Day 11 commentary

A detailed look back at the 11th day of this year's Wimbledon.

1940 A good effort from Murray and Huber but they just came off second best. I'm sure Murray will admit he wasn't at the top of his game today. That ends our live coverage for today. Be sure to join us tomorrow lunchtime. We'll start off the text commentary around 1300, although play in the ladies' singles final doesn't start until 1400. Of course, it's Venus v Serena. Send us your views on that clash - and the men's final which will be between Federer and Nadal - to: andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1936 A second chance for Bryan to serve it out and this time he comes up with an ace past Murray. The Briton's dream of defending the title is over. Bryan and Stosur win 2-6 7-6 (7/1) 6-4.

1935 One point later and it's match point. However, after a tense net exchange, Murray puts away a backhand volley. That's better from the Scot.

1934 Both are saved though. Murray goes long on the second with a volley.

1933 Huber takes control of a rally and almost barges Murray aside before putting away a smash. 15-40 and a chance to break back!

1929 Bryan gets lucky on return and sends a shot down the line which brings up a break point on Murray's serve. And then the Briton serves up a double fault - the second serve looping up off the net cord and going long. Oh dear. Bryan will now serve for the match and a place in the final at 5-4.

1926 Again Stosur hangs tough and saves break point before holding. That's the second service game in a row she's come under threat. 4-4 and on we go.

1925 Murray and Huber force deuce and then earn a break point. But a good serve from Stosur and a poor volley from Murray see it saved.

1920 A solid service game from Huber brings a love hold. Just what the doctor ordered. Now the pressure switches to Stosur's shoulders.

1917 The final set moves on to 3-3. Huber to serve now so a big game to come.

1911 Some superb serving from Stosur gets her partnership out of trouble. They hold and it's 2-2 in this final set.

1909 Both break points are saved - the second with an ace from the Australian.

1908 A chance to break for Murray and Huber. With Stosur serving, Bryan nets a volley and it's 15-40.

1905 Huber holds for a 2-1 lead. It's always vital the female can hang in there in mixed doubles as the other team will often target her. A good start to this set by Murray and Huber.

1902 The final set starts with two comfortable holds. 1-1.

1854 Another volley error from Murray - he's had a bit of a shocker in this tie-break - and it's five set points. The first is taken and so into a final set they go.

1853 Now it's 5-1 after Murray slaps a volley beyond the baseline. They change ends.

1852 Stosur holds her two service points to make it 4-1 and the Briton has it all to do.

1851 Bryan and Stosur gain the early mini-break thanks to a big forehand off a short ball by Bryan.

1849 Murray make a volley when the ball was hit straight at him to win the game. 6-6. Tie-break. Murray and Huber took the first set remember.

1847 Again Huber stands firm with a good serve helping save the set point.

1846 Murray is all over the net to save it but another chance follows with a forehand angled out into the tramlines from Bryan.

1845 Murray goes long with a volley at 30-30 to hand set point to Bryan and Stosur.

1841 Huber will have to hold at 5-6 to force a tie-break. She's about to step up on Centre.

1838 This time Murray stands firm on his serve and levels the set up at 5-5. Looks like he's determined to defend the title he won with Jelena Jankovic last year.

1835 Bryan steps up to serve out the set at 5-3 but is broken for the first time today with Murray and Huber playing a fine game.

1828 Stosur holds and that will probably be good enough for this match to be levelled up it's now 5-2 in favour of Bryan and Stosur.

1819 Huber holds from 15-40 down to keep herself and Murray in the second set. They trail 3-1.

1815 From Manchester, Nathan Gratrix writes: "I think the Nadal-Federer final will be a classic again. Both are playing at the top of their games and I can see it going all the way - three sets to two and Federer wins final set 10-8. I can't wait, love these match ups between the big two."

1812 Bad news for Murray fans. The left-hander has just dumped a volley into the net to lose his serve. That was Bryan and Stosur's first break point and they made it count. They lead 2-0 in the second set.

1806 Huber serves out and the American and the Briton take the set 6-2. The Bryan-Stosur team looks out of sorts and need to hit back now.

1802 Murray and Huber are flying. Again they take advantage of Stosur's weaker serve - in contrast Bryan really blasts it down - and now Huber will serve for the first set at 5-2.

