The Hindu : Sport : Federer, Nadal through to the semifinals

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Saturday, Jul 07, 2007
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Federer, Nadal through to the semifinals

Nirmal Shekar

Venus storms into her sixth Wimbledon final; Paes-Damm pair bows out

— PHOTO: AFP

DETERMINED: Roger Federer defeated an inspired Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals on Friday.

London: Maybe the earth is flat, after all. Maybe the sun rises in the West. Maybe Eminem makes better music than did Mozart.

Now, hold on, before you reach out for the phone to suggest to our Readers’ Editor that this writer be locked up in a padded cell in the nearest mental asylum, consider the following.

The sun was actually sighted at Wimbledon on Friday. And if you think that is some sort of joke, then what about this?. It did not rain in London, SW 19. And, finally, this. Blimey, HRH Roger Federer lost a set on the centre court!

In the event, a touch of mid-summer madness is very much in order; for, these are times when you begin to wonder if all was well with the world, when you pinch yourself and wonder if you are really where you think you are, seeing what you think you are seeing.

Well, there can’t be anything seriously wrong with the world. After all, Federer did go through to the semifinals of the 121st Wimbledon championships with a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over the former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero to move within two match victories of emulating the great Bjorn Borg’s feat of winning five straight titles here.

One of those days

But it was indeed one of those believe-it-or-not sort of days; so much so that you almost expected the Queen to drop in for a pint at the Dog and Fox (pub) in the Wimbledon village. It was that sort of day, a day when a marathoner — Rafael Nadal — turned a sprinter, a day when an aristocrat — Federer — turned up in a boiler suit and hard hat for a couple of hours of plumbing, fixing a leaky main.

Last sighted in these parts a week ago, when he dismantled Marat Safin’s big game with the precision of an experienced clockmaker in a Rolex assembly line, Federer was thought to be the lucky one after his fourth round opponent Tommy Haas withdrew and the rains played havoc with the schedule.

But, it was obvious in the match against Ferrero that even the great one cannot insulate himself from a touch of rustiness.

The Spaniard broke to 5-3 in the second set and then served it out after Federer had taken the first (they were tied 5-5 on Thursday) in a tiebreak. It was only the sixth set that Federer has lost in 32 matches since the start of the 2003 championships. “The conditions were really tough today,” said Federer. “You haven’t played for some time and that doesn’t help. But I am back into my rhythm now.”

It must have been a nice feeling, too, for Nadal, this tournament’s favourite marathon man. For once, the second seeded Spaniard got the job done quickly as he disposed of Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and seven minutes.

From the moment Nadal wrapped up the first set tiebreak, dominating it with an atavistic frenzy — a state he instinctively eases into when the going gets tough — it was clear that this was going to be a sprint rather than a long distance race. On a windy, half-empty centre court — it would be shame to miss the Pimms and caviar and a four course lunch for the tennis, won’t it be? — Berdych often struggled with his service toss and betrayed a tendency to shrink away from taking control of the big points.

On the other hand, Nadal, who seemed oblivious to the strong gusts of wind on a cool afternoon when the sun occasionally dropped in to tease us with its spirit-lifting warmth, quickly moved into overdrive. The 2006 finalist broke the Czech’s serve in the opening game of the second set and from there it was a cruise for the Spaniard.

Tough duel

Nadal will play Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the fourth seed, in the semifinals. Djokovic overcame a strong challenge from the popular Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis, to go through 7-6(4), 7-6(9), 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5 after a wondrously entertaining battle that lasted five full hours.

Later in the evening, three-time champion Venus Williams, world ranked 31, stormed into her sixth Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

“It is so exciting. I have had so many good times here. But I don’t want to take anything for granted going into the final,” said Venus.

In the men’s doubles quarterfinals, Leander Paes and Martin Damm, seeded five, were beaten 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 by the fourth seeded pair of Fabrice Santoro (France) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia).

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