Scud makes a Mark with aces

Swiss craftsmanship and brute Australian force will collide in the Wimbledon men8217;s final on Sunday after Roger Federer and Mark Philipp...

Swiss craftsmanship and brute Australian force will collide in the Wimbledon men8217;s final on Sunday after Roger Federer and Mark Philippoussis produced displays of contrasting brilliance in Friday8217;s semi-finals.

Swiss fourth seed Federer gave a dazzling exhibition the like of which has seldom been seen on the All-England Club8217;s famous Centre Court as he destroyed American fifth seed Andy Roddick 7-6, 6-3, 6-3. In doing so the 21-year-old became the first man from Switzerland to reach a Grand Slam final. He will face the thunderous challenge of unseeded Australian Philippoussis, who buried French 13th seed Sebastien Grosjean under a battery of violent serves and clubbing ground strokes by the same score. Not since 1982, the era of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, have the two men8217;s semis been so one-sided.

8216;8216;It8217;s incredible,8217;8217; said Federer, whose best previous effort at a Grand Slam even was reaching the Wimbledon and French Open quarter-finals in 2001. 8216;8216;Right now it8217;s tough to understand what has been happening. I just played an incredible match today. This is my favourite tournament. It8217;s a dream.8217;8217;

RODDICK OUTCLASSED: Federer made him pay handsomely, surpassing even his memorable display of two years ago when, aged 19, he ended Pete Sampras8217;s 31-game unbeaten streak at Wimbledon. The stylish Swiss completely neutralised Roddick8217;s powergame with craft and touch of the highest order and he even out-aced the famed Roddick serve 17-4. He also out-volleyed, out-ran, out-passed and out-thought the American.

DIARY:
Of losses and unfinished pints

Washing down their sorrows
British tennis fans were left to wash away their sorrows after Tim Henman8217;s exit to Sebastien Grosjean by finishing off some of the 90,000 pints of beer and 80,000 half pints of pimms on offer at tournament bars across the fortnight. Going into the final weekend, fans have also chomped through an estimated 25,000 kilos of strawberies at two pounds three dollars a punnet.

Last orders for Henman arms
The London district of Barnes is to get its 8216;old8217; pub back after calling last orders to thirsty customers at the Henman Arms. Tim Henman8217;s exit from Wimbledon means the drinking hole named after him will go back to its old name of The Sun Inn.

Woody has a six pack
Australian doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge will have his work cut out if he wants to land the Wimbledon title this year. Rain in the second week has led to a serious backlog of matches 8211; and he may have to play six times before Sunday is out. The 32-year-old is into the mixed doubles third round alongside Svelana Kuznetsova 8211; but Woodbridge also had to wait for men8217;s doubles partner Jonas Bjorkman to go out of the singles to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals. To win both the doubles crowns he now has to work overtime.

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8216;8216;I got a drubbing from Andre Agassi once pretty bad and felt kind of helpless,8217;8217; Roddick admitted. 8216;8216;But I don8217;t think I have been beaten that convincingly when I felt like I went into the match thinking 8216;I8217;m playing well8217;.8217;8217;

The last Swiss player to win a Grand Slam event was the now-retired Martina Hingis, the 1999 Australian Open women8217;s singles champion. Hingis won five Grand Slams in all, including Wimbledon in 1997. If Federer8217;s win was an artistic masterpiece, Philippoussis8217;s victory was all about power as he annihilated Grosjean in the first match on Centre Court.

The 1998 US Open finalist crashed down 11 aces to take his tournament tally to 164 and unleashed a series of destructive forehand groundstrokes to sweep aside the 13th seed. Victory was a sweet moment for Philippoussis, who was confined to a wheelchair for two months after he underwent three operations on his left knee between January 2000 and March 2001.

8216;8216;God it8217;s weird. It feels like I was in a wheelchair yesterday but then it feels like I8217;ve been away for six years,8217;8217; said the 26-year-old. Doctors in New York told Philippoussis two years ago that he would not play again at the top level. 8216;8216;It8217;s very tough. I8217;ve been through a lot,8217;8217; he said.

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Philippoussis8217;s victory means an Australian will appear in the Wimbledon men8217;s final for the fourth year in a row after Pat Rafter in 2000 and 2001 and Lleyton Hewitt last year. His display reduced Grosjean to a cowering shadow of the player who had outclassed Britain8217;s Tim Henman in the quarter-finals on Friday.

With some under-statement, the Frenchman said: 8216;8216;Mark served big today, it was tough for me to return. I played pretty good against Tim but Mark8217;s serve was a little bit better than Tim8217;s.8217;8217; Reuters