1759 Huber backed up that break by holding and it's now 3-2 in favour of 'Team Murray'.

1756 Hasan Housein says: "Just wanted to say that I totally agree with everything you've said. Jon doesn't know what he's talking about. I would compare the Nadal and Federer rivalry to the Cassius Clay-Joe Fraiser rivalry. It doesn't get any better than this!"

1753 A good start for Murray and Huber. They strike in the third game, breaking Stosur's serve for an early break. 2-1 they lead.

1745 Murray and Liezel Huber are under way on Centre in their mixed doubles semi-final. They are facing Bob Bryan, a US Davis Cup winner, and Samantha Stosur, of Australia.

1733 The Federer, Nadal fans are hitting back. Phil Darcy says: "I would love nothing more than a Nadal-Federer final. I want to see a world-class match played by undoubtedly the two best players in the world. On another point, how good will Nadal eventually be? For me he has the potential to be the best ever. We are truly lucky to be able to watch possibly the two best ever players compete against each other time and time again." He's certainly good but for him to be rated a true great at Wimbledon, Nadal needs to win this title. Perhaps he'll do so on Sunday. More generally, I made this point yesterday, but I feel Nadal really needs to start making an impact on the hardcourts. In each of the last two years he's done little in North America and that's not something you can say about Federer. If he wants that number-one ranking, Nadal must get a good US Open under his belt this year. For those of you who don't know, he's yet to get to even the semis in New York.

1730 Someone else who agrees with me is Corinne. "Andy, what amazing commentary! You really are keeping me entertained on what would be rather a dull Friday. Keep up the good work." No, I didn't make that one up. And I will keep up the good work - next up is Jamie Murray in his mixed doubles semi-final. We'll keep an eye on that one too.

1728 I'm glad to hear Nadal himself agrees with me! "Today it wasn't my best match here but I won in three sets and that's very important for me. I'm in the final with very good confidence."

1724 Having witnessed the two semi-finals, I'd say Federer was the more impressive today. Nadal wasn't at his best today, certainly he didn't play as well as against Andy Murray, but he still had too much for Schuettler, despite the German's efforts in that second set. Perhaps that ca be put down to the fact that he knew even at 90 per cent he'd be too good for Schuettler. Anyway, Sunday's final has all the ingredients for another classic. I stick with Federer in five. Your thoughts? andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1722 Schuettler can't control his return and it sails out.Nadal wins 6-1 7-6 6-4 and will play Roger Federer in Sunday's final. It will be the third year in a row those two have meet in the showpiece match.

1721 Back to the forehand winners for Nadal. That one takes him to 40-0 and three more match points.

1718 Five points in a row from Schuettler! He holds, Nadal again miscuing into the net. Nadal will have to serve it out. 5-4 he leads in this third set.

1717 As if to prove he's human - my colleague insists he isn't - Nadal dumps a shot deep into the net. Less than halfway up. Then he cracks the tape and ball drops on his side. And Schuettler gets back to deuce when Nadal goes long.

1716 An awful start from the German. Then a drop shot into the net hands Nadal three match points at 0-40.

1715 Nadal is now 5-3 up and Schuettler is about to serve to stay alive.

1713 Jon Wall is happy to agree with Michael. "I totally agree with Michael Rosbotham's point. I watched the final last year simply because of the historical factor. Another Nadal-Federer final really does not capture the imagination. Look at the drama of the whole Euro 2008 tournament where there is seeding but only with regards to how the groups are compiled. Would Turkey and Greece in 2004 have progressed as they did if they were guaranteed to play increasingly difficult opponents the whole way through? Truly bored of Wimbledon this year, Murray's win over Gasquet as the exception." OK, Jon. But if you watched last year's final I urge you to do the same again this year. It should be great. And there's more history to be made. A Federer win will see him become the first man since the 1880s to win six in a row.

1709 Schuettler falls down break point - a virtual match point - but Nadal can't scoop his backhand into the court. From there, Schuettler steels himself and holds. 4-3 Nadal with a break.

1707 Mixed doubles news and Mike Bryan and Katarina Srebotnik, the top seeds, are into the final. They've beaten Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-2. Mike could face twin Bob in the final. However, Briton Jamie Murray will have something to say about that. Murray and Liezel Huber will face Bryan and Saantha Stosur on Centre after the Nadal match has finished. That could be quite soon.

