Wimbledon Capsules: Federer, Roddick to meet in third Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England - Rising, rising, rising, high above the most famous patch of grass in tennis, Roger Federer channeled Pete Sampras on match point in the Wimbledon semifinals Friday, tucking both feet back beneath his body and uncorking an overhead smash.

And now, after years of chasing Sampras, Federer is poised to surpass him.

A victory over No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States in Sunday's final at the All England Club would give Federer his 15th Grand Slam singles championship, breaking a tie with Sampras for the most in history. It also would give Federer a sixth Wimbledon title and a return to No. 1 in the rankings.

As it is, No. 2 Federer's overwhelming 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3 victory over No. 24 Tommy Haas of Germany in Friday's opening match on Centre Court put the Swiss star in a seventh consecutive Wimbledon final and 20th career Grand Slam final - establishing two other marks.

"I'm very proud of all the records I've achieved, because I never thought I would be that successful as a kid. You know, I would have been happy winning a couple tournaments and maybe collecting Wimbledon," the 27-year-old Federer said. "It's quite staggering."

Yes, Roger, it certainly is.

When he finished off Haas with that Sampraslike leaping putaway, Federer simply waited at the net to shake hands. Then he gave a little wave of his racket in the direction of his pregnant wife, his parents and other supporters in the guest seats above a scoreboard, before making the same gesture toward the Royal Box, where past greats of the game Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver were among the invited guests.

Winning a Wimbledon semifinal - indeed, any Grand Slam semifinal - is all so very been-there, done-that for Federer: He is 20-3 in major semis over his career, reaching 16 of the past 17 major finals.

"I know what's on the line," Federer said. "I hope I can play another good match."

His previous match against Haas, on June 1 in the fourth round of the French Open, was much tighter. Haas won the first two sets that day - drew within five points of victory, even - before Federer came back en route to winning the title at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Sampras with 14 Grand Slam championships.

This time, Federer was quite close to perfect. He won a remarkable 72 of 83 points on his serve, did not face a single break point and finished with 49 winners and only 15 unforced errors.

"You know, that's the way it goes playing against him," Haas said. "There aren't really any weaknesses."

Roddick celebrated rather emotionally after finishing off No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) in Friday's second semifinal. The 2003 U.S. Open champion, still seeking a second major title, dropped to his knees, leaned forward and covered his head with his hands.

Leaving the court, Roddick paused to enjoy the moment, thankful that all of the changes he's made over the past several months paid dividends: tweaking his diet to drop 15 pounds, hiring a new coach, working more than ever to improve his returns, his volleys, his backhand.

"To be honest, the last couple of years, I didn't know if I'd ever get a chance to play for another Grand Slam title," Roddick said. "Now I get to. It's just a dream."

This part might cause some nightmares before Sunday: Roddick is 2-18 against Federer, including losses in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals, as well as the 2006 U.S. Open final.

"I've had plenty of time to study his game, to understand his game," Federer said. "He's always played me also quite differently every single time."

Then again, Roddick was 2-6 previously against Murray, who was trying to become the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since the 1930s and, of course, received plenty of partisan support from the 15,000 or so spectators.

Roddick joked beforehand he'd be pretending that all those shouts of "Come on, Andy!" were for him, but he was outsmarted: Instead of the usual first-name cheers, the crowd yelled support for their man "Murray!"

Didn't matter. Roddick was too good on the most important points and that made the difference on a day Murray compiled more aces (25-21), more winners (76-64) and fewer unforced errors (20-24). Roddick won far more points at the net, 48-15, and put in a far higher percentage of first serves, 75-52, while hitting much harder than Murray, reaching a tournament-high 143 mph.

"If he serves like that," Murray said, "he's got a chance against anyone."

There was only one break point in the first set, and it came with Murray serving while trailing 5-4. Murray went ahead 30-love, but Roddick took the next four points, showing off some of the newfound versatility in his game. He got to break point with a drop-shot winner on a 10-stroke exchange. And he ended the set with a booming backhand down the line that forced Murray into a forehand error on the point's 17th stroke.

