Wimbledon 2012 Schedule: Complete Preview and Listing for Federer vs. Murray

In his second straight major, Novak Djokovic failed to produce when he needed to most, and this time, he lost the opportunity to defend his Wimbledon title, falling to Roger Federer in the semifinals at the All England Club on Friday, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

And once again, Federer showed the world why he' still considered to be one of the best ever on grass.

What Federer did to Djokovic on Friday morning was truly remarkable: He managed to disrupt the world No. 1's spectacular momentum, which had been so strong that only one player managed to win a single set against him throughout the first five rounds of this tournament.

All it took was a step up in the level of competition, and Djokovic floundered while Federer excelled, earning the right to compete for his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title. As it stands, Pete Sampras is the only player to ever win seven.

And if Federer manages to win on Sunday, he'll tie another one of Sampras' records: He'll become the world No. 1 once again and match Sampras' mark of 286 weeks atop the rankings.

First, though, he'll have to take down Andy Murray, who won his semifinals matchup long before it even started: His opponent, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, defeatedly admitted prior to the matchup that Murray is just one of those opponents he doesn't like to play.

Unsurprisingly, Murray dispatched him 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to reach his first-ever Wimbledon final, marking the first time since 1938 that a British son has advanced to a final at the All England Club.

Here's a look at when and where you can watch the finals, as well as the key to victory for each competitor.

Men's Wimbledon Finals

When: Sunday, July 8, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN3 

Federer's Key to Victory

Federer simply needs to keep doing what he's doing and sustain his momentum by winning the first set. Throughout this year's tournament, Federer has never been in serious danger of elimination except in the third round versus Julien Benneteau, when he dropped the first two sets and was stretched to a full five in order to get the win.

If he drops the first two to Murray, chances are he won't be so fortunate as to be able to mount a comeback. He's been playing so well ever since that third-round scare that to struggle out of the gates on Sunday could prove incredibly costly. Federer must establish himself early on, and he should be able to: He's won each of his last two meetings with Murray, including the in Dubai Championships final this year.

Murray's Key to Victory

Murray, who has had a magical run throughout this year's tournament, needs to do everything he can to avoid being intimidated by his opponent. No doubt it's going to be difficult for him to take on someone who's won the title on these courts six times before, particularly when that player is considered one of the best to ever conquer this surface, but Murray must simply focus on how well he's been playing here this year.

He also needs to avoid letting history intimidate him. Though Murray's made three appearances in major finals, he's never managed to win, and he's lost to Federer in two of them: at the U.S. Open final in 2008 and at the Australian Open final in 2010.

Murray just has to remind himself that he's drastically improved since 2010 while Federer has gotten older, and that history has to change its course at some point. There's no time like the present.