing to Tommy Haas in the Final. He should be one of the favorites, no?

Not really. Although Djokovic has a chance, his recent form despite the final in Halle isn’t putting a smile on his face. An early exit from the Roland Garros and three losses in Masters finals this year, twice to Nadal and once to Murray leave more than a little doubt about his ability to win in Wimbledon. He reached the Semi’s in 2007 but that’s his best in London, so odds are clearly against him. Djokovic is set to meet Federer in the Semi’s if all goes well for them, and his favorable record against the Federer is probably his biggest plus coming into the tournament.