Top-ranked Rafael Nadal has advanced to his fourth Wimbledon final after defeating local hope Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in the semifinals. The Spaniard will meet 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych in Sunday’s final.
In the mixed doubles semifinals, India’s Leander Paes with Zimbabwean Cara Black advanced to the final defeating Czech combo of Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova 6-3, 6-3.
They will winner of the other semifinal clash in which South African-American pair of Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond will take on Brazilian-Australian pair of Marcelo Melo and Rennae Stubbs.
Earlier, in the other men’s semifinal match, Tomas Berdych clinched a place in the Wimbledon final for the first time as the Czech 12th seed defeated Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 on Friday.
Berdych, the first Czech man to reach the Wimbledon final since Ivan Lendl in 1987, has been a dangerous force on the ATP Tour for the last five years.
But he hadn’t been able to translate his talent into success at the grand slams until the last month.
Since the start of the French Open, the 24-year-old has been in the form of his life. He reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and totally overwhelmed six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
That victory over Federer ended the defending champion’s run of seven successive Wimbledon final appearances but, more importantly, it confirmed Berdych’s transformation into a big player.(AFP)
