This was one of those days when the balance and judgement of UK sports editors is tested to the full.
The Daily Mirror topped its back page with 'Clash of the Giants - Murray v Federer in semi-final showdown' but its main story was based on Premier League club Newcastle United.
Neil McLeman, on an inside page, notes that Andy Murray and Roger Federer both won their last major titles at Wimbledon and both employ "ice-cool Swedish coaches" - Jonas Bjorkman, assistant to Murray's chief coach Amelie Mauresmo and Stefan Edberg with Federer.
But McLeman quotes yet another Swede in Mats Wilander on how the semi-final will map out.
"Andy needs to be aggressive when Federer starts playing well because otherwise Federer is going to blow him off the court. Federer blows everyone off the court for 20 minutes here and there. Andy needs to stop those streaks. The match is easier for Federer to play because he's going to play one way. Whereas Andy has all these options - to play aggressive, to play defence, and sometimes being a little bit passive. It's more for Andy Murray to figure things out than Roger Federer. This is the most excited I have ever been for a match between the two of them."
Bjorkman warns: "You can never count Roger out. He's proved that a lot of times. It's going to be a big match-up again."
In The Independent, Paul Newman says that Murray will hope that the Centre Court crowd will recapture the Olympic spirit when he takes on Federer.
"Murray's victory over Federer in the gold medal match of 2012, when a flag-waving crowd turned the most famous stadium in tennis into a cauldron of noise, remains one of the Scot's most cherished memories. He believes that home advantage can be a crucial factor in tennis though he acknowledges that the Wimbledon public have a special affection for Federer."
In the Daily Express, Murray is backed to win by former British No 1 Tim Henman who says: "It's a fantastic match for the tournament and you can make a strong case for both of them.
"But Andy is playing the best I have seen him. He did it in 2013 and he can do it again now."
The Express, through Matthew Dunn, says that John McEnroe is tipping Murray to win the final and "thinks his best bet is to revert to his teenage days. I played him when he was 16 and he always had great hands. I don't think he uses enough to his advantage, how well he can volley."
The Times does not mention the Murray-Federer match until six pages from the back of the paper where Barry Flatman observes: "The winner of 17 Grand Slam titles including seven at Wimbledon, and beaten only five times on the All England Club courts since 2002, will be asking the questions today and Murray and his support team know that only the very best answers will suffice.
"The Centre Court on this occcasion will be no place for histrionics or even the briefest of a Murray hissy fit. The Scot cannot afford to lose his focus, in a manner that he has been prone to do. As Federer is prepared to admit, Wimbledon represents his best chance to add to his collection of singles titles and having got this close again, losing in the semi-finals will equate to failure."
In The Sun Jonas Bjorkman is quoted as saying: "When Andy and Roger are playing they always have close matches. They are two giants of the game. They know each other so it's going to be up to the one who can perform best on the day."
In the Daily Mail, Brad Gilbert, Murray's former coach, says: "They are both in superb form but overall, I would just about go for Murray on about a 52-48 percentage chance. We have had 31 matches go five sets here and I would not be surprised if this does, too."
Meanwhile Simon Briggs comments in the Daily Telegraph: "The way this match is shaping up it feels like another final. Yet the winner will still have to go all out again in Sunday's showpiece. And on the face of it, today's first semi-final (between Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet) looks as straightforward as the second one is unpredictable."
Briggs earlier warns: "It is hard to imagine him (Murray) beating an in-the-groove Federer today without having to dig deep inside himself. Which is where that crowd, once again, could come into play. The only problem is that tennis is the least jingoistic of sports."
