Wimbledon Men's Final Set

WIMBLEDON, England (Ticker) -- Was there ever any doubt that it would be Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal III at the All England Club? The world's two best players posted straight-set wins Friday in the semifinals to set up what could be an epic Wimbledon final. Bidding for his sixth straight Wimbledon title, the top-seeded Federer took the court first Friday and needed less than two hours to defeat Russian Marat Safin, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. The second-seeded Nadal followed with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over weary German Rainer Schuettler, who was coming off a five-set quarterfinal win over Frenchman Arnaud Clement that lasted more than five hours and extended over two days.

With both Federer and Nadal cruising through their draws, there is plenty of intrigue heading into Sunday's final. Federer has beaten Nadal in the final in each of the last two years, including a five-set thriller last July. Nadal, who destroyed Federer on June 8 in straight sets to win his fourth straight French Open title, will have to beat Federer at his own game to claim his first Wimbledon crown. In his latest brilliant performance on Friday, Federer never lost his serve en route to his 65th straight match win on grass and 40th victory in a row at Wimbledon.

The world No. 1 has yet to lose a set at this year's tournament. "It's great, a beautiful feeling, being able to get the opportunity to win the title again," said Federer, who is bidding to win his 13th Grand Slam championship. "It means so much to me." Federer's winning streak at Wilmbedon is one shy of the record held by Bjorn Bjorg, whose string of five straight Wimbledon crowns was snapped in the 1981 final. Bjorg watched Friday's match from the Royal Box. 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.