1704 Nadal 4-2 now and just two games away from another meeting with arch rival Roger Federer.

1659 No problems there for Schuettler, a vital hold. 3-2 now. However, time is running out for Schuettler. He needs to find a break soon. He did manage once in the second set but he desperately needs another.

1657 Another easy hold for Nadal, sealed with a booming forehand winner - his 18th of the match. 3-1 the Spaniard leads in this third set.

1656 andy.schooler@bskyb.com is the email address for any further comments.

1654 Awww. Nadal has a grazed knee - he recently changed shoes as he was slipping too often - and wants some ice brought to the court. Whateer Nadal says gets done.

1652 A superb forehand down the line - hit with two feet off the ground - is the highlight as Nadal breaks serve. Schuettler sends a forehand into the tramlines and falls 2-1 down. That's the death knell you'd have thought.

1649 Both players hold easily at the start of the third set. Nadal hit one forehand at over 100mph in that second game!

1645 Going back to Mark's point, Michael Rosbotham has an idea to get new faces into the final. "Surely a change to the seeding system in tennis would give other players a chance to win majors, how exciting would it if Federer had to play Nadal in the first round? Why should the top seeds get easy games in the first, second an third rounds because the draws are technically fixed?" Two points on that - the players feel their ranking enititles them to a seeding at the big events. Secondly, I think the organisers want the best players meeting each other in the later rounds. Darts has a tournament which has an open draw - a la the FA Cup - so perhaps tennis could try it out somewhere. It wouldn't be popular with the players, I can tell you.

1642 Schuettler sends a backhand wide and Nadal has a two-set lead. A good effort from Schuettler in that set but he really needed to serve it out when he had the chance. Expect Nadal to race through this third set now.

1641 Nadal produces two unreturnables to move into a 6-3 lead - three set points.

1638 An over-the-shoulder backhand lands just in to keep Schuettler's hopes alive but Nadal then wins his two service points to open a 4-1 lead. It's 4-2 at the change of ends, Nadal still with that mini-break.

1636 A wide forehand from Schuettler gives Nadal the early mini-break at 2-0.

1634 A confident love game from Schuettler gets us into the tie-break. He surely must win this to stand any chance of an upset.

1631 An easy love hold for Nadal and he now leads 6-5 having won eight points in a row. The pressure is now on the German.

1630 Catherine, also from London, believes "Schuettler is out for revenge after Spain winning the football". Spain certainly were too good last Sunday. But despite Schuettler's efforts in this set, another defeat for Germany surely beckons.

1628 No, no no! Schuettler pushes a forehand long to fall 15-40 down. And he repeats the error, trying to get too much top-spin on a low ball. Nadal breaks back and you feel that could be him back in control. 5-5 is the score in the second set now. First set Nadal.

1626 Ruairi O'Brien makes an interesting point. "Schuettler's comeback is a making a mockery of some people's argument that Murray was just 'too tired' against Nadal. They are professional athletes after all." I should point out that Murray himself said tiredness had nothing to do with his loss to Nadal.

1624 Nadal gets his forehand working well to hold to 15 and forces Schuettler to serve out the set. The German will step up with the balls in his hand at 5-4.

1621 Nadal's struggling to get back on terms in this set. That was another confident game from Schuettler. He holds for 5-3 and this is crunch time for the second seed.

1619 Gabriel Emordi is next up. He says: "Mark is clearly not much of a fan of the game. Whenever people say they are tired of seeing the same old, etc, etc, i.e. the best, competing in finals, it can be taken that they would rather see Federer beating Schuettler in double quick time in a non event. Finals are for the best players. If no one else is good enough, a true fan should be happy to watch the best that the sport has to offer battling it out, not one top-class player knocking over someone who got lucky." Don't want to gang up on your, Mark, but I tend to agree with Gabriel.

1616 Schuettler threatens again, moving to 15-30 with a delightful drop volley. But Nadal stands firm with three confident points from that stage. That's the stuff of a champion.

1614 Jarrod Kirkland has been on and says he wants Nadal to claim the title. "It would be great to see Nadal win. It would be a breath of fresh air for the sport to have Nadal take the title - it may signal the start of a great rivalry which is sadly missing at the moment. I personally think it is needed to bring Federer back down to earth as well. He was generally been quite humble in glory however since France i have noticed he has become quite cock-sure of himself - very weird considering he came off quite a pasting."

