Wimbledon 2008: Nadal through to final

Rafael Nadal will meet world number one Roger Federer in Sunday's Wimbledon final after seeing off Rainer Schuettler 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. A humiliation seemed on the cards when Nadal wrapped up the first set against the unseeded German in just 23 minutes. But Schuettler hit back impressively, breaking the formidable Spaniard's serve in game three of the second set. Nadal stepped up a gear to break back at 5-3 before taking it on a tie-break and one break was enough in the third. The 32-year-old German went into his first semi-final at Wimbledon just a day after completing an epic five-hour win over Arnaud Clement. It was hardly the best preparation for facing the world number two and not surprisingly he made a slow start, a huge mistake against Nadal. Schuettler served first and was quickly 0-40 down and though he delivered an ace on the first break point, there was no stopping Nadal. The second seed held to love and in Schuettler's next service game showed exactly why he is currently the world's most feared player. Schuettler rifled a fabulous forehand into the corner but Nadal scampered across and effortlessly whipped a backhand winner cross-court - leaving the German stunned. Nadal's domination left the crowd fearing an embarrassingly one-sided encounter but Schuettler at least played his part in an entertaining second set. The German, an Australian Open finalist in 2003, earned his first two break points at 1-1 and snatched the second when he chased down a drop shot and whipped it back past a stranded Nadal. It was gutsy from Schuettler but Nadal's level had dropped below the dizzy heights he had hit in his quarter-final against Andy Murray. The Spaniard picked it up again when it counted, taking advantage of a tentative Schuettler at 5-3 before coming through the tie-break with ease. And once Nadal had broken to take a 2-1 lead, there was no way back for Schuettler. The French Open champion was held up briefly when he squandered a 0-40 lead and three match points at 5-3 but raced through his final service game to seal victory in just over two hours.

There had been pre-tournament suggestions that Federer was more vulnerable this year after failing to win a major title this season and losing in a lopsided final to Nadal at the French Open. “Don’t write me off too quickly because this is my part of the season — Wimbledon, Olympic Games, U.S. Open,” Federer said.