Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman celebrates winning his quarter-final match against the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek at Wimbledon, yesterday. - REUTERS
LONDON (Reuters)-:
ROGER FEDERER and Jonas Bjorkman were both incredible in their own ways at Wimbledon yesterday.
Swiss defending champion Federer produced his best tennis of the tournament to reach the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the last man to beat him on a grasscourt, Croatian Mario Ancic.
There, he will face the unexpected challenge of unseeded 34-year-old Swede Bjorkman, who won a four-hour, five-set quarter-final marathon against Czech 14th seed Radek Stepanek.
Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis was not bad either. The 21-year-old Australian Open runner-up knocked out Australia's 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.
MATCHES POSTPONED
After days of sweltering sunshine, stormy skies enveloped southwest London, bringing with them showers that meant over two hours of play was lost.
As a result, the left-handed duel between Finland's Jarkko Nieminen and Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal was postponed until today.
Federer's 46th win in a row on grass kept him on course for a fourth consecutive singles title and he has yet to drop a set this year.
After outplaying Ancic, who had upset him in the first round in 2002, the Swiss realised there was no point being modest about his brilliance.
"It was an incredible performance," he said. "It's not ordinary when he comes to the net and every time you pass him.
"I guess if I keep this sort of a performance, I don't see myself losing."
A doubles specialist nowadays, Bjorkman has reached only one grand slam singles semi-final before, at the 1997 U.S. Open.
The world number 59 was overcome after a stirring 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 victory on court one against Stepanek.
"I'm very emotional. It's a dream come true to play in a semi-final aged 34," said Bjorkman. "I didn't really think I had any semi-finals left in me."
MISERABLE TIME
In the other quarter-final Hewitt at times looked like he was playing a better version of himself.
Baghdatis, the 18th seed, has had a miserable time since losing to Federer in the Australian Open final but the impish Paris-based baseliner seems to have rediscovered his joie de vivre on the Wimbledon grass.
He ended Hewitt's nine-match winning streak on grass with a display of lively returning and deft net play, greeting victory with a smile the size of Centre Court.
"I got a bit tight after the first set but I got through it and I'm very happy," said Baghdatis, whose mother sat watching in the stands with her hands over her face in the closing stages.
"It's amazing for me, it's amazing for my parents. Everything has come so fast. I don't think everybody realises that."