1611 A string of winners from Schuettler, including a superb off forehand, take him to 40-0.Nadal gets one point back but the German holds for 4-2. That was Schuettler's best game of the match.

1608 The stats show a main reason why this has turned around. Nadal made just one unforced error in the first set. He already has eight in this set. However, he holds to 30 to cut the deficit to 3-2.

1604 Schuettler wins a third straight game for a 3-1 lead. A bit of a turn up for the books this. Perhaps Mark will get his wish!

1600 Mark James, of London, emails and isn't too enamoured by the prospect of a Federer-Nadal final. "Don't know about you, but I'd certainly like to see someone else in the Wimbledon final for a change. The Williams sisters in one, and Federer v Nadal in the other? is that the future of tennis...that only one or two people are honestly capable of winning major trophies, whilst the others i.e Andy Murray make themselves millionaires without ever winning a major event? Sickening!" Well, I see your point but I doubt most will agree with you. Federer-Nadal was a classic final last year and could be the same again this season. On a more general point, I'd agree it's not great to continually see the same players in the major finals. But it's up to the likes of Murray to raise their level and compete. Novak Djokovic has done it, winning in Australia this year. On the women's side, Williams-Williams was a bit boring around 2002/3 but their dominance had the effect of bringing on the likes of Justine Henin. I don't see them dominating the whole tour again as they did then, it's just on grass they are the best. Anyone want to respond? andy.schooler@bskyb.com is the email address.

1558 One is saved but Schuettler comes up with a forehand crosscourt to make the breakthrough. He leads 2-1 with a break. Now we have a match!

1557 Schuettler comes to the net and Nadal, for once, can't make the pass. It's 15-40 and two break points to the German.

1553 Schuettler goes long and that hands Nadal another break point. It's saved with the German getting pumped up about that fact. A big serve and a long Nadal forehand later and he's levelled at 1-1, second set.

1551 For those of you who don't know, Nadal is the reigning four-time French Open champion. That's played on clay which is his domain, but he's not doing a bad job on the grass either. Rarely have players managed to conquer both surfaces - Federer for example has yet to win in Paris - and Nadal is looking to become the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year.

1549 Nadal takes the opening game of the second set with an ace sealing the game.

1548 The address for any further comments: andy.schooler@bskyb.com. Tell me your views on tomorrow's ladies' singles final.

1545 Ian Griffin emails with a valid point. "I see that Schuettler has won only(!) £80,500 so far this year. The £187K he gets for qualifying for the semis should be a nice enough pressie to take home even if he continues to get pasted by Nadal today." Not bad for a couple of weeks' work that's for sure, Ian! The singles winners get £750,000 for those who wanted to know - up from £700,000 last year.

1543 A raking forehand winner from Nadal - his favourite shot - brings up two set points. One is saved with a big serve but then Schuettler dumps a forehand barely halfway up the net. Nadal takes the first set 6-1 in just 22 minutes. Outclassed is the word. Again.

1540 Nadal holds to love for a 5-1 lead. Just one more game for the first set required fro the second seed.

1537 Schuettler is on the board with a hold to 30. A big cheer goes up on Centre Court. 4-1.

1536 Nestor and Zimonjic have won that men's doubles semi - 8-6 in the fifth against Dlouhy and Paes. The second seeds will play Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in tomorrow's final.

1533 Schuettler gets to 30-30 on the Nadal serve but can't get any further. A forehand into the net allows Nadal to hold and it's 4-0.

1530 For those of you who don't know much about Schuettler, I'd better tell you now before he's off court again. He's now 32 and in the twlight of his career. He reached the Australian Open final in 2003 (losing to Andre Agassi) and a year later hit a career-hight of fifth in the world rankings. However, of late he's struggled. He's currently ranked 94th in the world and came into this tournament with a record of 4-13 on the ATP Tour.

1528 Nadal looks just way too good. A sensational backhand crosscourt winner from well behind the baseline takes him to 0-40 is followed by a blocked return which he manages to guide into the corner past the onrushing Schuettler. 3-0 with a double break.

