Flawless Federer ready for final fight
While Federer played some “flawless” tennis to thrash veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman 6-0 6-2 6-0, Nadal was forced to produce a series of acrobatic heroics to bring down a battling Marcos Baghdatis by 6-1 7-5 6-3 in a match that thrilled the Centre Court crowd for two-and-a-half hours.
Federer was on court for just 77 minutes and allowed the 34-year-old Bjorkman to play just four games in what is thought to be the heaviest semi-final defeat since records began in 1922.
The Swiss ace has still not lost a set in this championship and, if he continues in that vein in tomorrow’s final, then he would be the first man to do so at Wimbledon since five-time champion Bjorn Borg in 1976.
“It’s just a beautiful feeling, you know,” said Federer.
“You don’t get it very often because usually, you know, you have very close matches. I was flawless.”
Bjorkman, Wimbledon’s oldest semi-finalist for 19 years, never looked remotely capable of upsetting his odds of 200-1 but still managed to savour the occasion.
“In a way, it was nice to be around and see how someone can play the nearest to perfection you can play tennis. He just made it look so easy.”
The 20-year-old Nadal will be the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Boris Becker in 1986 after transforming his clay-court domination onto grass.
The Spaniard ended Andre Agassi’s Wimbledon career in the third round and holds a 6-1 advantage in previous meetings with Federer.
“I beat him sometimes but here he is a very good player,” said Nadal. “I try my best.
“It’s a dream to play in the final. I’m very happy. It was a tough match.”
Nadal was made to work for every point after an easy first set and had to show real tenacity to beat his never-say-die opponent.
Nadal has beaten Federer in four finals already this year, including the French Open decider last month, but this will be their first meeting on grass, the surface on which the champion looks virtually unbeatable.
Bjorkman yesterday compared Federer with Pete Sampras but he believes that Nadal could push the champion all the way in Sunday’s final.
“I think the only one who has an idea how to play Roger is probably Nadal at the moment,” he said.
“He managed to get into the head of Roger a little bit with his head-to-head record. That’s going to help him going into a final.
“Maybe with a lefty spin, he can also get Roger out of position a little bit more often than other guys can.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
