Jul 2, 2008 - 4:47 PM
0 shoutsWIMBLEDON, England (Ticker) -- Rafael Nadal silenced the All England Club.
Despite a partisan crowd working against him, the second-seeded Nadal destroyed hometown favorite Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, on Wednesday to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Earlier on Centre Court, world No. 1 Roger Federer also was flawless, coasting to a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Mario Ancic. The Swiss superstar is two wins from claiming his sixth straight Wimbledon title.
While Federer was expected to cruise, many were expecting Nadal to be challenged by the 12th-seeded Murray, who was attempting to reach his first career Grand Slam semifinal. However, Nadal was brilliant in crushing those hopes.
"This was my best match here for sure," Nadal said. "I tried to play aggressive all the time and hit big power on my forehand."
The Spanish southpaw, whose grasscourt game seems to be catching up to his game on clay, looked like he was toying with Murray at times en route to moving closer to another matchup against Federer in a Grand Slam final.
Nadal, 22, bidding to become the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Bjorg in 1980, took control when he won the final three games of the first set.
In the second set, Nadal was scintillating, committing just one unforced error and converting nearly 75 percent (13-of-18) of his first serves as Murray struggled to even win points and started to become visibly discouraged.
Murray regained some focus in the third set, but there was no sign of another dramatic comeback like he pulled off Monday in rallying from two sets down to defeat Richard Gasquet.
When Nadal broke to go up 4-3 in the third set, all the hope seemed to disappear from what was an enthusiastic crowd at the start. And from there, it was only a matter of time before Nadal put the overmatched Murray out of his misery.
Murray is convinced that Nadal has what it takes to dethrone Federer.
"I think (Nadal) has a great chance," Murray said. "I think if he plays that well and returns like that, I think he's very close to being the favorite to win the tournament.
"After his first match, he's played some great tennis. I think he's got a very, very good chance of winning. He was close last year, and I think he's playing better than he was last year."
Nadal, who lost to Federer in the final at Wimbledon in each of the last two years, will have an added advantage of extra rest after the match between German Rainer Schuettler and Frenchman Arnaud Clement was suspended due to darkness. They will return to the court Thursday ahead of the semis Friday.
Schuettler took the first set, 6-3, before Clement evened the match by winning the second set, 7-5.
Federer had little trouble shaking off a pair of rain delays as he extended his grasscourt winning streak to a staggering 64 matches and reached a semi at a Grand Slam for a 17th straight time.
Federer also hardly had to break a sweat in winning his 39th straight match at Wimbledon, needing just over 90 minutes to dispose of his Croat opponent. The Swiss superstar kept the streak going at the expense of Ancic, who was the last to beat him on the lawn at Wimbledon in the 2002 first round.
Showing his dominance, Federer won 61 of 71 points on serve, including his last 16.
"I'm playing great, serving excellent," Federer said. "Many aces is always helpful. Some rain delays broke my momentum a little bit. I got back into the match and played really well all the way through."
Federer's winning streak is two shy of the record held by Bjorg, whose string of five straight Wimbledon crowns was snapped in 1981.
The only other player to win six straight Wimbledon titles was William Renshaw from 1881-86. However, after claiming his first championship, Renshaw was required to win only one match in the challenge round to retain the title in the following five years.
Federer was in control from the outset Wednesday, firing six aces and committing just two unforced errors in a first set that lasted a mere 20 minutes. Things where not much tougher the rest of the way for Federer, who still has yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Putting an exclamation on his latest victory, Federer ended the match with an ace down the middle which was clocked at 112 miles per hour.
"I really feel like I'm playing as good as the last few years," said Federer, bidding for his 13th Grand Slam title. "I'm on such a great winning streak on grass. I feel so comfortable on Centre Court. My confidence level is really high."
Awaiting Federer in the semis is unseeded Russian Marat Safin, a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 winner over No. 31 Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
The 28-year-old Safin, a former world No. 1 who is on the comeback trail, secured his first semifinal appearance in a major since 2005, when he won the Australian Open for his second career Grand Slam title. He knocked off Federer in the semis en route to the title.
