Federer turns on style to reach final

THEY turned the clock back a few years at Wimbledon yesterday as a man in a headband reached the men’s final along with a ferocious serve machine.

Roger Federer took the headband from the Bjorn Borg school of tennis and the multi-faceted game from Pete Sampras as he put US fifth seed Andy Roddick through the mill to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 6-3 and become the first Swiss man to reach the final at the All England Club.

The 21-year-old from Basle is also through to his first Grand Slam trophy match. While Federer took his style cue from two former greats with 12 singles crowns between them, Australia's Mark Philippoussis showed that, while the balls may be heavier this year and the grass thicker and slower-playing, a massive serve will always be a major bonus at this Grand Slam. The score may have been the same as the 26-year-old from Melbourne walloped French 13th seed Sebastien Grosjean by a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-3 margin but the manner in which it was achieved bore scant resemblance to Federer's win. While both men reacted with clenched fists at their moment of triumph, whereas Federer was unassuming as he fulfilled some of the potential latent since his fourth-round win here over Sampras two years ago, his Sunday protagonist Philipoussis was burning inside.