It’s flawless Federer vs ruthless Rafa

By Angus MacKinnon

London

July 4: Roger Federer marched into his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final with an awe-inspiring demolition of the revitalised Marat Safin.

A near flawless display ensured the world number one was detained on Centre Court for just one hour and 41 minutes as he compiled a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win over the Russian to set up another showdown with Rafael Nadal in the final.

Nadal set up a third successive final with the Swiss maestro when he defeated Germany’s Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in the semifinals.

Nadal, who came close to taking the world number one’s All England Club crown in 2007 and destroyed the top seed at Roland Garros just four weeks ago, will be bidding to become only the third man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

Victory would also make the second seed the first Spanish winner of the Wimbledon men’s singles title since Manuel Santana in 1966.

"I didn’t play my best today not like the quarterfinal and the second round," said Nadal.

But everything points to a potential classic on Sunday with Federer insisting he is ready to claim revenge for the mauling he received at the hands of his Spanish rival in last month’s French Open final.

"It is great," Federer said after wrapping up what was his 65th straight win on grass. "It is a beautiful feeling to have the opportunity to win the title again here."

Federer, who is bidding to become the first player to win six consecutive titles at the All England since the 19th Century, admitted he had been surprised by the ubiquity of predictions that Nadal would deny him the place in history he craves.

"He has been playing fantastically but don’t write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season, Wimbledon and the US Open."

The only sniff of a chance Safin had in the opening set came when he got his opponent to 30-30 in the ninth game. The world number one responded with an ace and a service winner to wrap up the set in just 25 minutes.

Safin finally managed to generate a couple of break points in the fourth game of the second but under-powered service returns on both of them ensured he did not get a chance to convert either one.

The 28-year-old was even less convincing in the tiebreak, gifting Federer control with unforced backhand errors on three of the first four points.

Judging by the despondent slope of his shoulders and the guttural roar of irritation he released as Federer rolled off another service game to love in the third game of the third set, Safin could see no way back.

As Federer moved into a 5-4 lead the Russian was handed a warning by the umpire for flinging his racquet to the ground in another display of frustration with the way the afternoon was unfolding.

Unsurprisingly, Federer wrapped things up in the next game, whipping a topspin backhand across court after Safin’s approach had clipped the top of the net.

— AFP