Federer in final for a record eighth time

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer is back in the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2009. If that seems like a long gap for the six-time champion, imagine how all of Britain feels: Andy Murray is the first man from the host country to play for the title at the All England Club in 74 years.

Both are playing for history.

Already the owner of a record 16 Grand Slam titles, but none in the past 2½ years, Federer can equal two marks held by Pete Sampras with one more victory Sunday: seven Wimbledon championships, and 286 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. So far 0-3 in major finals, without claiming even one set, Murray can become the first British man to collect any Grand Slam title since Fred Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships in 1936.

“Everyone loves Roger at Wimbledon, but a majority of people are going to want to see Andy win this time. ... They can inspire Andy. They can pick him up. But at the same time, they might make him feel like he’s pulling all the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders. That’s a lot to deal with,” Sampras said in a telephone interview. “And he has to play Roger Federer, so he’ll have his hands full.”

Yes, Federer still has Wimbledon.

And Wimbledon still has Federer.

After seeing his grip on the grass-court Grand Slam tournament slip away with a pair of quarterfinal losses the past two years, the third-seeded Federer reasserted himself by beating defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Friday.

Djokovic or Rafael Nadal won the nine previous majors, and both surpassed Federer in the rankings. But after losing six of his last seven matches against Djokovic, all on clay or hard courts, Federer had the upper hand on grass, the first time in 27 career meetings they’ve played each other on that surface.

“People were like, ‘How are we going to survive a Wimbledon final without you?’” Federer joked about his earlier-than-usual exits in 2010 and 2011. “For me, it was no problem. I went on vacation and relaxed. Of course, it feels great to be in the Wimbledon final.”

Serena faces Radwanska in Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, England — More than once during the past fortnight, Serena Williams has won an important point at Wimbledon and then returned to the baseline, her clenched fist leading the way.

The ferocity of the gesture is understandable, given the obstacles she has beaten back in the past couple of years.

A succession of health issues led to a long layoff that forced Williams to mount a career comeback, and she’ll try to cap it Saturday when she plays Agnieszka Radwanska, the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam final since 1939.

Williams seeks her 14th major title, and would tie her sister Venus with a fifth win at Wimbledon.

“I’m so happy to be playing,” she said. “I’ve been through so much in the past year or two years, it has been unbelievable.”

This week Radwanska has been ailing herself, battling an upper respiratory illness that makes it difficult to speak and forced her to cancel a news conference Friday.

“I will do whatever it takes to make sure I’m ready to play the best I can,” she said in a statement.

While the No. 3-ranked Radwanska seeks to become Poland’s first Grand Slam title, the No. 6-ranked Williams has a shot at her first major championship since Wimbledon in 2010. Shortly after that victory, she cut her feet on glass at a restaurant, required two operations and spent more time in the hospital because of blood clots in her lung and a gathering of blood under the skin of her stomach.

“I really thought Serena was going to die,” said her father and coach, Richard Williams. “This is the most important tournament that Serena would ever win ... because Serena didn’t think she’d ever play tennis again. She told me so.”

She was sidelined nearly a year before rejoining the tour in June 2011, and her ranking sank to 175th.

“I just wanted to make it through everything that I was going through and become a survivor,” she said.

Tags: sports, tennis