ROGER FEDERER is heading straight for the record books after sweeping into the Wimbledon final.
The Swiss superstar saw off Tomas Berdych in straight sets and will now face giant Croatian Marin Cilic in Sunday’s final.
Federer is on the brink of an unprecedented eighth title at SW19 and has gone down to the last two with a clean sweep of victories.
Despite this semi-final being his toughest test yet he has not dropped a set in six games and while everybody knows he can handle the mental strain he has proved his body is holding up too.
Federer’s decision to skip last month’s French Open has left him rejuvenated and refreshed even at 35 years and 340 days old – prehistoric in tennis terms.
He was broken only once in the match which woke up Centre Court with some thrilling play in stark contrast to the slug match between Cilic and Sam Querrey which was played beforehand.
The first two sets had to be settled by tie-breaks as Czech giant Berdych stubbornly refused to crumble.
At 6ft 5in he is four inches taller than Federer and provided a stern physical test with his long reach.
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But by the end of the match Berdych was happy to get out of Wimbledon losing to a man who is older than some of the seniors playing at the All England Club.
Crowd favourite Federer had the fans out of their slumber and on their feet when he nicked the first breakthrough in the opening set to go 3-2 up.
His athletic forehands and incredible confidence seeing him through 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 and by the climax to the match, Federer had the luxury of three match points to see off his crushed opponent.
Federer is now the oldest player since Aussie Ken Rosewall in 1974 to reach the men’s final and vindicates his decision to take six months off last year too.
He said: “It was a long way back and it was difficult to stay calm at times. My life outside tennis is more important really. I want to be a good husband and a good dad and be able to play sports after my career has finished.
“I feel very privileged to be in another final because I know how much it means to other players to play on Centre Court and have had pleasure to play there so many times. I can’t almost believe it is true.”
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