Philippoussis v Safin - Live!

Safin wins first set 7-6 First serve lets Safin down as he tries to serve out for the set, but after a decent exchange, his fearsome forehand down the line gives him the advantage - and then he fires one into the body as Philippoussis comes into the net to claim the set.

Tie break: Philippoussis 4-5 Safin But he claws it back with a net cord to throw Philippoussis, then pulls off a corking return to get ahead.

Tie break: Philippoussis 4-3 Safin Thought Safin was in there after sending the ball well away from the Australian, but it didn't find the line.

Tie break: Philippoussis 3-3 Safin Wayward return from Philippousis keeps things level.

Tie break: Philippoussis 3-2 Safin Ace.

Tie break: Philippoussis 2-2 Safin Almost another great pass from Safin but Philippoussis flings himself at it and manages to drop it over the net.

Tie break: Philippoussis 1-2 Safin Gorgeous curving forehand from Safin at the end of a long exchange to leave Philippoussis flat-footed.

Tie break: Philippoussis 1-1 Safin Another rally, would you believe it, and Philippoussis's volley this time goes long.

Tie break: Philippoussis 1-0 Safin Safin's forehand strays well long.

Philippoussis 6-6* Safin Ace. Unreturnable serve down the centre. Chase into the net and force an error. Unreturnable into the corner. Safin does it all to hold and force the tie break.

Philippoussis *6-5 Safin Glorious backhand pass from Safin, weaving its way past Philippoussis and down onto the baseline. The Aussie gets back into the net to clear things up though, following his serves in and not leaving much room for Safin to place a shot before pushing him into the corner.

Nick Winfield wants to know what time to start queuing for a ground pass tomorrow. I got there ridiculously early last year and ended up with tickets for court 1, so if you're up for an early morning (6am arrival in SW19), it might be worth it. Anyone else?

Philippoussis 5-5* Safin I'm very worried about a tie-break, mainly because it's hard enough to type Philippoussis without unwittingly writing something rude at this rate. Philippoussis is doing his best, passing Safin cross-court with a whipped forehand and then sending a dead straight return down the line before the Russian can even contemplate moving. The first set-point goes begging when Philippoussis realises he's been at the baseline for more than a couple of seconds and blasts a forehand into the stands, and the rest follow in similar fashion.

Philippoussis *5-4 Safin Philippoussis looked in serious danger of being broken there, Safin holding him back to 30-30, but what do you know, there's another ace up his sleeve, followed by a dink over the net that can only truly be described by the word delightful.

Mark Davidson is after betting hints for Wimbledon, with my rampant (£7.12 profit) Euro 2005 gambling in mind. Let's just say I was hoping to take make a quick buck on Justine Henin-Hardenne at 3/1. Damn that hamstring.

Philippoussis 4-4* Safin By jove, a rally. And we only had to wait until the eighth game. Safin comes out of it the better as Philippoussis can't lift his shot over the net from close range.

"As Safin is playing, does that mean that a certain lovable Russian billionaire is in the crowd?" asks Andy Tabberer. "I always find it amazing that such a fabulously wealthy man could employ a blind man with a passion for Quality Seconds as his valet." Miaow.

Philippoussis *4-3 Safin Philippoussis's first serve percentage is dropping, and so is his success rate at the net - first Safin passes him down the line, then almost [and we're talking millimetres] lobs him.

Philippoussis 3-3* Safin Lovely backhand pass from Safin, getting wise to Philippoussis's scurries into the net. And the Australian can do no more than fling a hopeful racket at Safin's serve before finding his next return flashing back in front of him.

Philippoussis *3-2 Safin Only 128mph on the first serve this time from Philippoussis, no wonder Safin managed to nick it with his frame. Again he races into the net and leaves Safin looking every which way on the baseline as he taps a backhand volley into the other side of the court. Scorching cross-court return from Safin to get it back to 40-15, and he forces a mistake from another net-hugging Philippoussis move, and [crikey!] a double fault from the big man (the Australian one) takes us to deuce. Two aces put paid to any ideas of breaking Safin might have.

Philippoussis 2-2* Safin Marat Safin seems to have slipped into gear with his serve - Philippoussis unable to return anything with any danger to it there - and he holds to love.

Philippoussis *2-1 Safin Philippoussis serves up another 130mph+ ace, but he's playing some good tennis too. He's straight into the net and pushing Safin all over the baseline. Game to love.

Philippoussis 1-1* Safin Philippoussis gets in on Safin's serve and forces a straying forehand, and again bags points at the net as Safin struggles to rustle up a drop shot. If Safin, who incidentally promised he'd never play at Wimbledon again after losing to Dmitri Tursunov in the first round last year, could manage a decent first serve, it'd help. Yep, that 136mph number should do it.

Philippoussis *1-0 Safin Things get off as expected, with Philippoussis serving up an ace down the centre of the court. Safin gets his racket to the next couple, but might as well have been eyeing up crowd beauties like BBC cameramen, for what it was worth. Pulls of a tremendous drop shot that just about finds the line to stop the game going for love, then goes one better to put pressure on the Aussie by digging out a passing return down the line. Ah. A 135mph second serve gives Philippoussis the game.

Preamble Afternoon. Marat Safin and Mark Philippoussis are knocking up on Centre Court, and we have the prospect a rapid-fire five setter ahead of us - which has got to be better than knuckling down to that month-end business you're supposed to be doing, isn't it?