On a weekend when some of the world's top performers descend on London's Hyde Park, Roger Federer remains the classiest act in town. Only a rash gambler or a huge optimist would bet against him taking his third Wimbledon men's singles title in a row tomorrow after a 6-3 6-4 7-6 semi-final triumph yesterday against Lleyton Hewitt which was as ruthless as it was stunning in its execution. It was the eighth time in a row Federer had beaten Hewitt, the Australian who is currently ranked No 2 in the world, who won the Wimbledon title three years ago and whose feisty strut suggested he was confident of causing an upset. But against Federer rankings and titles mean nothing, because on grass and on this form Federer is quite possibly the greatest player ever to grace Centre Court. True, he needs another five singles titles to match the Wimbledon haul of Pete Sampras, but fitness and health and continued desire might be all he needs to do just that. No question he possesses the talent as Hewitt was happy to concede. "I felt like I've lifted my game the last 18 months or so," said Hewitt, who notably refrains from his `C'mon' shrieks when he plays Federer. "I'm the second best player going around right at the moment. It's just that the best player going around is pretty good. "He served better than me. On his service games, he can rely on getting out of trouble if he's 15-30 down or love-30 with big first serves. "That's why he's the best player. He dictated play better than me. "That's basically where he got the win." In other words Federer is a man with no weakness, a contention backed up by the fact that this was his 35th consecutive win on grass. He is rapidly closing in on Bjorn Borg's record run of 41 matches and, according to Hewitt, still improving. "I felt like I hit the ball pretty well," said Hewitt. "But he puts a lot of pressure on your service games. He gives you few easy points. "That's been the biggest turnaround in his game over the last couple of years. "That's why he's really gone up a couple of notches because he used to give you a lot more cheap points on your service games. You just don't get those any more." The scary thing for Hewitt, and the rest of the tennis world, was that in the first set Federer managed only 37% of first serves. For most players that would mean the toughest of days at the office. For Federer percentages mean nothing. The pair swapped service breaks in the second and third games of the match but it was the sharp slice of Federer which upset the rhythm of Hewitt in the eighth game and brought the crucial break. At times Hewitt was employing all his speed and renowned powers of defence just to stay with the world No 1. The second set was little better for Hewitt, this time Federer choosing the fifth game to step into his overdrive gear. There was clearly extra juice on the Swiss groundstrokes but rarely can Hewitt have produced five unforced errors, all on his backhand, in the same game. Such is the pressure induced by Federer, a player who, like Sampras, picks his moments to deliver the coup de grace with uncanny timing. "I don't feel unbeatable," said Federer later. It just sometimes looks that way." Few have come back from two sets down against Federer but Hewitt was one of them, on the last occasion he beat him two years ago in an eventful Davis Cup tie. It never looked likely yesterday but Hewitt played his best tennis in that third set. An overrule in the sixth game which went against him, albeit correctly, further stirred his ambition and it seemed he had a real chance at 15-30 on the Federer serve in a very tight 12th game. Two Sampras-like aces put paid to that. The true mark of a worthy champion. The tie-break was little short of routine, Federer running out a 7-4 winner after which he punched the air gently and appeared to anoint all corners of the court with his trusty racket. And then the man Hewitt admitted is "up there with the greats" looked forward to the final. "The next match is huge to me," said Federer. "I'm very proud to be in my third Wimbledon final, it means a lot to me. "I was a little tense before the match and I didn't serve well in the beginning. But I'm happy the nerves do come up or I'm in the wrong sport. "I don't know if I played really great or just good. I'm just relieved and happy I coped with it today. "But I think this performance is definitely good enough to win Wimbledon." As for Hewitt's verdict on Sunday's final? "It's hard to go past Rodge," said Hewitt. "He's the best player in the world. Yeah, it would be very hard to go against him." That is an opinion highly likely to be based on fact when Federer steps on to centre court tomorrow. | 
