Federer and Nadal in final clash

WIMBLEDON, London -- Roger Federer stormed into his fifth successive Wimbledon final with a 7-5 6-3 6-4 humbling of France's Richard Gasquet on Saturday.

The Swiss will face second seed Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final after Serbian Novak Djokovic withdrew with an injury during the other semifinal with his Spanish rival leading 3-6 6-1 4-1.

The four-time defending champion overwhelmed his 21-year-old opponent in a display of sheer brilliance before a mesmerized Centre Court crowd.

After unleashing 20 aces and a series of scorching passing shots, Federer clinched victory after one hour 44 minutes with a forehand winner into the corner of the court.

The Swiss will face Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final after Serbian Novak Djokovic withdrew with an injury during the other semifinal.

Federer will attempt to join Bjorn Borg by becoming only the second man in the professional era to win five consecutive Wimbledon titles.

Borg dropped in a day early to watch the man many believe is destined to become the greatest ever tennis player and the Swede must have been impressed with what he saw.

"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."

Federer had won five of his previous six meetings against the surprise semifinalist and after teasing the Frenchman for about 40 minutes, he moved in for the kill.

He broke Gasquet in final game of the opening set after forcing the 21-year-old to net a backhand.

The 12th-seed had knocked out Andy Roddick in a five-set thriller in the quarter-finals but after coming off court at 1900 GMT on Friday, his exertions told.

He provided little resistance in the second set and opted to take an injury time out before the start of the third to get his ankle strapped.

Hand on hips and standing behind the baseline, Federer appeared an uninterested observer during the 10-minute interlude.

Once Gasquet got back on to his feet, he simply did not possess the stamina to last the distance and surrendered his serve in the seventh game.

Federer brought up match point with a brilliant backhand passing shot and mercifully did not prolong his opponent's agony.

On Sunday, the Swiss will be gunning for his 11th grand slam crown but to do that he has to tame his nemesis Nadal in a repetition of last year's final.

"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 last two French Open finals.

Nadal set up a rematch at Wimbledon when No. 4 Novak Djokovic withdrew 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.

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 practising before the warmup bad, too."

The second set started with Nadal holding and then breaking Djokovic's serve. After Nadal evened the match at one set apiece, Djokovic called for a trainer. He got the little toe on his left foot bandaged.

"In the first game of second set, second game, I have the break," Nadal said. "That's decisive in the match ... because I get confidence there."

In the third set, Djokovic continued to hobble but saved two break points in the opening game.

Then, serving at 1-1, 30-30, he put a forehand wide and dropped to the grass, rocking on the balls of his feet. His next shot was a forehand into the net.

Nadal held easily to lead 3-1 and forced another two break points in the fifth game. Djokovic saved one but hit a forehand into the net on the second. The trainer immediately returned and Djokovic soon decided to retire.

Djokovic also withdrew against Nadal in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

Both players were on court a lot over the past few days because of the massive backlog created by persistent rain throughout the tournament.

Nadal played two five-setters before reaching the semifinals Friday with a straight-set win. But Djokovic needed five sets Friday in the quarterfinals, and four sets in each of the previous two rounds E-mail to a friend