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WIMBLEDON: Federer, Nadal to renew epic rivalry

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns to Germany’s Rainer Schuettler during their men’s singles semi-final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Friday. PHOTO: EPA

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will renew their epic rivalry today when the world’s two greatest players meet in a third successive Wimbledon final.

Five-time champion Federer will become the first man in history to win six consecutive titles and move to within one victory of Pete Sampras’ record Grand Slam collection of 14 trophies, if he wins.

Victory would take Nadal, the four-time French Open winner, alongside Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg as the only man to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.

The 22-year-old would also become the first Spanish men’s champion since Manuel Santana in 1966.

Federer, the top seed, was detained on Center Court for just 1 hour, 41 minutes as he compiled a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win over Russia’s Marat Safin, the former US Open and Australian Open champion.

Nadal defeated Germany’s Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in his semi-final, taking just 20 minutes longer.

“It’s great,” Federer said after wrapping up what was his 65th straight win on grass. “It is a beautiful feeling to have the opportunity to win the title again.”

Switzerland’s Roger Federer plays a shot against Russia’s Marat Safin during their men’s singles semi-final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Federer, who had been widely written off this season and was destroyed by Nadal in the French Open final four weeks ago, admitted he had been surprised by the gloomy predictions of his standing in the game.

“I guess you can say what ever you like, but I was surprised by how intense it was,” he said. “But the fact was that Rafa beat me so easily in Paris and went on to win at Queens. He has been playing fantastically, but don’t write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season, Wimbledon and the US Open.”

Nadal came close to taking the world No. 1’s All England Club crown last year and is being widely tipped to dethrone Federer today.

“I didn’t play my best today, not like the quarter-final and the second round,” Nadal said. “But I’m very happy to be in the final again and I’ll be facing the best player in the world on the other side of the net.”

Schuettler had spent three more hours than Nadal getting to the semi-final, including tying the record for the second longest men’s match in Wimbledon history in getting past Arnaud Clement in the last eight.

That was five sets taking 5 hours, 12 minutes and spread over two days.

On Friday, he was a set down in only 23 minutes, with Nadal breaking in the first, third and seventh games to threaten a Center Court rout.

But the 32-year-old German rallied and broke Nadal to take a 2-1 lead in the second set with a wrong-footing, cross-court forehand on his way to taking a 5-4 lead.

Nadal, however, broke in the 10th game as Schuettler served for the set and then dominated the tie-break.

The Mallorcan illustrated his intimidating, all-court power by unleashing a 161kph forehand in the second game of the third set before breaking the dispirited German to lead 2-1.

Schuettler saved three match points in the ninth game, but his fate was sealed in the 10th.
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