Federer, Safin, Nadal reach Wimbledon semis
Riding his dominant serve and punishing forehand, Federer put on a masterful performance to beat Ancic 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 and move another step closer to becoming the second man in history to win Wimbledon six years in a row.
Federer served 15 aces, and finished with three straight in the final game — including with a second serve on match point. He won 61 of 71 points on serve, including his last 16, for his 39th straight win at Wimbledon.
"I'm playing great, serving excellent," said Federer, who hasn't dropped a set all tournament. "Many aces is always helpful. Some rain delays broke my momentum a little bit. I got back into the match and played really well all the way through."
Federer will next face Marat Safin, who served 18 aces and overcame Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-3 to become the first Russian man to make the Wimbledon semifinals in the 40-year history of the Open era.
"I played probably my best match for sure here," said the four-time French Open champion, who didn't face a break point and, like Federer, hasn't been broken in five matches.
Nadal, bidding to become the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg in 1980, will have to wait an extra day to find out who he'll face in the semifinals.
The quarterfinal between 94th-ranked Rainer Schuettler and No. 145 Arnaud Clement was suspended at one set apiece because of fading light. Schuettler won the first 6-3 and Clement took the second 7-5.
Federer was at his vintage best, holding serve at ease and gliding across the court and ripping shots that flew past Ancic or forced him into errors. He has reached the semifinals for the 17th consecutive time at a Grand Slam event.
"I really feel like I'm playing as good as the last few years," the 12-time Slam champion said. "I'm on such a great winning streak on grass. I feel so comfortable on Centre Court. My confidence level is really high."
Safin, a former top-ranked player who won the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open, has slipped steadily in the rankings over the last three years and came into the tournament at No. 75.
The Russian got off to a rocky start against the left-handed Lopez, and was down 5-2 in the first set when play was suspended by rain. Even though he ended up losing the set, Safin stepped up his game after the break and took command. Lopez double-faulted on set point in the third-set tiebreaker and served his sixth double-fault on match point.
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