The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Yet another rematch at Wimbledon

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Sunday, Jul 08, 2007
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Yet another rematch at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet in another Grand Slam final.

Four-time defending champion Federer reached his ninth consecutive major final on Saturday beating Richard Gasquet on the grass courts of the All England Club.

“It has become sort of a routine, but I’m still so excited to be back in the final,” said Federer, who beat Nadal to win last year’s title but lost to the Spaniard in the last two French Open finals.

Best shot

Nadal set up a rematch at Wimbledon when No. 4 Novak Djokovic withdrew midway through the third set.

“I’m going to have a very difficult match on Sunday, but I’m going to try my best,” said Nadal, a three-time champion at Roland Garros.

Federer’s win was his 53rd straight on grass. He finished with 20 aces, including one on a second serve in the final game of the match.

The 25-year-old Federer, who is the oldest of the four men’s semifinalists, is trying to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, something only Bjorn Borg has done in the past 100 years.

“It is tricky when you see him sitting there because he is a living legend,” Federer said. “I have so much respect for him that it is great that he’s here. I hope I can do the job on Sunday.”

Djokovic also withdrew against Nadal in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

Both players have spent a lot of time on court over the past few days because of the massive backlog created by persistent rain throughout the tournament.

Nadal played two five-setters before reaching the semifinals on Friday with a straight-set win. — AP

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