Disclosed is a method and system for extracting a timing model. One disclosed approach to extract a timing model is by reducing the timing graph. Original timing behavior is preserved in the timing model including arrival times, slew times, timing violations and even latch time borrowing that is independent of clock waveforms. Also, original timing constraints can be captured in the model and be applied automatically when the model is used. Anchor points are automatically identified and retained to obtain a model that is smaller than the original netlist.