The stands were close to silent, and it was clear Murray needed to do something to get the fans - and himself - going. He did just that, breaking Roddick at love to open the second set, then holding with the help of three aces in a row to go up 2-0.

After serving out that set, Murray was on the verge of beginning the third the exact same way. But Roddick saved three break points to hold for 1-0.

"You're probably not going to get out of a love-40 hole too often against a guy who returns like him," Roddick said. "So that was definitely key."

Roddick broke to 3-1, and at 5-2 was two points away from taking the third set. But Murray eventually broke back and, in the tiebreaker, he held a set point at 6-5. On a 13-stroke exchange, Roddick misplayed a forehand volley in such a way that it turned into a winner.

"He apologized," Murray said.

Moments later, Murray shanked one forehand long, then dumped a passing try into the net, and Roddick owned the lead and momentum. Less than an hour later, Roddick owned the match, improving to 26-4 in tiebreakers this season when he smacked a forehand approach shot and Murray put a backhand into the net.

A year ago, Roddick lost in the second round at Wimbledon, prompting some serious soul-searching. He was traveling in the States the day of the 2008 Wimbledon final, which Federer lost to nemesis Rafael Nadal 9-7 in the fifth set in fading light. Roddick wound up staying at the airport to watch the end of the match on TV.

Now it will be Roddick trying to beat Federer with a Wimbledon championship at stake.

And Federer trying to beat Roddick with history at stake.

"Obviously you can't really say enough to kind of signify what Roger's career has been to this point," Roddick said.

As for Federer's bid to collect No. 15, Roddick said: "I'd love to delay it for another Grand Slam."

Andy Murray fails to reach 1st Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England - With an often boisterous crowd fully behind Andy Murray, it was the man in front of him that kept the third-ranked Scot from becoming the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final in 71 years.

Murray didn't play poorly in his 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) loss to Andy Roddick, far from it. He even gave the thousands of fans on Centre Court plenty to scream and cheer about throughout the match. But when it came to the few points that mattered the most, Roddick was the one who stepped up.

"I had a few chances in the first tiebreak. I had chances early in the third set," said Murray, who had been 6-2 against Roddick before the match. "I didn't take them."

Both players were solid on serve, and Murray had the better numbers on paper with more aces and winners than Roddick, and fewer unforced errors.

"It just came down to a few points here or there on his serve," Murray said. "And he served really, really well."

Murray played the match under a huge amount of pressure. He entered Centre Court trying to become the first British player to reach the Wimbledon men's final since Bunny Austin in 1938. The last British man to win the title was Fred Perry in 1936, and if Murray could have beaten Roddick, he likely would have played Roger Federer in Sunday's final with Queen Elizabeth II in the crowd.

"I put obviously pressure on myself to play well. I don't think there was any sort of moments where I felt too tight to sort of go for shots," Murray said. "I maybe made a couple of mistakes that I shouldn't have in the first tiebreak."

But to get into that tiebreak, Murray had to bounce back from a 5-2 deficit. He held to get to 5-3, and then broke Roddick to get back on serve. Murray then even held a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

"I think, like I said, I played well," said Murray, who reached the U.S. Open final last year but lost to Federer. "Unfortunately, the last few slams that I've lost I've come up against some guys that have played great, great tennis."

Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open and reached the Wimbledon final in 2004 and '05, losing to Federer both times.

Heading into this particular match on Centre Court, however, Roddick was facing more than just Murray.

"I knew going in that getting all hyped up ..., especially in an atmosphere that probably wasn't going to be super favorable to me, wasn't probably the way to go," Roddick said. "And especially he was probably going to have the edge as far as, kind of, the adrenaline and the emotion.

"So I kind of just wanted to stay the course. I was fully aware that there might be ups and downs," Roddick added. "I just wanted to kind of keep the same face regardless."

Murray did get cheers throughout the match, but the fans really grew loud when Murray mounted his third-set comeback.

"Obviously, when it gets to the big points, the important sort of moments in the match, it's great to have the support," Murray said. "They were excellent the whole tournament with me. Hopefully I'll have the same support again next year."

Before the next Wimbledon tournament, though, Murray will soon return to New York, the scene of his one and only Grand Slam final to date.

