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Safin: Meets Federer
Marat Safin reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time by beating Feliciano Lopez in four sets.
The unseeded Russian, who beat world number three Novak Djokovic in the second round, recovered from a set down to win 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7/1) 6-3 against the 31st seed from Spain.
Safin, the 2005 Australian Open champion, will face five-time defending champion Roger Federer in Friday's semi-finals.
That is a repeat of the thrilling last-four clash in Melbourne three years ago, which Safin won 9-7 in the deciding set to stay on course for a second Grand Slam title.
Since then Safin has slid down the rankings after injury and a loss of form, but he made a mockery of his current position of world number 75 as he blasted past Lopez.
Top ranking
Safin produced glimpses of the skills which once made him world number one as he battled past the serve-and-volley Spaniard on Court One.
The 28-year-old Russian certainly did not start like a prospective semi-finalist, dropping his serve and incurring a code violation for ball abuse in the first 27 minutes before a two-hour rain delay kicked in.
Lopez duly served out for the set to take the lead and looked to have wrested the upper hand in the second set after immediately cancelling out an early Safin break, once again testing the Russian's short fuse.
But this time Safin held firm, breaking crucially again to take the set 7-5 and beginning to look much more solid in a tighter third set marked by gruelling baseline rallies and just one break-point chance on the Safin serve at 4-4.
The tie-break was a different matter, Safin stepping up to blast through it 7-1 and maintain his momentum into the decider, a set of searing passing shots securing the first break of the set for 2-1.
Finally Safin had recovered his majestic form of old, breaking again for 5-2 when Lopez flopped a feeble backhand into the net, and effectively gifting the Russian his last-four place.
Drama
Typically there was time for one more minor drama, as Safin was broken when he attempted to serve out for the match, but he recovered to break Lopez again, a double fault securing victory after two hours and 40 minutes of action.
"I'm not going to be excited at winning just another match, running around with a big huge smile," shrugged Safin after his fifth victory of the fortnight.
"It's more like a relief that I've made it for the first time in my life to the semi-final of Wimbledon. Of course I'm happy, but it's just a different happiness. It's not the same as when you were 20 years old and you think you are flying."
Safin's success was not without its tribulations. In the 27 minutes prior to a two-hour rain delay, he contrived to lose serve, bounce two racquets into the baseline, and receive a code violation for ball abuse.
Safin added: "I was nervous because I wanted to do well. I thought it was my opportunity to get into the semi-finals. It cannot get any better than that. I was way too nervous to perform."
But once the skies had cleared Safin rallied, saving his best form for the fourth set, in which he broke the big-serving Lopez three times and moved towards his first Wimbledon semi-final appearance at the ninth attempt.
His days as a raging young prospect may have long gone, but Safin is convinced his unlikely return to form in his least favourite tournament can provide the springboard for a climb back up the world rankings.
"It's a big relief for me that I'm 75 in the world and now I'm going back to the top 50. I'm climbing back. I want to climb back to the top 20. But smiling for the rest of the season, I don't think so. There's a lot of work to do."
