Wimbledon: I think Roger Federer will be too hot for Milos Raonic

Holy cow, what a treat Centre Court fans are in for on Friday. It might be hard to better Wednesday’s two quarter-finals, when Roger Federer came back from the dead to beat Marin Cilic and Andy Murray held off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s fightback, but the semi-finals might just do that.

For Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych, who take on Federer and Murray respectively, the big question will be whether they can defy not only their opponents but also the crowd. Both will need to tell themselves that it’s not a question of the public being against them - it’s just that the Centre Court crowd love Roger and Andy.

Federer beat Raonic in straight sets at this stage two years ago, but the big Canadian is a better player now. He has a big forehand, he volleys well and comes to the net with more confidence.

However, it’s still largely Raonic’s huge serve that makes him such a dangerous opponent.

His first serve is one of the biggest in history, but his second can be just as dangerous because he uses his 6ft 5in frame to hit kick serves which bounce up really high.

When I was working with Andre Agassi we worked out three ways of dealing with serves like that. Firstly, you can stay in your normal position when receiving, which might feel comfortable for you, but only until the ball bounces up high over your shoulder.

Secondly, you can move a few feet back, which will enable you to hit the ball more easily but will leave you exposed if your opponent plays serve-and-volley. And thirdly, you can step inside the baseline, meaning you have less time to read where the serve is going but will be hitting the ball before it gets up too high. I always encouraged Andre to go for that third choice - and it generally worked well for him.

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Federer will know all about the options open to him. He won’t have many chances, but if they come his way I would back him to take them.

It would be no surprise if the match was decided by tie-breaks, because Federer has been serving beautifully too. I always think that tie-breaks can count against the biggest servers. In the course of a set big servers can afford one or two blips, but in a tie-break just one slip-up can be decisive.

Taking the serve out of the equation, it has to be advantage Federer, whose forehand is still the best in the business. Raonic slices his backhand too much for my liking, while Federer has the most versatile one-handed backhand in the business. I can’t think of anyone else who can do as many things with his backhand. Federer can drive it, slice or spin it.

Federer is also moving beautifully. Boy, he’s just like Muhammad Ali the way he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. I’m convinced his longevity is down to the fact that he dances across the court, whereas many other players pound their way around it.

Raonic moves well for a big man, but anyone that tall will struggle on occasions. I expect to see Federer forcing Raonic into playing defensive backhands and then hitting balls wide to his forehand, which is the movement that I think the Canadian finds most difficult.

This will be a big moment in Raonic’s career, but I think he will handle that side of things well. I like the way he is looking less tense. Holy mackerel, even his hair – which used to be kept in place as if with glue - is bouncing up and down a bit these days.

Berdych has played some great tennis here, but in Murray he’s facing a player who has just the game to beat him. Berdych likes rhythm. If you get into a big-hitting exchange with him the likelihood is that he will eventually out-hit you.

Federer showed exactly the way to play him at the World Tour Finals in London last year. By mixing his game up with slices and little dinks, Federer stopped Berdych finding any sort of rhythm.

I’ve been impressed with the way Berdych has been keeping control of his emotions. He’ll need to do that again. I know you Brits are the most polite fans on the planet, but I think the rest of the world will forgive you if you got behind your man more than ever on this occasion.

I was sad to see Venus Williams lose her semi-final to Angelique Kerber. It wasn’t the result so much as the way she lost. She made so many unforced errors. It just wasn’t Venus out there. Maybe she just ran out gas. At 36 she did brilliantly just to reach the semi-finals.

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As for her sister Serena, it was like she had an appointment to get to. Holy mackerel, what a performance that was, winning in just 48 minutes. She hardly gave Elena Vesnina the chance to breathe, let alone hit a ball.

Each day this week I’m giving you a little tip on how to improve your own game. You’ll find plenty more like this on my website, www.nickbollettieri.com.

Today’s tip: hit up on your serve. It might not seem obvious at first, but when you’re serving you need to hit up on the ball, not down. Fully extend your arm and your racket and use your legs to push upwards. Your arm needs to be fully extended when you make contact with the ball. The other thing you always need to remember when serving is to prepare for the next shot. Too many people stand there admiring their serve.