Day 11 round-up

Top seeds victorious

Rafael Nadal will face defending champion Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final for the third year in a row. The world's top two players each won their semi-finals in straight sets, with Federer seeing off Marat Safin 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 and Nadal defeating Rainer Schuettler 6-1 7-6 (7/3) 6-4. Nadal, the four-time French Open champion, has dropped only one set on his way to the final and gave another demonstration of his awesome hitting power to outgun the unseeded Schuettler. Schuettler had come through a gruelling five-set quarter-final against Arnaud Clement - at five hours and 12 minutes the longest singles match of the fortnight - and he looked leggy as Nadal quickly assumed control of the match. The 32-year-old German briefly rallied in the second set and led 4-2 after a break of serve, but Nadal hit back in emphatic fashion and stole the set on a tie-break. The third set brought more big hitting from the Spaniard, who looked untroubled as he booked his place in the final. "I'm very happy to be in the final another time, Wimbledon is a very good tournament for me," Nadal said. "I will try to play my best tennis on Sunday. "Today maybe wasn't my best match here this year but I won in three sets which is very important for me. I'm in the final with very good confidence. "I know the best player in the world is on the other side of the net in Roger. I feel I have to play very well to have a chance to win. Anything can happen, I know he is playing well but I am playing well too. "Every year and every match is different, it depends how you get to the final, how you are feeling in that moment. Last year was very close, I hope on Sunday to have the same performance, maybe a little better, to have the chance to win and I hope to win this time. "If I win here it's probably going to be one of the most important wins in my career but I have to play my best tennis if I want chances to win this title." Earlier, Federer reached his sixth Wimbledon final with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Safin. Safin suggested before the match there was little prospect of him causing an upset and that is the way it proved as Federer dominated on Centre Court. After taking the first set 6-3, Federer then won a second-set tie-break to establish a commanding two-set advantage. He bided his time against an increasingly frustrated Safin in the third set, breaking serve in the 10th game to secure a victory which was much more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests. Federer was hammered by Nadal in the recent French Open final, winning just four games, but the world number one says that will have no bearing on Sunday's rematch. Federer said: "I don't think it matters really a lot if I'm the favourite or not. I'm on an incredible winning streak on grass. "First, somebody has to be able to break that. Rafa is a great competitor. He's got a winning record over me. Every time I play him I want to beat him. He's now become so good on all surfaces that he's a real threat. I enjoy the challenge. "That final (in Paris) is out of the picture. I hardly remember anything of it. It went so quickly. For me it's not really that big a problem." Nadal agreed. "It's a totally different court, different surface, everything is different," he said. "I think it doesn't matter, it won't be important for Sunday. "Always it's tough to play against Roger, we've played a lot in a lot of tough matches. I've lost the last two times here and I'm going to try my best to win. "I think I am a better player in general, but not on grass because I don't practise on it." Jamie Murray lost his grip on the mixed doubles title as he and Liezel Huber bowed out in the semi-finals. The British doubles specialist, partnered by the South African-born American, went down 2-6 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 to Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur on Centre Court. Bryan will face his twin, Mike, in Sunday's final. He progressed with partner Katarina Srebotnik, the top seeds beating Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-2. However, 14-year-old Laura Robson kept the British flag flying as she booked her place in the girls' singles final. The unseeded 14-year-old demolished Romana Tabakova 6-2 7-5 on a packed Court Three and will now face Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Meanwhile, Venus and Serena Williams will play in two finals at the weekend after winning their doubles semi-final. The 11th seeds, who will meet in the singles final for the third time on Saturday, beat Nathalie Dechy and Casey Dellacqua 6-3 6-3. The Americans will meet the 16th seeds Lisa Raymond and the aforementioned Stosur in the final. Raymond and Stosur were 6-3 6-3 winners over the top seeds Cara Black and Huber. In the men's doubles, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic completed a five-set victory over Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes. The second seeds won 7-6 4-6 6-1 4-6 8-6 and will face Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in Saturday's final.