Jul 4, 2008, 16:35 GMT
London - Rafel Nadal and Roger Federer both advanced in straight sets on Friday to set up their third consecutive all-star final at the Wimbledon Championships.
Top seed Federer played as close to perfection as possible as he reached a sixth straight Wimbledon final, controlling dangerous Marat Safin with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 display.
Nadal, the number two, surprisingly went down a break in the second set but steadied on the way past German Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
The Spaniard had a late fright though, as Schuettler saved three match points in the ninth game of the third set before Nadal achieved three more and advanced on the first.
Federer won his 65th straight match on grass after last losing on the surface in 2002. He has been victorious in his last 40 contests at Wimbledon.
The pair will be the first to appear in three successive Wimbledon finals since Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg from 1988-1990.
View blog reactions
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)
Advertising
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)