1525 Textbook opening service game from the Spaniard. Two service winners, one big forehand winner and one volley. A love hold and already it's 2-0 Nadal.

1521 Oh dear. Not a good start. He falls down 0-40 as Nadal gets things going fromt he back of the court. One break point is saved with an ace but the German then sprays a forehand wide. Nadal with the immediate break. Is the writing already on the wall?

1519 OK, here we go. Schuettler to serve first against second seed Nadal. If the German wins, this will be one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.

1515 Over on Court One, the second men's doubles final is nearing a conclusion. Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes are playing Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic and it's on serve in the fifth and final set.

1510 The players are just starting their warm-up. Perhaps they were taken slightly by surprise by the ease of Federer's win.

1505 Now the focus is on Schuettler v Nadal. Rafa is a white-hot favourite - 1/100 with some bookies. That's amazing for a Grand Slam semi. But is it any wonder? Nadal looked awesome against Andy Murray the other night and that win was his 22nd consecutive victory on the tour. Also in his favour is the fact that Schuettler needed five hours to win his quarter-final. Most of that match took place yesterday after rain on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nadal had his feet up. I'm giving the German seven games.

1500 Let's hear your views on Federer's performance - and his chances in the final. Email me: andy.schooler@bskyb.com. If you want to know, I'm sticking with Federer to keep his crown.

1457 Federer has just issued a warning to his detractors. "Don't write me off too quickly," he says. "This is my part of the season - Wimbledon, Olympics, US Open." After his efforts in SW19 so far, it seems a long time ago that he was winning just four games against Nadal in the French Open final.

1455 Federer with play either Rafael Nadal or Rainer Schuettler in the final. They will be on Centre Court shortly.

1453 It was another highly impressive performance from Federer today. Another straight-sets win means he has yet to drop a set at this year's tournament. He was 8/1 to win the title without dropping a set a fortnight ago. That's not the case now. His serve was spot on today and Safin was unable to break serve. That's three matches in a row that Federer has held serve throughout in.

1450 Federer moves to 30-40 on the Safin serve to bring up match point. A net cord then works again Safin and allows Federer to rip a superb backhand winner crosscourt. It's over and Federer is into a sixth straight Wimbledon final. He wins 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 6-4.

1448 Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur will play the Williams' sisters in that ladies' doubles final. They've just beaten Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-3 6-3. Huber will be back in action later with Jamie Murray for their mixed doubles semi.

1446 There goes Safin's racquet. He slams it into the turf and then, after Federer moves ahead 5-4, rams it into the chair as he goes to sit down. It's no surprise to see him pick up a code violation. This is the Safin we know and love!

1444 A 12th ace from Safin helps him to another easy hold. 4-4 and still no signs of a break in this set. There was just the one break point which Federer saved earlier. Federer leads the ace count 14-12 by the way.

1441 Safin holds and Federer duly follows suit. The top seed leads 4-3 now. Can he now grab the break which will surely finish this match off? Schuettler and Nadal could be out here soon...

1437 Federer tries a 'hot dog' - between the legs - shot after the ball goes long. Is he showboating a little for the crowd now?

1435 Safin gets to 30-30 on the Federer serve but then sees a forehand fly past him. The muttering continues from the Russian who duly loses the next point too. 3-2 Federer.

1431 He holds on to his serve and levels at two games all. Federer took the first two sets for those of you just joining us.

1430 They say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. Safin is doing so right now as he expresses his frustration. I can tell you Safin has been nicknamed the 'Mad Monk' for many years though. It seems to work. He staves off break point with another big serve.

1426 More easy holds on Centre and it's now 2-1 Federer. That last game saw Safin come close to boiling over. A primal scream echoes around the arena. Surely a racquet will be smashed by the Russian soon!

1424 As Federer holds to 30 in the opening game of the third set, James English emails to say: "I think Roger Federer is going to win today, and I think we might truly find out on Sunday how good he actually is. He has been struggling of late with the clay courts so I think he will like to show Nadal how to play on grass (assuming Nadal wins his semi). Win or lose this week at Wimbledon, Federer needs to go and get a new coach or something new to work hard for a solid year on getting his clay court game right, he has nothing more to prove on grass!" You're right - he has nothing to prove on grass. But as for the coach, I think part of the problem is what do you say to improve Federer? He worked with Jose Higueras during the clay season to bid to improve on dirt but he still couldn't stop Nadal. It should be remembered though that Federer is still the second best claycourt player in the world right now - behind one of the all-time greats.

