Federer mows down Ancic as Bjorkman crashes semi-final party

By Bill Scott Jul 5, 2006, 23:15 GMT

London - Roger Federer wasn't rattled by rain Wednesday, setting up a Wimbledon semi-final against 34-year-old veteran Jonas Bjorkman, who achieved a tennis miracle to get there.

Federer, atop the game and king of grass, won his 46th straight match on the surface as he dismissed his 2002 conquerer Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The Croatian was the last man to beat Federer on grass four years ago, knocking the Swiss number one out in the first round of these same championships. In the interim Federer has won the last three Wimbledon crowns.

The unseeded Bjorkman, who has relied on mild pain killers over recent weeks to combat an arm problem, reached only the second Grand Slam semi-final of his career through a defeat of 14th seed Radek Stepanek 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.

The Swede who won back-to-back doubles crowns at the All England Club in 2003-2004, said he never thought he would have the chance to go so far in singles at this late stage of his career.

'I didn't think I had another semi-final in me,' said the married father of one. 'I've just realized that I've won.'

'It's a dream come true at age 34. It's a huge surprise,' he added.

Bjorkman reached the 1997 US Open semis on his way to achieving his career-high fourth world ranking in singles. He is also still playing in the doubles and mixed doubles of these championships.

A pair of rain interruptions over the course of an unsettled afternoon led to the postponement of a quarter-final between second seed Rafael Nadal and fighting Finn Jarkko Nieminen.

In another surprise, Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus ambushed 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

The Nadal match will be played Thursday on women's semi-final day, with top seed Amelie Mauresmo facing Maria Sharapova and a clash between Belgian rivals Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne.

The silky-smooth Federer was hardly bothered as he and Ancic were twice forced off court for a total of around two and a half hours.

'Rain delays can slow you down,' said the world number 1. 'But they actually helped me today.'

'I played even better. I was very, very pleased. It was an incredible performance today,' Federer said.

The top seed was unflustered as his match was first stopped after just 13 minutes on court.

The contest resumed nearly 90 minutes later, with Federer earning a quick break on his way to taking the opening set.

A second interruption came with Federer up a break 3-2 in the second. Ancic broke the world number 1 as Federer lost serve for only the second time in his title defence before claiming a semi-final place.

The Swiss said thoughts of his now-distant loss to Ancic never crossed his mind.

'I knew the danger of playing against (Ancic). He has a great serve, he's got the game on grass, he can volley and he plays aggressive on everything,' Federer said.

'I knew that this could be a very tricky match if I didn't get off to a good start. I didn't think much of the match here four years ago. It was just too long ago,' he said.

Ancic, who had only 13 unforced errors, was unable to find a way through.

'I had some unbelievable shots, I did exactly what I needed to do, but I was getting passed or he was getting some winners from nowhere,' the Croatian said.

'Even when I was two breaks down, I was playing good tennis. I continued to fight, to search for solutions. He played unbelievable today.'