Federer Storms to His Third Final

Roger Federer swept into a third consecutive Wimbledon final with a comprehensive 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over world number two Lleyton Hewitt.

After all the chatter about change in tennis - about rising teenagers and Russians - it has turned out to be a throwback Wimbledon, and not just because of the rain that interrupted play on a regular basis this week.

Saturday’s women’s final will be a remake of the 2000 edition between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport. And the favorite to win the men’s final will be the same fluid fellow from Switzerland who won it the last two times.

Roger Federer was in full flow once again on Center Court today, showing the depth of his talent and self-belief against his now-favorite foil: Lleyton Hewitt.

Knowing how combative and consistent a player the Australian is, it is difficult to imagine that anyone could beat him eight times in a row in a span of 18 months, but Federer has now managed it. He has beaten Hewitt on clay; beaten him on hardcourts and now beaten him on grass at Wimbledon for the second year running.

Bidding for a hat-trick of titles, the Swiss advanced to Sunday’s final by defeating the Australian - a Wimbledon winner in 2002 - 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours seven minutes. Hewitt’s tenacity and determination, in the face of Federer’s firepower and shot-making genius, were not enough to save him from an eighth successive defeat at the hands of the man who is indisputably world number one.

There was early indication for Hewitt what he would be up against when Federer unleashed his first ace to clinch the opening game and promptly followed by capturing the Hewitt serve after three deuces. In breaking the Australian, Federer produced one of his “miracle” shots, a forehand bent round the netpost and into the deepest corner of the court. Hewitt provided the best sort of tonic at once by breaking the mighty Federer serve, though it was a Swiss forehand error which brought it about, striking the tape as he went for a wrong-footing winner.

With the champion opting to stay back, even when his first serve was on target, the match rapidly resolved itself into a baseline battle, with Hewitt’s two-fisted backhand combating Federer’s one-handed stroke. Tirelessly though he ran and retrieved, it was soon clear that Hewitt’s chief hope was to induce Federer errors through steady rallies, rather than go for the spectacular winner.

Hewitt succeeded in staying afloat through the next four games, but his hopes of salvaging the first set were capsized when Federer upped the pace to break for a second time and move into a 5-3 lead, a lead which became a one-set advantage after 36 minutes, set up by his third ace and then a serve which forced a netted backhand return from the Australian.

With the need to stabilise the drift of the match now becoming urgent, Hewitt worked as hard as only he can to blunt the Federer machine. Once again, his best was good enough only for four games of the second set before the defending champion pounced again, breaking for a 3-2 lead by courtesy of three backhand errors in that game from Hewitt.

That was all Federer needed to steer his way through to a two-set lead after one hour 11 minutes. He did, however, show rare fallibility by engineering, and then missing, a set point at 5-3 on the Hewitt serve when he netted a routine backhand. The delay was brief, as the Swiss served out for 6-4. He got to set point with a backhand drop volley of pure delicacy and then followed with a thunderous serve which Hewitt, at full stretch, chopped back into the netting.

Just in case Hewitt’s morale needed dynamiting even further, Federer produced another of his shots from outer space in the fifth game of the third set. Hewitt uncorked a smash which would have won the point against most tennis professionals, but Federer, at full stretch to his right, somehow made contact for a forehand which dipped across Hewitt’s body in mid-court, leaving him flat-footed and probably dazed.

Hewitt, facing another two break points, somehow escaped intact, but his nerves, and his temper, underwent another searching test in the next game when, with Federer at deuce on serve, a forehand from the champion was called out on the baseline. What would have given Hewitt a break point, his first since that early break in the opening set, was denied him by French umpire Pascal Maria’s overrule, which was shown by TV replays to be correct.

Hewitt’s determination kept the match alive into a tiebreak, but again Federer was the better man when it mattered and a Hewitt forehand into the netting saw the champion through to his third straight final.

Rain delays second semi at Wimbledon

Rain interrupted the second semi-final of the men’s singles between second seed Andy Roddick and outsider Thomas Johansson.

Just 32 minutes of play were possible before the weather deteriorated and forced the players off Centre Court, with Roddick leading 6-5 in the first set, which was going with serve when the stoppage came.

Now all eyes on the big one ( Finals), when both the players ready to face each other