1422 Safin has tried to attack the net regularly today but it's not brought him the success he craves. He's won a fair number of points with volleys, but not enough to stop te Federer bandwagon. Can anyone see him coming back from two sets down? Answers to andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1420 The Williams sisters have just completed a 6-3 6-3 victory over Dechy and Dellacqua. They are into the final of the ladies' doubles too ad a title double beckons.

1419 An ace from Safin saves one but with the balls back in his hand, Federer responds with an ace of his own to open up a two-set lead. He takes the breaker 7-3.

1418 Safin gets one of the mini-breaks back with a big forehand which forces an error from Federer. But a clean forehand winner from the Swiss brings him four set points.

1417 Another shanked Safin forehand makes it 5-1 to Federer at the change of ends.

1416 Federer moves 4-0 ahead to take full control.

1414 Safin dumps a backhand into the net on the first point to hand an early mini-break to the top seed.

1413 Federer takes us into the tie-break with another love hold. You'd think Safin needs to win this to stand any chance of turning this match around.

1410 We really have seen some excellent serving today so far. Now Safin holds to love to lead 6-5. Funnily enough, Safin is winning more points on Federer's first serve than on his second.

1409 Federer, likewise, show no signs of nerves with a love hold. What did you expect from the world number one? 5-5.

1406 No signs of tension from Safin there. An easy hold to 15 and he leads 5-4.

1403 Safin gets to 30-30 but no further. An awful Hawk-eye challenge from the Russian brings laughter from the crowd - and his opponent. The Swiss levels and 4-4. Now we're getting to the business end of this set.

1400 Safin digs in to hold for a 4-3 lead. A relief for the Russian that. We're struggling for viewpoints today. What do you think of the men's semis? And how about tomorrow's ladies' final? Venus is leading our 'who will win' poll so far. Send me your thoughts to: andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1358 Safin sends a forehand into the tramlines to fall break point down again. That wing is still not working to its full effect. However, a 126mph ace recovers the situation.

1355 With the exception of that fourth game, serve really has dominated for the past 20 minutes or so. Now Federer holds to 15. A look at the stats and it's no surprise. Federer is getting 70 per cent of his first serves in, Safin 71.

1352 A Safin ace seals game five. He holds to 15 and leads 3-2 in the second set. He's certainly improved since that shaky start but hasn't been able to break serve despite getting close in the previous game.

1351 Over on Court One, the Williams sisters have taken the opening set of the ladies' doubles semi 6-3 against Dechy and Dellacqua. A win in that one wouldn't be bad preparation for tomorrow's singles final, would it?

1350 A shout of 'come on' greets Federer closing out the game with a big first serve which his opponent can't return. 2-2 and a big hold for the champion.

1349 Safin earns another break chance. However, another crunching forehand comes to the Swiss' rescue.

1347 A Federer slice into the net hands Safin his first break point. But a fine second serve sets up the rest of the point and Federer ends it by putting away a forehand winner.

1344 Federer fights back from 40-0 to 40-30 on the Safin serve, but the Russian finishes things off to move 2-1 up in the second set.

1341 British success! Robson completes a 6-2 7-5 win over Tabakova and will now play Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in tomorrow's final of the girls' singles.

1340 Again, Federer holds easily. A Safin Hawk-eye challenge earns him on point, but that's all. Federer takes the game with another swinger out wide in the deuce court. That serve is causing all sorts of problems.

1338 Another forehand error from Safin does not prove costly. He holds to 15. The Russian will need to cut out the unforced mistakes though. In contrast, Federer made just one in the opening set.

1335 But another ace out wide - Sampras-esque - takes Federer to set point. And another finishes the job. First set to the champion 6-3 after 25 minutes. Safin just can't find an answer to his awesome serving.

1334 A chance for Safin. He comes to the net to make a volley and move to 30-30 for the first time.

1333 Over on Court Three, Robson and Tabakova are now at 5-5 in the second set.

1332 Safin with a comfortable hold this time and Federer will serve for the set at 5-3. He's had little trouble so far on serve.

1328 The Federer first serve again picks up easy points. A hold to 15 and Safin is struggling to get the delivery back in play. 5-2 Federer leads.

