Nadal Sets Up Federer Showdown

Wimbledon had been waiting for a match-up like this for a long time. Marcos Baghdatis, the flamboyant Cypriot who reached the final of this year's Australian Open, has bought much-needed color to proceedings and in so doing has become the darling of the strawberry-munching SW19 crowds.

Standing between Baghdatis and an appointment with Roger Federer in the final was Rafael Nadal, the 20-year-old French Open champion, who few fancied had the grass-court game to reach the later stages when the tournament began. Growing in confidence with each match, Nadal came of age on the surface when he ended Andre Agassi's Wimbledon odyssey with brutal efficiency on Saturday. Suddenly, he appeared a bonefide contender.

Following Federer's sublime, but virtually untroubled defeat of doubles specialist Jonas Bjorkman, centre court desperately needed a genuine contest from the second semi-final, but initially it looked as though they would be disappointed. Nadal blew Baghdatis away in the first set, taking it 6-1 with complete authority.

Sensing a potential humiliation, Baghdatis came out firing in the second set. His trademark drop shots and wonderfully deft net-play suddenly started to click, and a truly magnificent set unfolded. Suddenly, the match that everybody wanted had arrived. "I don't want it end," said Jimmy Connors in the BBC commentary box, lavishing praise upon both players' fearless approach to vitally important points.

Reaching what Andrew Castle billed the "business end of the set," it was Baghdatis who appeared to have the edge. Pushing Nadal's service games, he moved inside the baseline and began to dictate rallies for the first time in the match.

Despite a host of opportunities, however, the charismatic 21-year-old repeatly failed to secure an elusive break and found himself serving at 6-5 down to force the tie-break. Having battled so hard to stay in the set and with nothing to lose, Nadal grasped his opportunity, breaking serve to take a 2-0 lead.

From that moment on, the Spaniard seemed to slip into an extra gear. With Baghdatis unable to shake the disappointment of letting the second set slip away, Nadal grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck and convincingly won the third set 6-3, closing out the contest and securing his first ever appearance in a Wimbledon final.

Watching on, Federer will be extremely wary of Nadal's aggressive approach going into Sunday's showdown. He's failed to beat the Spaniard this year, and having faced little in the way of serious competition thus far, the reigning champion will need to fight hard to secure his fourth straight Wimbledon title.

As for Baghdatis, he has captured the hearts of the British public with some truly captivating play during his run in the tournament. Brimmiing with passion and flair, both he and Nadal are glowing advertisements for the sport of tennis and point towards an exciting decade ahead.

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