"I'll move on very, very quickly and go and work on my game and improve and come back stronger," Murray said. "I've had a very good year so far. I'm very close to the top of the game. The U.S. Open, I've always said is my best surface, my best chance to win a slam, and I'll give it my best shot there."

-- Chris Lehourites

Haas plays well, but loses to Federer at Wimbledon 

WIMBLEDON, England - Against almost any other player, Tommy Haas would have had a fighting chance in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Instead, the German's solid play on Centre Court ended up in a relatively tame 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3 loss to five-time champion Roger Federer on Friday.

"I served extremely well," Haas said. "So did my opponent."

Haas and Federer traded service games for the entire first set, neither earning a break point. In the second set, Federer finally managed to get one, then two, but Haas saved them both. It was on the third chance that Federer won the second set.

"Maybe I was trying to go for a little bit too much then and not following up, being aggressive, coming into the net," Haas said. "He took the first chance. The same thing happened in the third when he broke me at 3-4, a long game with chances, game points for me."

Haas matched Federer with 11 aces and won 74 percent of the points on his first serve. Federer won 89 percent of his first service points, but despite the dominating display, the former No. 1-ranked Swiss is still concerned about his return game for the final.

"I couldn't even get close to breaking him for almost two sets," Federer said. "Sure, that makes it maybe a bit worried, but it's something that happens quite frequently on grass. It actually also is what happened to me in Paris."

At the French Open, Haas won the opening two sets and held a break point late in the third set. If he had converted that point, the 31-year-old Haas would have served for the match and a chance to play in the quarterfinals.

"He just comes up with the goods, you know," said Haas, a three-time Australian Open finalist who has a surgically repaired right shoulder. "He can play defensive and turn it into offensive so quick, like no other player, and that makes him so extremely tough."

Federer went on to win that French Open, completing a career Grand Slam and tying him with Pete Sampras at 14 major titles. He took a little break after that win at Roland Garros, while Haas won a grass-court warmup tournament in Halle, Germany.

"I felt like, if I can get my chance and if I can use it, I can maybe do it," Haas said of Friday's match. "For him being on this occasion so many times, I feel like he just has the edge over everybody of just how he feels and how he has to play and what he has to do without thinking about it too much.

"And I think in the situation, sometimes like me today, sometimes I think maybe a little bit too much about what I want to do, and that can be the mistake sometimes."

-- Chris Lehourites

Venus faces lil' sis Serena in 4th Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England - Venus Williams is just about the perfect older sibling: She supports Serena endlessly, protects her fiercely and even lets her pick which bedroom she wants when they're on the road.

Where does Venus draw the line? At Grand Slam championships.

The sisters face each other again in a major final, meeting Saturday for the Wimbledon title for the fourth time.

"I'm happy for her to be in the final, but I have to face her and defeat her," Venus said after reaching her eighth final at the All England Club by routing top-ranked Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0. "I don't necessarily want her to lose, but for sure I want me to win."

After their showdown, the sisters become teammates for the doubles final, where they are the defending champions.

Besides having won five Wimbledon singles titles, beating Serena in last year's final, Venus is trying to become the first woman to win three straight championships since Steffi Graf from 1991-93.

"Even if she's not playing her best, just that fight she has, you're facing that," Venus said. "So there's so much to face when you play her. It's definitely a lot to get your mind around."

Serena showed her fight Friday, saving a match point against Elena Dementieva before winning 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6. The match, longer by time than any Wimbledon women's semifinal or final on record, was one of the most exciting of this year's tournament.

But if that was tough, wait until Serena faces an opponent that has won 20 consecutive matches on Wimbledon's manicured lawns, the last 17 in straight sets.

"You know, it's not the easiest opponent on grass," Serena said. "I hope I win. Obviously, if I do, I'll be really, really excited. So we'll see."

Off the court, the sisters often share an apartment for Wimbledon, and sibling rivalry doesn't really come into play when it comes to choosing the better room.

"I always defer. She picks first," said Venus, noting that back home in Florida their rooms are the same size. "It makes me happy. You know, I want her to pick."

