Big-hitting Cilic, Federer make Wimbledon final

LONDON (AP):

The key, for both players, was to deal with the big serve. Marin Cilic did it better.

The seventh-seeded Croat advanced to his second major final by beating Sam Querrey 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5 at Wimbledon yesterday. He next faces Roger Federer in Sunday's final at the All England Club.

Cilic and Querrey, both 6-foot-6, rode the strength of their powerful serves. Neither even had a break point in the first set.

"Sam came out serving huge, hitting big," Cilic said.

Querrey took lead after a brief delay late in the opening tiebreaker. With the score 6-6, stewards entered the stands to attend to a woman who needed assistance. The break only lasted a couple of minutes, but Querrey won both points when play resumed, with Cilic missing a pair of backhands.

Cilic finally managed the first break of serve in the second set and then went up another break in the third. But Querrey broke back to force another tiebreaker.

Federer is going for an eighth Wimbledon title. He beat Berdych 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. The 11th-seeded Czech, Berdych, had beat Federer in the quarter-finals during his run to the Wimbledon final in 2010.