by Matt Cronin, Special to FOXSports.com

2009 Wimbledon

 Results:

 Analysis:

• Cronin: Is Federer the greatest ever?
• Whitlock: Serena could've been the best
• Pierce: Roddick a threat once again
• Rosenberg: Tiger, Federer two of a kind
• Cronin: Serena chasing the greats

 Multimedia:

• Video: Federer talks about his win
• Photos: Gentlemen's final | Ladies' final
• Photos: Late rounds | Early rounds

 Partners:

• Tennis Week: Analysis, video and more
• Richard's Court: Inside the tennis world

On Wednesday, Roddick came through with a spectacular 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 victory over former champion Lleyton Hewitt, while Haas also had to scrape his way to a tough 7-5, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 upset of No. 4. Novak Djokovic.

Federer played phenomenally well in muting Croatian Ivo Karlovic's venomous serve to win 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3), while homeland hero Murray blitzed Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

But it was the American Roddick who donned superman's cape on the day, swinging past the ultimate survivor in Hewitt after coughing up set points in the second set tiebreaker and being outplayed in the fourth. His back was thoroughly against the wall in the fifth set, but he fought off three break points at 2-2, broke Hewitt to 5-4 with a forehand pass and went on to win the match.

"It was tough from a mental standpoint because Lleyton wasn't going away and there were a lot of ebbs and flows to the match," the sixth-seeded Roddick said. "The fifth was a dogfight. I had to come up with probably the best half volley I've ever hit in my life to save break point."

It was the former No. 1's most heartfelt victory of the year and now he's back in the conversation after being shoved into the second-class car behind tennis' Big Four. While Roddick hasn't reached a Grand Slam final since the 2006 U.S. Open, he's reached his second major semifinal of the year, as he also gained the final four of the Australian Open, where he fell to Federer.

Last year at Wimbledon, after Janko Tipsarevic upset him in the second round, Roddick said that his career had gone from watching the Rolling Stones in the first row to the eighth. But he's getting closer to the big stage once again.

"I can see what Mick Jagger is wearing now," Roddick said.

After clawing past Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round, Murray was much more efficient and lethal against Ferrero, dictating from the back of the court, ripping his serve and returning with precision. As brilliant as the world No. 3 has been at times during the past two years, he knows he can't afford to play passively on Friday.

"I understand that I can lose the next match if I don't play my best," he said. "That's been one of the things that I've learned, and it's made a huge difference to me over the last year or so. Every day when I get up, I know that I'm gonna have to perform very well, and that gets the nerves and the adrenaline going and makes me play better."

Murray owns a 6-2 record against Roddick, including a victory over the American at Wimbledon in 2006. He's won their three recent skirmishes, the last one occurring in the Doha final at the start of this year.

The Scot reads Roddick's serve like a PhD, is much stronger off the backhand wing and moves more swiftly. For Roddick to best the 22-year-old Scot in front of what will be a wildly pro-Murray crowd, he'll have to serve as well as he did against Hewitt (he rained down 43 aces), come into the net on his terms, and crush his forehand.

But Roddick won't be able to win the contest by simply going for broke. He'll have to play very smart and mix it up, as Murray is sure to do. At times, Roddick will have to commit to the grind.

"You're gonna have to do some of it," Roddick said. "Obviously I'm not gonna get into a match where we're both trying to poke the ball around. That probably wouldn't work. With my serve, I give myself a chance in any match. I've been in this situation many times. I'm gonna have to play well. So we'll get to it."

With all the excitement emanating from the Andy vs. Andy matchup, five-time champion Federer's ethereal play has often been ignored. But it shouldn't be.

That Federer was able to break Karlovic — who hadn't lost serve in 128 games during the grass-court season going into the match — twice and completely outclass him in the tiebreaker shows that he's more than prepared to win his sixth title.

The 27-year-old took a number of Karlovic's big blasts and scalded them either at his feet, or right past him. He dominated the action from the baseline and never faced a break point on his serve.

"Where I'm definitely good is when it really matters, and you get maybe only a couple chances a match," said Federer, who ended the match with 39 winners and seven unforced errors. "I'm there, and I know I will believe in it. The opponent knows it, too."

Federer booked his place in a 21st straight Grand Slam semifinal, an amazing achievement. But he's a deep thinker with world-class reflexes who orchestrates his victories with a cool hand.

"He's maybe like best player ever, but on the grass, he's by far best," Karlovic said. "Here, everything is around his waist because the ball jumps lower. It suits his game unbelievable."

Federer will face Haas, the same 31-year-old he came back from two sets down against at the French Open and broke his spirit. But without question, Haas' game has matured and in his victory over Djokovic, he showed off a heady serve-and-volley game that he didn't own when he reached a career high ranking of No. 2 in 2002. He's not as wild off his backhand side anymore, showing off a sharp slice, and he can still launch teeth-rattling forehands with the best of them.

Tommy Haas will try his luck again against Roger Federer. (Glyn Kirk / Getty Images)

But Federer is 9-2 against Haas and has won their last eight matches. While the German displayed enough firepower to hurt him in Paris, Federer gutted out the victory, largely because he believed that if he could make one substantial push, he'd turn the contest around. The German has yet to show the same belief against the Swiss, but he's won nine straight matches on grass, including the Halle title.

"He's a really tough hurdle to go by," Haas said. "When you go out there against him you know what he can do, you know what he does well, and you just have to try to really go for it at the right time. When you get your chance, you got to make it happen."

The clash will be a vintage battle between wily veterans, a rivalry that has evolved since they first faced each other at the Sydney Olympics nine years ago. Both have retooled and improved their games significantly, Haas, because he was forced to after nearly having to retire due to shoulder problems, and Federer because he had to discover the type of game that suited him.

That game has been splendid on the grass, and Haas will need a state of the art lawnmower to cut him down to size.