Nadal, Berdych advance to final

Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England

Rafael Nadal is back in the Wimbledon final for the fourth time in his last four appearances, while Britain’s 74-year wait for a homegrown men’s champion goes on.

The top-ranked Spaniard took apart fourth-seeded Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4 on Friday to move within one win of a second Wimbledon title and an eighth Grand Slam championship.

Nadal was at his relentless best, whipping topspin forehands from corner to corner, as he put on a bravura performance in front of a Centre Court audience that included David Beckham.

Nadal will be a heavy favorite in Sunday’s final against 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who defeated No. 3 Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam title match.

Nadal won Wimbledon in 2008, beating Roger Federer in an epic five-set final, but was unable to defend his title last year because of tendinitis in both knees.

Defending and six-time champion Federer was upset in the quarterfinals this week by Berdych, and Nadal now has the chance to reclaim his crown.

“For me, it was amazing day, very important victory for me, one of the more difficult victories of my career,” Nadal said. “I think it’s one of the biggest victories in my career.”

Nadal ended Murray’s hopes of becoming the first British player to win the men’s title since Fred Perry in 1936.

No British man has even reached the final since Henry “Bunny” Austin in 1938, and British men have now lost in 10 Wimbledon semifinals since then.

“For Andy it was important playing at home in Wimbledon,” Nadal said. “That was a little bit more pressure than usual. But Andy’s a very, very nice person and a very, very nice guy and I wish him the best of luck.”

Even with most of the 15,000-capacity Centre Court crowd willing Murray on, including Beckham and son Brooklyn in the row behind Murray’s guest box, Nadal was simply too strong and too determined to be stopped.

After Nadal saved a set point in the tiebreaker and went up two sets to love, it was always unlikely he would let the lead slip.

Even though he went down a break in the third set, Nadal fought back and ran off four games in a row to close out the match.

Nadal converted three of four breakpoint chances, while Murray broke just once. Nadal had 31 winners and only 13 unforced errors in the 189 points played.

“I had chances in all of the sets,” Murray said. “It was the difference of maybe five or six points. He just played better than me. You’re not going to be able to play every single point on your terms against the best player in the world, one of the best players ever.”

Nadal fell flat on his back at the baseline after Murray hit a forehand volley long on the first match point.

Nadal met briefly with Beckham after the match.

“Always is special [to] meet with great sportsman like David,” he said. “What I admire a lot of him is ... he fights like the best of them, more than the rest.”

Nadal, who won his fifth French Open title last month, is aiming to win the French and Wimbledon back-to-back for the second time.

“Winning the last tournament at Roland Garros gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “I was a little bit more calm than usual here on [the] important points.”