1326 Safin seems to be finding his feet now. He slaps away a volley at the net to reduce the deficit to 4-2. Still, the fact is Federer didn't need a few games to get his eye in and looks well on his way to opening a one-set lead.

1323 Federer's first serve is hardly shabby though is it? Safin finally wins a point on the Swiss maestro's serve but just the one. It's another easy hold for the champion who has started very well in this one.

1321 Two aces from Safin get him on the board with a hold to 30. He does have a fine first serve when he's in the groove. But already he has work to do. Federer to serve at 3-1.

1319 Robson has retreived that break in her girls' singles semi. The Briton now leads by a set and 4-3.

1318 Another love hold for Federer and already this is looking one-way traffic. Remember you send us your views on this match and Schuettler-Nadal which is coming up later to: andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1315 Another long forehand from Safin - he has early problems on that wing - brings up a second break point. This one is taken with a crunching forehand from Federer forcing an error from the Russian. 2-0 and the early signs are ominous for Safin.

1313 A couple of forehand errors from Safin see him fall 30-40 down, but Federer wastes the break point with a wide backhand.

1311 A rapid hold and great start for the champion. Some big serves, including a first ace, see him hold to love.

1310 Federer serves first - asked to after Safin won the toss.

1307 Over on Court Three, Laura Robson has fallen 3-1 down in the second set. She won the first in that girls' singles semi though.

1305 Talking of doubles, Jamie Murray is back in action today. He and Liezel Huber are due to play their semi-final against Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur on Centre Court after the two men's semis. However, it could be moved if those singles matches go on a long time.

1302 We've had an email in about the ladies' singles final - Venus v Serena. That's due to start at 1400 tomorrow. The user in question seems to be getting confused. A look at the order of play shows the Williams sisters are in action today - they are about to start their doubles semi-final against Nathalie Dechy and Casey Dellacqua on Court One.

1300 Bang on time, as always, Roger Federer and Marat Safin walk on to Centre Court. They are about to begin their warm up.

1255 What is there to say about Rainer Schuettler v Rafael Nadal. Can anyone really see past Nadal in three? He looked awesome against Andy Murray the other night. Schuettler, meanwhile, took more than five hours to get past Arnaud Clement in his quarter-finals, that match only finishing last night. The 32-year-old will have to show miraculous powers to recovery to even get close to probably the fittest player on the ATP Tour.

1245 Robson has taken the first set of her semi-final by six games to two. A great start for the left-handed British youngster.

1232 Out on Court Three, Robson has an early break and a 4-1 lead in her girls' singles semi-final.

1225 OK, let's look ahead to Federer-Safin which promises to be the pick of today's matches. Safin is some talent, but he's always lacked the consistency - some say the dedication - to make the most of it. You have to give him some chance today - he is a two-time Grand Slam winner after all - but Federer has shown over the past 10 days that he is in no mood to surrender his title. Federer has served very well and didn't face a break point against Mario Ancic on Wednesday, the second match in a row in which he held serve throughout. Federer leads the head-to-head record 8-2, with the last two of those matches having come on grass and Federer winning both. Safin's most famous win came in a true classic in the 2005 Australian Open semis when he saved match point in the fourth set before winning in five. He went on to win the title in Melbourne but never returned to such heights. He's looked good here - the best I've seen him on grass - but the task is huge today. I go with Federer in straight sets.

1212 As already mentioned, it's men's semi-final day. I'll preview the two matches in due course, but I'd love to hear your views on the two matches or indeed tomorrow's ladies' singles final between Venus and Serena. Email your views to: andy.schooler@bskyb.com

1200 The players are just making their way to the outside courts for junior and veterans' matches. However, there is one match of note we'll keep an eye on. British youngster Laura Robson has made the semi-finals of the girls' singles and she's about to play that match against Slovak Romana Tabakova out on Court Three.

1155 Welcome to our coverage of day 11 of Wimbledon. It's men's semi-finals day with Roger Federer taking on Marat Safin at 1300 on Centre Court. That will be followed by Rainer Schuettler v Rafael Nadal. There's decent weather in SW19 and forecasters are hopeful of avoiding the showers which struck yesterday. Certainly we look set to start on time with play on the outside courts due to start at 1200.