On the court, things get more intense when they're on opposite sides of the net.

"I feel very calm, actually," said Venus, who is 2-5 against Serena in Grand Slam finals. "But, of course, I'm going to bring the tough feet to the court."

For Serena, it's just more of the same.

"We're used to being in this position now, so we pretty much have it down," Serena said Friday after she and Venus beat top-seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-1, 6-2 to reach Saturday's doubles final, where they will face Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.

But even though Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 Wimbledon singles finals, she already feels like the underdog against a player trying to win her sixth Venus Rosewater Dish.

"I feel like going into this final I have nothing to lose," said Serena, who is 27 years old, two years younger than Venus. "I feel like obviously she's playing the best tennis at this tournament."

Saturday's final will pit two players with two of the best serves on tour, and both had them working pretty well in the semifinals. Venus holds the tour record for fastest serve at 129 mph, though she had only five aces against Safina. Serena, however, smacked a tournament-high 20 aces against Dementieva.

"I definitely owe this win to my serve," Serena said, referring to her victory over the fourth-seeded Russian. "I lost serve a couple times, but when it was key and it was time for me to hold serve, I was able to hold serve."

Against each other, there are no secrets. The sisters have been coached by their father, Richard, and mother, Oracene Price, since the beginning.

"We both play such a similar game. I mean, we had the same teacher," Venus said. "But what I can tell you is the same is the respect that we have for each other on and off the court."

Serena - with 10 major titles, three more than her sister - does feel that Venus has a little something that she would like to emulate.

"Her positive attitude," Serena said. "I get negative a lot. I think it creates who I am as a person, but it's good to stay positive and stay calm."

-- Chris Lehourites

NOTEBOOK: Andy Murray fails to reach 1st Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England - With an often boisterous crowd fully behind him, it was the man in front of Andy Murray that kept the third-ranked Scot from becoming the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final in 71 years.

Murray didn't play poorly in his 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) loss to Andy Roddick, far from it. He even gave the thousands of fans on Centre Court plenty to scream and cheer about throughout the match. But when it came to the points that mattered the most, Roddick was the one who stepped up.

"I had a few chances in the first tiebreak. I had chances early in the third set," said Murray, who had been 6-2 against Roddick before the match. "I didn't take them."

Both players were solid on serve, and Murray had the better numbers on paper with more aces and winners than Roddick, and fewer unforced errors.

"It just came down to a few points here or there on his serve," Murray said. "And he served really, really well."

Murray played the match under a huge amount of pressure. He entered Centre Court trying to become the first British player to reach the Wimbledon men's final since Bunny Austin in 1938. The last British man to win the title was Fred Perry in 1936, and if Murray could have beaten Roddick, Queen Elizabeth II might have been in the Royal Box to see him play Roger Federer in Sunday's final.

"I put obviously pressure on myself to play well. I don't think there was any sort of moments where I felt too tight to sort of go for shots," Murray said. "I maybe made a couple of mistakes that I shouldn't have in the first tiebreak."

But to get into that tiebreaker, Murray had to bounce back from a 5-2 deficit. He held to get to 5-3, and then broke Roddick to get back on serve. Murray then even held a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

"I played well," said Murray, who reached the U.S. Open final last year but lost to Federer. "Unfortunately, the last few Slams that I've lost I've come up against some guys that have played great, great tennis."

Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open and reached the Wimbledon final in 2004 and ‘05, losing to Federer both times.

Heading into this particular match on Centre Court, however, Roddick was facing more than just Murray.

"I knew going in that getting all hyped up ... especially in an atmosphere that probably wasn't going to be super favorable to me, wasn't probably the way to go," Roddick said. "And especially he was probably going to have the edge as far as, kind of, the adrenaline and the emotion.

"So I kind of just wanted to stay the course. I was fully aware that there might be ups and downs," Roddick added. "I just wanted to kind of keep the same face regardless."

Murray did get cheers throughout the match, but the fans really grew loud when Murray mounted his third-set comeback.

"Obviously, when it gets to the big points, the important sort of moments in the match, it's great to have the support," Murray said. "They were excellent the whole tournament with me. Hopefully I'll have the same support again next year."

