| Posted
7-5-08
Federer, Nadal to Meet in Third Straight Wimbledon Final
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Roger Federer, seeking a sixth straight title here, and two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal were Friday's semifinal winners at The Championships, Wimbledon. The two superstars will meet in the lucrative final here for the third time in three years on Sunday.
Federer beat Nadal in the previous two finals here, while Nadal has beaten Federer in the last three French Open finals, including a surprisingly lopsided one just last month.
The reigning five-time Wimbledon champion Federer extended his winning streak at the All England Club to 40 matches with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over former world No. 1 Marat Safin of Russia, while a second-seeded Nadal handled 32-year-old unseeded German Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 amid sunny conditions on the famed Centre Court.
The legendary Bjorn Borg holds the Wimbledon record with 41 straight wins here from 1976-81.
The 26-year-old Federer has won 65 straight on grass, dating back to 2002.
Federer handled Safin in 1 hour, 42 minutes by holding his serve every time and firing 14 aces at the big Russian.
Safin tallied 13 aces of his own, but also had his serve broken twice and sprayed 25 unforced errors on a day when Federer was practically flawless.
"I haven't had many problems whatsoever throughout The Championships," Federer said after performing in his 17th straight major semi. "It's been, you know, a perfect way to the finals, but there's one more left. I need to win to get it. But so far it's been quite unbelievable, actually."
"The beginning was terrible," Safin said. "I mean, like, I should have at least stayed with him a little bit longer. But just, of course, he takes advantage. My first semifinals. I'm a little bit nervous."
The amazing Federer is now 9-2 lifetime against Safin, including 3-1 at Grand Slams. The Swiss drubbed the Russian in the third round here at Wimbledon last year and also beat Safin in the 2004 Aussie Open finale.
Safin upset Federer in an incredible semifinal match at the 2005 Aussie Open.
Safin played in his first-ever Wimbledon semifinal and seventh career major semi (4-3).
The 28-year-old currently 75th-ranked Safin is a two-time Grand Slam champion, with the big wins coming at the 2000 U.S. Open and the '05 Aussie Open.
The 12-time Grand Slam titlist Federer, who has yet to drop a set at this particular fortnight, will appear in his sixth straight Wimbledon and 16th career Grand Slam final (12-3). He has reached 16 of the last 21 major finales.
Federer is two Grand Slam titles away from Pete Sampras' record haul of 14 and 55-20 in his career finals, including a 2-3 mark this year. All three of his finals losses this season have come against Nadal, on clay.
The Swiss became just the fifth man in history to reach at least 16 Grand Slam finals, joining Ivan Lendl, Sampras, Rod Laver and Borg.
Nadal, who has dropped only one set at this '08 fortnight, peppered Schuettler in the first set on Day 11, only to see the German fight back in the second.
Schuettler actually held a 5-3 lead in the second set and served for the stanza at 5-4, but the Spaniard was able to force a tiebreak en route to an eventual straight-set win.
The gritty Schuettler saved three match points while serving 3-5 down in the third, but Nadal, who ultimately needed four match points to dismiss the 94th-ranked German, did just that with an unreturnable jam serve to the body.
Nadal moved on in just over two hours by breaking Schuettler's serve five times, while only coughing up one break against the German veteran.
The 2003 Australian Open runner-up Schuettler appeared in his first-ever Wimbledon semifinal and his second career major semi (1-1). He's now 1-4 lifetime against Nadal, who's 10 years his junior.
The sizzling Nadal is currently riding a torrid 23-match overall winning streak, including his first-ever grass-court title, in London, three weeks ago and a pasting of Federer in last month's French Open final.
The 22-year-old Nadal is 4-2 in his career Grand Slam finals, with five of the previous ones coming against Federer. The powerful Spaniard is a brilliant 28-8 in his career finals overall, including 5-2 this year. His five titles lead the ATP this season.
The high-flying Nadal, who is the first Spaniard to reach three Wimbledon finals, is trying to become the first man since the aforementioned Borg 28 years ago to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.
On Sunday, Federer and the left-hand-hitting Nadal will meet for an 18th time in their careers, with the Spaniard holding an 11-6 advantage.
The Swiss, however, is 5-2 when they meet on a surface other than clay, including 2-0 on grass. Nadal has won all three of their meetings this year, with all three coming on the Spaniard's preferred surface, red clay.
Federer and Nadal have met 13 times in finals, with Nadal going 9-4.
Sunday's winner will take home just under $1.5 million. |
