Wimbledon: Roger Federer v Marat Safin - Live!

The preambling If there are no Williams on the scoreboard it must be men's semi-final day. First match on the Centre Court could well be a classic, pitting Roger Federer against the unseeded Marat Safin. After we can settle back and watch the legend that is Rainer Schuttler coast to victory against that hapless Nadal bloke. Possibly.

The form No bones about it: Federer is the clear favorite here. He leads Safin eight matches to two, and brushed him aside in straight sets on his way to last year's Wimbledon championship. If his game is as sharp and intense as it was in his last match (against Mario Ancic) he should go through safely.

That said, Safin has the power and the talent to trouble the champion. Crucially, he overcame him in an epic Australian Open semi-final a few years back, triumphing 9-7 in the fifth after saving a match point. It could be that the Russian is one of the very few players (Nadal and Djokovic being the others) that Federer is actively wary about. On his day the Russian has the strength to knock Federer about, even overwhelm him at times.

The million dollar question is whether he will be able to sustain that challenge for a long enough period to take a stranglehold on the contest. The evidence suggests not.



Xan will be here from 1pm.