Federer and Roddick close in on final

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Wimbledon is two matches away from the men's final everyone wants to see: Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick.

Federer is the top-seeded defending champion with the classic all-court game; No. 2 Roddick is the U.S. Open champ with the brute power and fastest serve in tennis.

Federer epitomizes Swiss reserve, Roddick oozes American brashness.

They met in the Wimbledon semifinals last year, with Federer winning in straight sets. He went on to beat Mark Philippoussis for his first Grand Slam title.

This time, they reached the semis from opposite halves of the draw.

On Friday, Federer will face Sebastian Grosjean — a third repeat semifinalist from last year — and Roddick will play 20-year-old Mario Ancic, a protege of former Croatian champion Goran Ivanisevic.

The women's semifinals were set for Thursday, with 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport leading off on Centre Court against 17-year-old Russian star Maria Sharapova. Then, two-time defending champion Serena Williams will play Amelie Mauresmo.

Federer made the final four by beating 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt in a compelling Centre Court match that ended just before dusk Wednesday night. Federer won 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-0, 6-4 to extend his grass-court winning streak to 22 matches.

”He's a shot-maker out there,” Hewitt said. ”He's going to be a tough player to beat on grass. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't win his third major on Sunday.”

Federer lost his first set of the tournament against Hewitt. He also was broken for the first time in 105 service games at Wimbledon going back to last year's quarterfinals. But after the break put Hewitt up in the fourth set, Federer broke right back and proceeded to close out the match. He finished with 19 aces.

”He doesn't have a Roddick kind of serve with brute power,” Hewitt said. ”He serves to set up the point with his strengths. He's got great variety out there. That's what makes him such a great player.”

Roddick, who hasn't lost a set in five matches, outslugged Sjeng Schalken 7-6 (4), 7-6 (9), 6-3. He served 18 aces and closed the match with a leaping overhead winner, though he mistimed his jump and landed off balance — not quite the graceful ”slam-dunk” style popularized by Pete Sampras during his run to seven titles.

”I was too excited,” Roddick said. ”I'm looking just to finish it off. I got up way too early so I couldn't really take a full swing at it. It felt like the ball wasn't getting to me. I was thinking I was going to flag it into the back fence.”

Unseeded Ancic beat No. 5 Tim Henman 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2, leaving the 29-year-old British player wondering if he's running out of time in his quest to become the first homegrown men's Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

”I've never hidden behind the fact that this is the tournament I'd love to win the most,” Henman said. ”The reality is that I don't have an endless number of years for chances.”

Ancic is the last player to beat Federer at the All England Club — he did it in the first round in his Wimbledon debut in 2002. Nicknamed ”Super Mario,” the 6-foot-5 Ancic is often compared with the 6-4 Ivanisevic, who retired last week after losing to Hewitt in the third round.

Roddick and Ancic played each other for the first time last month, with Roddick winning 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 on grass at Queen's Club.

”I don't know what's in the water in Croatia, but it seems like every player is over 7 feet tall,” Roddick said. ”He's playing great on grass right now. He's serving really big. He's definitely going to be tough.”

Grosjean, who swept Florian Mayer 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 and has not dropped a set, has been in three previous Grand Slam semifinals but never reached a final. Grosjean has a 2-1 record against Federer, but they haven't met since 2001.

”He's a very tricky player to play against,” Federer said. ”He returns well, his first serve is very good and he moves well. This is a dangerous combination. He has a lot of weapons.”