Wimbledon Day 11 Surprises: Federer outdoes Nadal

By Cale HammondPublished July 12, 2019

Each day of Wimbledon, Baseline will sum up the action with a photo gallery of the top surprises.

I Can't Hear You

After striking a beautiful backhand winner down the line on the 45th shot of Wimbledon's longest ever rally, Novak Djokovic asks the crowd to turn up the volume and get on their feet. The world No. 1 went on to win in four sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts in his Men's Singles semi-final match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during Day eleven of The Championships - Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) — © Getty Images

Top Seeds Tumble

Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos lost in the semifinals to Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova, 7-6 (5), 6-4. While they were obviously up against formidable foes, Mladenovic and Babos jut won the French Open for their second Grand Slam title together. Hsieh has won Wimbledon doubles before, back in 2013, while this marks Strycova's first major final in any discipline.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Barbora Strycova of The Czech Republic, playing partner of Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan serves in their Ladies' Doubles semi-final match against Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France during Day eleven of The Championships - Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) — © Getty Images

Federer Flies into Final

Rafael Nadal was the oddsmakers favorite, but Roger Federer got past Nadal with unrelenting attacking tennis and impeccable serving. After a 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win, Federer will try for his ninth Wimbledon title on Sunday against Novak Djokovic.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates match point in his Men's Singles semi-final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain during Day eleven of The Championships - Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) — © AFP or licensors

A Musical Attendance

Chances are you have listened to the soothing voice of Sir David Attenborough for countless hours. The legendary narrator and wildlife activist was spotted in the Royal Box for the Federer and Nadal clash.

Sir Attenborough at Federer-Nadal at Wimbledon like:

“This is a bull in a habitat well suited for goats. Summer is particularly hard in this part of world. It’s a battle for survival out there for these magnificent creatures” pic.twitter.com/bkr2U4cNxu
— Fatima ✨ (@rogerbestbystat) July 12, 2019

Serve Maestro

He doesn’t have the biggest serve, but it’s certainly one of the best. In his semifinal match, Federer broke the Wimbledon record for aces previously held by Goran Ivanisevic. The Swiss' Wimbledon total is now 1,398.

Switzerland's Roger Federer serves against Spain's Rafael Nadal during their men's singles semi-final match on day 11 of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images