Before the next Wimbledon tournament, though, Murray will return to New York, the scene of his one and only Grand Slam final.

"I'll move on very, very quickly and go and work on my game and improve and come back stronger," Murray said. "I've had a very good year so far. I'm very close to the top of the game. The U.S. Open, I've always said is my best surface, my best chance to win a slam, and I'll give it my best shot there."

DOUBLES FINAL

After Venus and Serena Williams play for the Wimbledon singles title on Centre Court for the second straight year, they'll team up to defend their doubles title on the same piece of grass Saturday.

The defending champions reached the final at the All England Club by beating top-seeded Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States 6-1, 6-2 Friday.

"I think that we were really ready," Serena said. "We've been playing doubles a lot, even though we don't play every tournament."

The Williams sisters have won 13 career doubles titles together, including eight Grand Slam trophies and the 2000 and 2008 Olympic gold medals.

"We actually have that team camaraderie," Serena said. "We've been getting a lot of experience, and we know what to do doubles-wise."

In the final, Venus and Serena will face third-seeded Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs. The Australians beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals.

In between the singles final and the women's doubles, another pair of American siblings will play for a Wimbledon title on the Fourth of July - Bob and Mike Bryan.

The twins will face Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in the men's doubles final.

BOYS' FINAL

Jordan Cox of Duluth, Ga., reached the boys' final at Wimbledon on Friday by beating pal Devin Britton of Jackson, Miss., 6-3, 6-7 (5), 16-14.

"Devin and I, we're very good friends. We're practically brothers, to be honest," the 17-year-old Cox said. "It was tough to go out there and play each other today but, obviously, it was the semifinal of Wimbledon and we both wanted to win very badly."

Cox was born in the United States, but his parents only recently became American citizens. His father, Richard, is from New Zealand, which he represented in under-21 cricket and rugby. His mother, Julie, was born in Zimbabwe but is South African.

In Sunday's final, Cox will play Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia, who upset third-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (6).

"I don't know much about him and I think he would say the same about me," Cox said. "We did warm up one up together once this week."

Wimbledon at a glance

WIMBLEDON, England - A look at Wimbledon on Friday:

Weather: Clouds giving way to sun, high of 75 degrees.

Attendance: 31,078, a decrease of 192 from the second Friday in 2008.

Men's Semifinals: No. 2 Roger Federer beat No. 24 Tommy Haas 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3, No. 6 Andy Roddick beat No. 3 Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5).

Men's Final Sunday: Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick.

Stat of the Day: 0 - Number of break points faced by Federer.

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes there's not a whole lot you can do with that." - Murray, speaking about Roddick's serve, which reached a tournament-high 143 mph.

On Court Saturday: No. 2 Serena Williams vs. No. 3 Venus Williams in the women's final.

Saturday's Forecast: Cloudy with a chance of rain, high of 73 degrees.

Saturday's TV: NBC, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On the Web: http://www.wimbledon.org

Elsewhere

Anna Kournikova out for the season

ST. LOUIS - Anna Kournikova will miss the rest of the season with a wrist injury.

World Team Tennis said Kournikova made her decision after experiencing pain from tenosynovitis while practicing for what would have been her seventh season with the league.

The St. Louis Aces player has not responded to therapy or a series of cortisone shots.

Kournikova said in a news release that she is "extremely disappointed" that she won't be able to compete this year. She said she planned to work on her rehabilitation and looked forward to next year's season.

She still plans to travel with her team to matches in Philadelphia on Monday, Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Springfield on July 10 and St. Louis on July 11.

Sullivan hired as Ark. women's tennis assistant

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The women's tennis program at Arkansas has a new paid assistant who will be a familiar face to some players, SMU assistant coach Patrick Sullivan.

The Razorback program announced Sullivan's hiring in a news release Friday.

According to the release, Sullivan has been at SMU for the past two years, and before that served as a volunteer assistant at Arkansas.

A 2002 graduate of Texas A&M, Sullivan was a volunteer assistant with the Aggies from 2002-04, working with the strength and conditioning staff, before first coming to Arkansas.