Brits’ hopes dive

WIMBLEDON, England – Who says American tennis is in decline?

Underdog Andy Roddick stunned Andy Murray and all of Great Britain on Friday afternoon, advancing to the Wimbledon final with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) semifinal victory that left the Centre Court audience speechless. Roddick, a two-time Wimbledon finalist, hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since the 2003 U.S. Open and was 2-6 against Murray before Friday.

His final opponent is five-time champion Roger Federer, who beat Tommy Haas in straight sets in the other semifinal. Federer will attempt to break Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles and reclaim his No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.

With Roddick’s victory, three of the four singles finalists on July 4 weekend are American – Venus and Serena Williams play for the women’s title today – and there are Americans in the finals of men’s doubles (Bob and Mike Bryan), women’s doubles (the Williams sisters), and boys juniors (Jordan Cox).

“I had to play my best tennis,” Roddick said. “Not many people were giving me much of a chance, but I can play tennis sometimes. Throughout my career, I’ve had a lot of shortcomings, but trying hard is not one of them. He had all the pressure on him and I could go out there and just swing, and that probably helped me. The last couple years I didn’t know if I’d get to play for another Grand Slam title, and now I am.”

The preview in the official daily program Friday read: “There can be little doubt that the world and his wife will be hoping for a Roger Federer meeting with Andy Murray on Sunday as the preferred outcome of this afternoon’s semifinals.”

Certainly, the majority of the fans at the All England Lawn Tennis Club were pulling for the third-ranked Scot on a bright, sunny afternoon. The feeling was that it was Murray’s destiny to make the final – and maybe even win it. Those who weren’t lucky enough to have Centre Court tickets either settled into the grass on Henman Hill or jammed into the new 4,000-seat Court 2 Stadium, where the semifinals were being shown on giant television screens.

The last time a British man won Wimbledon was 1936, so Murray, 22, carried tremendous weight on his shoulders. Soccer icon David Beckham sent Murray a good luck note before the match. Tennis legends Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver watched from the Royal Box.

Federer had a much easier time reaching his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final. He beat 31-year-old Haas 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3 in just less than two hours. Federer never faced break point in the match, and had 49 winners to 15 unforced errors. It was his ninth win in a row over Haas.

“I came up with some good stuff when I had to,” Federer said. “Tough match, because Tommy was playing well.”