Classy Federer Eases Into Sixth Wimbledon Final
A calm and collect Roger Federer spoke about the 'beautiful feeling' of reaching his sixth successive Wimbledon final and the 'opportunity' of reclaiming his title once more on the hallowed turf of SW19.
Federer spoke to the BBC following yet another record breaking victory over Marat Safin as he took his unbeaten record on Grass to 65 matches following yet another straight-sets victory. What is more remarkable about this achievement is that before the match, many had Safin down as the man who could take the first set off of Federer at Wmbledon since Rafael Nadal in last years final after the Russian had knocked out third seed Novak Djokovic in the early rounds.
Many were betting that Safin would cause at least a slight trip as the five-time Wimbledon Champion looked to make it six but in truth it was as much of a breeze for the Swiss as in any other round this year.
Safin had predicted in an earlier press conference that he had little chance of battling his way past the World number one claiming that he would have to 'run like a rabbit' if he had any chance of reaching his first Wimbledon final but it was the favourite who began to dominate as early as the second game.
After taking his service game to love, Federer swept into a double-break point position against the Russian's big serve and after a lengthy exhange took the intitiative to seal an early break with a trademark driven backhand down the line.
The rest of the opening set was a walk in the park for the number one seed as he showed frequent shots of brilliance, the like of which we have come to expect from him and only him on the lush green grass of Centre court in recent years. Safin did not look as though he believed that he could take the first set, returning shots at a pedestrian pace seemingly conserving energy for the second set. Federer 'eventually' took the set after just 25 minutes as many of the onlooking crowd began to think that this match was going to be a relative walk-over for the 26-year-old.
Safin dusted himself down for the second set however and came out fighting in the second. He engineered a couple of break points in the fourth game of the set but could not find the telling shot when it mattered, Federer coming in-court to mop up a couple of half-hit Safin returns and get himself out of trouble.
The Russian is well known for his lack of mental strength on the court when things are not going his way, such is the reason why this former number one has slumped down to 75th in the World rankings. This years Wimbledon however has been the canvas to which Safin has painted a new image for himself as a calm, focused competitor and the rest of the set was a fine example of this new attitude as he took Federer to a tie-break.
Unfortunately for Safin though the breaker did not go as smoothly as he had planned with the score at 5-1 at the change of ends. His oponent has never been one to let a single point cheaply pass him by and as Federer sealed the second set with a heavy forehand the feeling amongst the crowd was that this match was practically over already.
The Champion upped the gears in the third set which unfortunatey brought about the traditional raquet abuse we have become accustomed to from Safin and as Federer danced around the court hitting one subime shot after another Safin's temper got the better of him. He did not have to endure Federer's onslought for long however, as he sealed victory with a delightfully angled backhand on his first match point to take the match 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Following the match Federer told the BBC,
"I was a little bit surprised how intense it was - but it was because Rafa played so well in Paris and then winning Queen's. He's been playing fantastically as well.
"Don't write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season now", It will be interesting to see just how many will be betting on Federer to beat off the challenge of Nadal at Wimbledon for another year or whether the Spaniard can claim victory on grass before his rival on clay.
Federer spoke to the BBC following yet another record breaking victory over Marat Safin as he took his unbeaten record on Grass to 65 matches following yet another straight-sets victory. What is more remarkable about this achievement is that before the match, many had Safin down as the man who could take the first set off of Federer at Wmbledon since Rafael Nadal in last years final after the Russian had knocked out third seed Novak Djokovic in the early rounds.
Many were betting that Safin would cause at least a slight trip as the five-time Wimbledon Champion looked to make it six but in truth it was as much of a breeze for the Swiss as in any other round this year.
Safin had predicted in an earlier press conference that he had little chance of battling his way past the World number one claiming that he would have to 'run like a rabbit' if he had any chance of reaching his first Wimbledon final but it was the favourite who began to dominate as early as the second game.
After taking his service game to love, Federer swept into a double-break point position against the Russian's big serve and after a lengthy exhange took the intitiative to seal an early break with a trademark driven backhand down the line.
The rest of the opening set was a walk in the park for the number one seed as he showed frequent shots of brilliance, the like of which we have come to expect from him and only him on the lush green grass of Centre court in recent years. Safin did not look as though he believed that he could take the first set, returning shots at a pedestrian pace seemingly conserving energy for the second set. Federer 'eventually' took the set after just 25 minutes as many of the onlooking crowd began to think that this match was going to be a relative walk-over for the 26-year-old.
Safin dusted himself down for the second set however and came out fighting in the second. He engineered a couple of break points in the fourth game of the set but could not find the telling shot when it mattered, Federer coming in-court to mop up a couple of half-hit Safin returns and get himself out of trouble.
The Russian is well known for his lack of mental strength on the court when things are not going his way, such is the reason why this former number one has slumped down to 75th in the World rankings. This years Wimbledon however has been the canvas to which Safin has painted a new image for himself as a calm, focused competitor and the rest of the set was a fine example of this new attitude as he took Federer to a tie-break.
Unfortunately for Safin though the breaker did not go as smoothly as he had planned with the score at 5-1 at the change of ends. His oponent has never been one to let a single point cheaply pass him by and as Federer sealed the second set with a heavy forehand the feeling amongst the crowd was that this match was practically over already.
The Champion upped the gears in the third set which unfortunatey brought about the traditional raquet abuse we have become accustomed to from Safin and as Federer danced around the court hitting one subime shot after another Safin's temper got the better of him. He did not have to endure Federer's onslought for long however, as he sealed victory with a delightfully angled backhand on his first match point to take the match 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Following the match Federer told the BBC,
"I was a little bit surprised how intense it was - but it was because Rafa played so well in Paris and then winning Queen's. He's been playing fantastically as well.
"Don't write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season now", It will be interesting to see just how many will be betting on Federer to beat off the challenge of Nadal at Wimbledon for another year or whether the Spaniard can claim victory on grass before his rival on clay.
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