WIMBLEDON, England (AP):

ROGER FEDERER and Rafael Nadal will meet in another Grand Slam final.

Four-time defending champion Federer reached his ninth consecutive major final yesterday, beating Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on the grass courts of the All England Club.

"It has become sort of a routine, but I'm still so excited to be back in the final," said Federer, who beat Nadal to win last year's title but lost to the Spaniard in the past two French Open finals.

Nadal set up a rematch at Wimbledon when No. 4 Novak Djokovic withdrew with back pain and an infected blister while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 4-1.

"I'm going to have a very difficult match tomorrow, but I'm going to try my best," said Nadal, a three-time champion at Roland Garros.

53rd straight win

Federer's win was his 53rd straight on grass. He finished with 20 aces, including one on a second serve in the final game of the match.

Gasquet matched Federer for most of the first set, but the top-ranked Swiss player saved all three break points he faced, including two at 5-5. Federer saved the first with an ace and the next with a forehandwinner before winning the next two points. Including those four points, Federer won 44 of the final 54 points on his serve.

"If I did this break point, everything can happen if I win the first set," Gasquet said.

With Gasquet serving at 6-5, the Frenchman was only two points away from forcing a first-set tiebreaker, but Federer won four straight points to take the set.

"The first set was crucial," Federer said. "He should have at least got to the tiebreaker. I came out somehow and played really well for 10 minutes and was up a set and a break, and that was pretty much it after that."

Wants fifth title

The 25-year-old Federer, who is the oldest of the four men's semi-finalists, is trying to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, something only Bjorn Borg has done in the past 100 years. Borg, who won his titles from 1976-80, watched the match from the stands, wearing a purple-and-green tie - the colours of the All England Club.

"It is tricky when you see him sitting there because he is a living legend," Federer said. "I have so much respect for him that it is great that he's here. I hope I can do the job tomorrow."

Nadal pressured Djokovic early, earning three break points in the first game, but failing to convert. Djokovic then broke Nadal in the second game, and only conceded three more points on his serve for the rest of the set.

"I start the match playing bad," Nadal said. "But I was practicing before the warm-up bad, too."