Roger Federer will need to hold court if he wants to upend Novak Djokovic

Federer has not won a major since he took his seventh Wimbledon crown in 2012 and grass has been the only surface where he has since looked a serious contender, writes Graham Caygill.

Roger Federer was masterful against Andy Murray in the Wimbledon semi-finals but will have to play even better if he wants to beat Novak Djokovic in the final. Pavel Golovkin / AP Photo

The good news for Roger Federer was that his sublime performance in defeating Andy Murray in the semi-finals at Wimbledon on Friday was as well as he has played in many years.

The bad news for the 33-year-old Swiss is that he will have to play even better on Sunday against the world No 1 Novak Djokovic if he is to win a record eighth men's singles title and a 18th grand slam crown.

Federer put on a masterclass in great serving and applying pressure to an opponent as he got the better of Murray, the 2013 champion, in straight sets.

Twenty aces, with 75 per cent first-serve accuracy and a winning rate of points on the first serve of 84 per cent, gave Murray, one of the best returners of the game, few opportunities to attack.

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Federer had also worked on his returning and, while he was helped by a weak Murray second serve, he still was able to unleash several fierce returns to dominate points and, most importantly, keep them short.

The one thing Federer had been anxious to avoid had been long, drawn-out rallies against a younger opponent, who has a great ability for moving players around the court more than they would like.

This he successfully avoided and he wore down Murray to the extent it was the Briton who looked the more physically spent by the end.

But Federer now has to find a way to improve on Friday’s heroics as Djokovic will be a tougher nut to crack this afternoon.

Federer will want to again keep lengthy rallies to a minimum and will again rely on his consistent service action, but he will not break the world No 1 easily.

Grass is not Djokovic’s most comfortable surface, it can be argued it is his weakest, but the fact he is bidding to retain his Wimbledon title and win it for a third time tells you he is still more than handy at SW19.

If Federer can serve as well as he did against Murray, in the first set his first-serve accuracy was 85 per cent, then that will make life difficult for the Serbian.

But Djokovic is mentally stronger than Murray and will keep calm if he does find it tough to find a breakthrough initially.

One of his biggest assets is his ability to stay calm and ride out periods when he is under the cosh.

On Monday evening Djokovic, 28, was two sets down to an inspired Kevin Anderson on Court 1.

The 14th seed had served sensationally and had crashed down some deep second serves and Djokovic had not really done much wrong. A lesser individual would have panicked or maybe wrote it off as not his day.

Not Djokovic. He kept his intensity up, confident in his mind he would get a chance and that Anderson could not keep up this form of a lifetime.

He was proved correct as he broke early in the third set and came back to win in five sets.

Federer will know he needs to start well against Djokovic, but not let his level drop because, if he does, his opponent will jump on every chance.

The two met in the final last year, which was the high point of Federer’s renaissance after a miserable 2013 when he had been knocked out at Wimbledon in the second round, a result that remains his worst effort in a major in the past 13 years.

But working with Stefan Edberg as part of his coaching team revitalised him and a strong 2014 saw him get to the final at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Djokovic, a scoreline that flattered the Swiss after the Serbian wobbled while serving for the match in the fourth set, which caused an unlikely deciding set.

Federer has not won a major since he took his seventh Wimbledon crown in 2012 and grass has been the only surface where he has since looked a serious contender.

He was powered off the court in the semi-finals by Marin Cilic at the US Open last September, was beaten in the third round at the French Open by Andreas Seppi in January, and was well beaten by compatriot Stan Wawrinka at the French Open last month.

In many ways it is fitting that Federer’s demonstration that he is not done yet as a force has come on grass, the scene of so much of his success.

He announced himself on the world stage by beating Pete Sampras there in 2001, he won his first grand slam title there in 2003 and he is in a position – just 27 days away from his 34th birthday – to add another triumphant chapter to his career.

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