Federer, Nadal to continue rivalry in Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain completed their march toward a third consecutive Wimbledon final Friday, handily defeating their respective semifinal opponents with the sharply contrasting styles that define the most compelling rivalry in men's tennis.

Federer, who is seeking his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, extended his grass-court winning streak to 65 matches in breezing past one of the game's most dangerous players, Russian Marat Safin, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Federer has yet to lose a set all tournament, and he was hardly boasting when he said, "It was a perfect match for me."

Indeed, there was scant evidence Federer had exerted himself. He fired 14 aces past the athletic Safin and never had his serve broken. His gold-trimmed shoes didn't have a grass stain on them, and his tennis whites were spotless enough to perform surgery.

"It was quite easy if you look at the score," Federer said.

Nadal strode off Centre Court roughly two hours later boasting a victory by a nearly identical score, having vanquished the tournament's surprise semifinalist Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Unlike Federer, Nadal looked as if he had spent the afternoon wrestling an alligator on the patchy lawn. His left knee was bloody. His shins were tightly bound with tape, as were nearly every one of his fingers. Nadal's sneakers were worn to their nubby soles from all the pounding he had done, racing around the court.

Federer and Nadal meet for the title Sunday.

If Federer is the sport's artist, Nadal is its brawler. But he has been just short of brilliant in adapting his ferocious style of play to grass, adding a slice to his topspin-heavy repertoire, sharpening his volley and revamping his footwork.

Though his English is still evolving, Nadal has clearly mastered the verb "improve." And he has demonstrated as much on court the last two weeks.

He raced through the first set in 23 minutes, firing 12 winners without committing an unforced error.

Schuettler wasn't remotely prepared for the pace or wild spin of Nadal's barrage of shots.

"I didn't know what to do," Schuettler confessed.

The German acquitted himself better in the second and third sets. But Nadal closed the match with ease, serving a love game to seal his spot in the final.

As a friend and occasional practice partner of Federer's, as well as the latest victim of Nadal, Schuettler was in great demand afterward as a prognosticator for the championship.

Schuettler said, "Both are playing extremely well ... I would like Roger to make the six in a row. ... Rafa also, the way he has been playing, would deserve it."

Nadal has been the world's best on clay, winning his fourth consecutive French Open title (and third at Federer's expense) last month.

Williams sisters to meet in final today

Americans Venus and Serena Williams were to spend Friday evening as they have nearly every night for the past two weeks: talking about everything except tennis, having dinner together and going to their rooms to read (in Venus' case) or watch a movie (in Serena's).

Today's schedule included breakfast together, followed by the arrival of two cars — one to take each sister to the All England Club, where they will compete for the greatest prize in tennis.

It will be the third time the sisters have battled for Wimbledon's championship. Serena, 26, won the previous meetings, in 2002 and 2003.

Defending champion Venus, 28, earned her fourth title last year; she also triumphed in 2000, 2001 and 2005.