Federer battles back from 2-set deficit to beat Cilic

Marin Cilic was well on his way to stamping out Roger Federer's bid for an 18th major championship, for the second time in three years. This time, Federer had other ideas.

The world No. 3 stormed back from two sets down to beat Cilic 6-7 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals Wednesday, saving three match points along the way.

US Open-esque

The two men hadn't played since Cilic obliterated Federer in straight sets in the 2014 US Open semis, on his way to his first and only Slam title. Ninety minutes into Wednesday's match, Cilic had run his streak to five straight sets against the seven-time Wimbledon champ. He looked loose and confident and completely in command.

Cilic's serve was astonishingly efficient, with a combination of pace and pattern that consistently kept Federer off-kilter and guessing. He dropped just four first-serve points combined in the first two sets. His groundstrokes were deep and precise, and, much like what had happened at Flushing Meadows, the typically approach-happy Federer found himself unable to find his way to the net as a result.

"US Open-esque," is how Federer would later describe his opponent's early play.

Indeed, that was the way things seemed to be going. It wasn't just the scoreline that suggested Federer was about to lose in straights at Wimbledon for the first time since 2002; it was that the match was plainly being played on Cilic's racket.

Turning point

After the two men traded holds to 3-all in the third set, Cilic set up triple break point with a brilliant forehand passing shot that scraped the outer edge of the sideline. With the way Cilic was serving, these were virtual match points Federer was facing.

Cilic seemed to know it, because for the first time all day, he got noticeably tight. Federer held his nerve while Cilic lost his, and five errors later, Federer had somehow held for 4-3.

There was still the small matter of Cilic's serve, which Federer hadn't yet broken in the match. Cilic helped him out by effectively breaking himself. His skittishness carried over, the errors continued to pile up, and though he dug himself out of trouble with a couple of timely aces, he ultimately dumped serve with a double-fault on break point. Federer served out the set the following game, and the comeback was on.

The breaker

The fourth-set tiebreaker was Grand Slam tennis at its very best. There were stakes, there were nerves, there were wild momentum swings, and there were squandered opportunities both ways.

Federer had saved match points while serving at 4-5 and 5-6, and he quickly got down a mini-break in the tiebreaker. But he rebounded, after finally rediscovering his missing backhand, and gave himself a set point with serve on his racket. Cilic lofted a short return, setting Federer up for an easy forehand put-away. He sprayed it wide.

Cilic earned a third match point. He netted a second-serve return. He was serving with a chance to set up a fourth. He double-faulted. At 9-all, Cilic walloped a forehand deep into the deuce-court corner. Federer scampered after it, and got there just in time hack a squash shot back over the net. Cilic had a good look at the open court, but he hadn't been prepared for the ball to come back, and he duffed it wide to set up Federer's fourth - and final - set point.

Shot of the match

Federer hit a few highlight-reel shots throughout the match, but he took his game to another level in the deciding fifth set, and sent a message to Cilic with this ridiculous backhand stab passer.

The numbers

10 - The number of times Federer has now come back to win after going down two sets, tying the all-time mark held by Boris Becker and Aaron Krickstein.

11 - The number of Wimbledon semifinals Federer has made, equaling Jimmy Connors' record.

307 - The number of Grand Slam matches Federer has now won, bumping him past Martina Navratilova for tops all time.

34, 333 - Federer's age (in years and days), making him the oldest Wimbledon semifinalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974.

What's next

The last time Federer pulled the comeback from two sets down, he saved two match points before beating Gael Monfils in the 2014 US Open quarters. His next match was his reckoning against Cilic.

This time, Federer will see Milos Raonic in the semifinals, another huge-serving, heavy-hitting behemoth who's all the more dangerous on grass. They played in the Wimbledon semis two years ago, and Federer won in straights. Raonic ought to feel better about his chances this time around.