WIMBLEDON, England -- It's Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal in
another Grand Slam final.
Federer, hitting breathtaking winners from all parts of the
court, overwhelmed Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman 6-2, 6-0, 6-2 in 77
minutes Friday to close in on his fourth consecutive Wimbledon
title.
With the loss of only four games by Federer, it was the most
one-sided men's semifinal at Wimbledon since the tournament adopted
its current format in 1922.
Nadal, the two-time French Open champion, continued his stunning
run on grass by beating Marcos Baghdatis, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 to reach
his first Wimbledon championship.
Nadal has beaten Federer in four finals this year, including at
the French Open last month, and has a 6-1 career edge. Federer is
55-0 against all other players this year.
"I know I can beat him," Federer said. "I don't need to think
of playing against him. I need to focus on me playing on grass, my
style, playing aggressive. It's going to be easier on grass to do
that than on clay."
The 20-year-old Nadal is bidding to become the first Spaniard to
win the title here since Manolo Santana in 1966, and the first
player to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn
Borg in 1980.
It's the first time since 1952 that the same players have
reached back-to-back finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.
While Federer came into the tournament as the overwhelming
favorite, few expected Nadal to get very far. He's won a record 60
straight clay-court matches but had little expectations in only his
fifth grass-court event.
Nadal was close to tears after the match.
"I'm very emotional," he said. "It's amazing to be in the
finals."
While Federer's victory was lopsided, Nadal had to work
extremely hard to hold off a spirited challenge from Baghdatis, the
21-year-old Australian Open runner-up from Cyprus.
The match lasted just under 2½ hours, and the second set
produced some of the best tennis and drama of the tournament.
Nadal saved all nine break points against him and broke five
times. He hasn't dropped serve since the second round and has won
15 sets in a row.
After putting away an overhead on match point, Nadal dropped to
his knees, leaned back and pumped both arms three times. After the
handshake, he went back to the center of the court, fell to his
knees again and raised his arms as the crowd gave him a rousing
ovation.
Nadal lost just one game to take the first set in 30 minutes.
But the second set was as tight as it gets, with both players
hitting soft drop shots, making great gets and going for winners.
The set was decided on one service break, and it came in the 12th
game when Nadal ended a long rally by ripping an inside-outside
forehand which hit the sideline.
Nadal went up a break in the third at 3-1 on a thrilling point.
After luring Nadal to net with a drop shot, Baghdatis had the open
court, but his shot hit the top of the net and popped in the air.
Nadal, who had slipped and fallen, sprang to his feet and hit a
reflex volley to win the point.
In the seventh game, Nadal fell behind 0-40 but managed to save
four break points. Baghdatis felt aggrieved when the linesman
called his shot long at 30-40. Replays showed the ball hit the
line. "No way, no way, no way," Baghdatis said to chair umpire
Andreas Egli. The call stood, and Nadal went on to hold.
"I didn't take my chances," Baghdatis said. As for the
disputed call, he said, "It happens to everybody. I cannot say it
turned the match."
Federer won 11 consecutive games at one stretch against the
59th-ranked Bjorkman to extend his Open era record grass-court
winning streak to 47. He hasn't dropped a set all tournament, and
could become the first player to win the title without losing a set
since Borg in 1976.
"I was flawless," Federer said. "I had high expectations to
win this match today. And then to come through and play at the
level I did today, that's great."
He was in that rarefied zone where it seemed as if he could do
no wrong.
"It's just a beautiful feeling," he said. "You don't get it
very often. When you can dominate an opponent, it's always sort of
nice. But then especially in a semifinals of a Grand Slam, it's
even better."
Federer is the first player since Fred Stolle in 1965 to get to
the final of five straight majors. He's reached 16 straight
consecutive tournament finals in all.
The 24-year-old Swiss is on course to become the third man in
the Open era to win four straight Wimbledons, joining Bjorn Borg
(five straight from 1976-80) and Pete Sampras (1997-00).
The 34-year-old Bjorkman, the oldest Wimbledon men's
semifinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1987, is one of the world's top
doubles players but was no match for Federer.
"I felt like I played a guy who was as near perfection as you
can play the game," Bjorkman said. "I had the best seat in the
house in a way. He just makes it look very simple."