WIMBLEDON, England — Many of Roger Federer’s former rivals and opponents now have different roles in tennis.
They are coaches, like Ivan Ljubicic, working with Milos Raonic. They are commentators, like Andy Roddick, who interviewed Federer at Wimbledon this year for the BBC.
Sometimes younger, usually creakier in the back or the legs, they are perhaps the best reminder of how remarkable it is that Federer, on the cusp of his 34th birthday, can still play the sublime brand of tennis he conjured on Friday in the semifinals against Andy Murray.
“From the beginning, from the first match here this year, I said, ‘Ooh, Roger’s dancing again,’ ” Ljubicic said.