Federer sweeps into sixth consecutive final

Enlarge Photo Roger Federer of Switzerland serves to Marat Safin of Russia during their semi-finals match at...

Fri, Jul 4 07:42 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer strolled into his sixth successive Wimbledon final with a straightforward 6-3 7-6 6-4 defeat of an error-prone Marat Safin on Friday.

The Swiss, aiming for a modern-era record sixth consecutive title, broke early in the first set and was commanding on his serve, outwitting unseeded Safin with his accurate placement to give the Russian no chance to break back.

The former world number one, who famously beat Federer in a five-set epic on the way to winning the 2005 Australian open, stayed with Swiss to set up a second set tiebreak where he then fluffed a series of shots to go 2-0 behind.

A backhand crosscourt winner sent Federer through to the final, where he could face second seed Rafael Nadal for the third year in a row if the Spaniard beats German Rainer Schuettler in the day's other semi-final.

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