rogerfederer.com - Title #6 just one step away!

Title #6 just one step away!

Roger took another big step towards his dream as he defeated Russia's Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4 this afternoon, making his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final.

He will now face No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the final. He's aiming to better Björn Borg's open-era record of five straight titles from 1976-80 at the only grass-court Grand Slam. Borg watched Roger play from the Royal Box today on Centre Court.

"It's great," Roger said. "Playing Safin is always a pleasure. Having the opportunity to win the final again means so much to me."

Roger once again played brilliantly and demonstrated his class. Although Safin served up predictably the biggest challenge to Roger'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. Roger made a lightning start and typically upped his game when it was necessary, leaving Safin shaking his head in bewilderment as Roger switched on cruise control to clinch his victory in just one hour and 41 minutes.

Our star's run at The Championships this year has been remarkable: he has gone 18 sets unbeaten in a row, and in the wider context of his matches on grass, he has now gone unbeaten for a consecutive 65. Roger has dedicated a moment of his time to the critics who doubted his form heading into the tournament.

So once again the two finalists are Roger and Rafael Nadal. It is the third consecutive time that they are playing each other in the last round in Wimbledon. Roger won in four sets in 2006 and in five in 2007. The match starts Sunday at 2 p.m. local time.