Imperious Federer reaches final

Roger Federer eased into his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final with a straight-sets win over underdog Marat Safin and sent a clear message out to Rafa Nadal.

The world number one extended his phenomenal unbeaten record on grass to 65 matches on the trot, with a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 hammering on Centre Court.

Federer controlled the match from the get-go, finishing the unseeded Safin off in in one hour 41 minutes to stay on track for a sixth title.

The 26-year-old Swiss will now face arch nemesis Rafael Nadal or the unseeded and hugely unfavoured Rainer Schuettler in Sunday's final.

Retorting to recent media criticism after the game, the reigning champion said:

"Don't write me off that easily."

Although Safin served up the biggest challenge to Federer's reign so far, the Russian still fell woefully short, hindered further by a series of unforced errors which blew his only chance in the second set tie-break.

An extraordinary backhand recovery shot by Federer in the fifth game of the third set denied Safin another break point opportunity and Safin's frustration continued to bubble.

As Federer sailed on majestically, Safin was left flailing in frustration and was handed a code violation towards the end of the third set for slamming his racket onto his chair at the change of ends.

Typically, Federer upped his game to break Safin and clinch the match after a long baseline rally, whipping a cross-court backhand which left the Russian helpless and the Centre Court crowd once again rising to extol his genius.

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