Federer and Nadal move straight to final

Tennis: No slip-ups, no stage fright, no head-freaks. Wimbledon yesterday got the final it wanted, when the two heavyweights of the game burnt off the last of their rivals.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal followed on from streaking to the French Open final by repeating the feat yesterday in Wimbledon, the first time in the Open era the two events have had the same two finalists.

Jonas Björkman and Marcos Baghdatis were the two fall guys and both went out in straight sets, Björkman a little more readily than the Cypriot under the scorching game of Federer.

Increasingly, the world number one's opponents are looking like unwilling victims hauled up from the dungeons and thrown onto Centre Court to be cut to pieces for the entertainment of the crowd.

Yesterday, Björkman received the thumbs-down from an unkindly tennis god and the Swiss number one readily went to work, handing out the heaviest semi-final defeat, 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, since records began in 1922.

Again, Federer did not drop a set - nor did he concede a break point. He also extended his unbeaten record run to 47 matches in what was his ninth straight appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final, one away from equalling the Open-era record for consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals, held by Ivan Lendl.

But the records and statistics fall well short of describing the artful efficiency of his play, the crushing economy of his serve and the creative power of his wrists.

Combine the fluidity of his movement and ruthless authority in despatching opponents and you have what many, even his opponents, are now daring to call the perfect tennis player.

During yesterday's spectacle one punter read all of our minds and screamed out: "How do you do it, Roger?"

At that point Federer was scarily working his way through 11 straight games - which started with the last three of the first set, went through the second set, and was arrested only in the third game of the final set.

"Yeah, I mean it was flawless," he said afterwards.

How true that was.

Björkman, at 34 years of age, was at least experienced enough to recognise the scoreline was not of his doing. He played a solid game, hit good shots and didn't choke, yet, over 77 minutes, he could win only four games. He was almost irrelevant to the entire, brief affair.

"I felt pretty good," said Björkman. "I think today It was just that I felt I played a guy who was as near to perfection as you can play the game. I had the best seat in the house in a way. He's just got everything.

"Pete (Sampras) had that pure power with hitting it perfect in the corners, but Roger can mix it up. I always thought Stefan Edberg was one of the greatest movers. He looked like he was a cat. Roger is almost above that."

Björkman held his first service game, but by the next Federer had worked it out. Breaking the Swede in the third and seventh game for 6-2 in just 27 minutes was the prelude to even greater efficiency in the second set, when the Fed Express raced through it in 23 minutes for 6-0 and landed in a hat-trick of aces in the fourth game just as Björkman threatened to throw in a speed bump.

The final act was again under 30 minutes as Federer mopped up the set 6-2 and the match.

The islander from Majorca had a tighter match against the islander from Cyprus, but the outcome was rarely in doubt as 20-year-old Nadal continued to sharpen his grass-court game.

The Spaniard's left-handed serve continued to cause problems, while his whipped returns could even have Federer scrambling. In the face of aggressive resistance from Baghdatis, Nadal took a soft first set 6-1, and then converted the second set 7-6 after seven break points.

By then, there was an air of inevitability about the shape it was taking and, short of putting a stake through his opponent's heart, there was little Baghdatis could do to halt the drive. Nadal relentlessly retrieved everything Baghdatis sent over the net.

Despite the Cypriot beseeching the umpire on a few ugly line calls, Nadal's weight and execution finally suffocated his opponent, the final set falling 6-3 on the lone break point earned.

"I was playing quite well, but I didn't find the solution to win. That was frustrating," said Baghdatis. "I didn't take my chances. It's been fun and I've started to like grass. That's a good thing.

"It's another experience for me, but the positive thing is that I feel close to the top, close to Nadal and close to Federer."

Men's Singles Semi-finals: (1) Roger Federer (Swi) bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 6-2 6-0 6-2, (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) bt (18) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 6-1 7-5 6-3.

Men's Doubles Semi-finals: (1) Bob Bryan (USA) & Michael Bryan (USA) bt (3) Mark Knowles (Bah) & Daniel Nestor (Can) 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-1, (6) Fabrice Santoro (Fra) & Nenad Zimonjic (Ser) bt (7) Martin Damm (Cze) & Leander Paes (Ind) 6-2 6-1 7-5.

Women's Doubles Semi-final: (4) Zi Yan (Chn) & Jie Zheng (Chn) bt (2) Cara Black (Zim) & Rennae Stubbs (Aus) 6-2 7-6 (7-3).

Boy's Singles Semi-finals: (1) Thiemo De Bakker (Ned) bt Michal Konecny (Cze) 7-5 6-4 , Marcin Gawron (Pol) bt Pavel Chekov (Rus) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-8). Girl's Singles Semi-final: (4) Caroline Wozniacki (Den) bt Urszula Radwanska (Pol) 3-6 6-3 8-6.