Tennis News

Thousands of tennis fans from all corners of the British Isles had flocked to the All England Club on Friday, in a bid to witness British sporting history. You only had to cast your eyes across the Royal Box that included tennis royalty, Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Ilie Nastase, Nicola Pietrangeli, Guillermo Vilas and celebrities from stage and screen to realise that Andy Murray’s semi-final clash against Andy Roddick was of international importance.  

American Andy Roddick ended Andy Murray's dream of becoming the first British man to play in a Wimbledon final since 1938 by winning their semi-final 6-4 4-6 7-6 7-6 on Friday.

Sixth seed Roddick, a former world number one and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, served magnificently and matched Murray's vaunted ground strokes after breaking the third-seeded Briton in the final game of the first set.

Here's something Serena Williams could try that it seems safe to say other past Wimbledon champions such as Chris Evert, Billie Jean King or Althea Gibson never did during their heyday: Williams might just update her Twitter feed during a match at the All England Club.

"Maybe I'll send a tweet from my chair when I'm playing: 'Gosh, I shouldn't have lost that game!"' she said, smiling at the thought of it. Then, thinking better of it, Williams added: "But I think the umpire will probably stop me, thinking I'm getting coached."

 Roger Federer reached a record 20th Grand Slam final and a seventh straight Wimbledon title match with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-3 win over German veteran Tommy Haas in the semi-finals on Friday.

Five-time Wimbledon champion Federer, who is chasing a record 15th Grand Slam crown, now tackles either Britain's Andy Murray or Andy Roddick of the United States in Sunday's final.

Roger Federer stood one match away from a record 15th grand slam title after he snuffed out the challenge of Germany's Tommy Haas 7-6 7-5 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon final on Friday.

The five-times champion edged his 31-year-old rival in a display of sheer brilliance before a mesmerised Centre Court crowd, ending the match with a brilliant slam-dunk smash.

By downing Haas in just over two hours, he became the first man to reach seven successive Wimbledon finals since the abolition of the Challenge Round in 1922.

 It is not often a match involving Roger Federer at Wimbledon serves as the aperitif to the main dish but that was the feeling at the grasscourt major on Friday as Andy Murray’s semi-final against Andy Roddick loomed.

Apart from those who have spent the last two weeks in a darkened room, the whole of Britain knows off by heart the worn-out statistic that Murray is bidding to become the first home men’s singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

Q. Was that one of your easiest passages through to a final?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes, it was very successful for me. I was really pleased with my form. Of course, playing against the No. 1 player in the world, it's exciting to play so well.

So, I mean, obviously I had to work hard for it, but I was able to do a lot of the right things today.

Q. Was it near perfect?

Q. Can you put into words how disappointed you feel.

DINARA SAFINA: Well, not really happy with end result, you know. I think she just too good on grass. It's not my favorite surface and it's her favorite surface, so she just honestly be too good today.

Q. That must have been a nightmare result for you, though.

DINARA SAFINA: Oh, it's definitely disappointing, you know, finishing the match less than one hour and winning only one game.