Yesterday's semi-finals held no threat to the relentless progress of two rivals in pursuit of the game's most coveted prize. Federer ended the heroic run of Marat Safin 6-3 7-6 6-4 and Nadal extinguished the challenge of Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-1 7-6 6-4 without moving into top gear.

There was no doubt that a large section of the crowd wanted Safin to perform well in view of his emergence from the shadows after a decline in fortunes which had made his triumphs in the 2005 Australian Open and the 2000 US Open a distant memory.

He had a magnificent tournament, putting out the highly fancied Novak Djokovic and moving on inexorably to the last four via Seppi, Wawrinka and Lopez. None of the matches were easy, and it seemed that Safin had rediscovered his taste for tennis and overcome his aversion to grass.

So he had, of course, but in the end Federer had too many shots in his armoury for the big Russian. In his old racket-trashing days, Safin would have picked up more than the one code warning volation he received for assaulting a chair late in the third set.

He was simmering from an early stage, such was Federer's sublime ability to fashion lustrous winners from any part of the court. Has there ever been a player who has used the dimensions of a tennis court so precisely? Little wonder that Safin began to berate himself.

In the end, this ambling bear of a man became a trudger in the wake of Federer's brilliant barrage. A place in the final would have been the stuff of dreams but Federer was not in the mood for indulging his opponent's fantasies. A clinical display ended Safin's run, and the born-again Muscovite was left to take heart from a stirring run to the last four.

So it is the men's final most people predicted and indeed wanted: Federer in search of his sixth Wimbledon title against Nadal, the man he has beaten in the final for the past two years. The buzz earlier this year was that Federer had lost his edge after a bout of glandular fever, on top of a draining reign at the top, but there were no signs of a decline as he reached the final without dropping a set.

Nadal, a clay court monarch, won at Queens to emphasise that he has now come to terms with the different demands of grass. There is a sense of purpose in his attitude which could make him the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same summer. It is a final to which the sheer class of Federer, on his favourite court, holds the key. He will have to be at the pinnacle of his form.

Today's final of the women's singles between Venus and Serena Williams has been on the cards since the early departure of challengers like Ivanovic, Sharapova and Jankovic.

They have been through it all before in 2002 and 2003 when Serena won. Venus should prevail this time to retain her title. It could be close, and father Richard has backed off the family tension by flying home. But, to be honest, does anybody else care?