Federer wary of Safin threat as he goes in search of title number six
Roger Federer admits he is wary of semi-final opponent Marat Safin, describing the Russian’s lowly ranking as “ridiculous”.
Safin is ranked as low as 75th in the world but has discovered the best grass court form of his career after beating No3 seed Novak Djokovic on route to a place in the last four.
And world No1 Federer admits the 28-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion poses a serious threat to his bid of claiming a sixth successive Wimbledon title.
“He’s finally showing again what he can do,” the Swiss star said.
“It’s just quite surprising he’s doing it here at Wimbledon because he used to dislike playing on this surface. Last year I wasn’t happy to see Safin in my draw. I’m never happy and he probably knows that. He’s just been disappointed with the way he’s been playing lately, but hopefully he’s got a second thing going.”
The smart money, however, is on a third successive final between Federer and world No2 Rafael Nadal, who saw off British hope Andy Murray in the quarter-final.
Nadal takes on Rainer Schuettler in today’s other semi-final after the unseeded German beat Arnaud Clement, of France, in a rain-affected five-set match, which eventually finished after 6pm last night.