 Roger Federer has probably taken longer showers - not that he needed one after disposing of Jonas Bjorkman 6-2 6-0 6-2 in 77 minutes of merciless, sweatless domination on his way to his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final. Bjorkman. More like `Brokenman' after his 34-year-old physique felt the full force of the man who is hurtling not just towards Bjorn Borg's record of five successive titles but also to the mantle of the greatest player the world has seen. Federer allowed Bjorkman just four games. He has still not lost a set this Championship and if he continues in that vein in Sunday's final then he would be the first man to do so at Wimbledon since Borg back in 1976. No wonder Bjorkman, a doubles specialist these days with nine Grand Slam titles to his name and the oldest semi-finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1987, was a 200-1 outsider in a two-horse race. The bookies rarely get such things wrong and so it proved, the only thing remotely similar about their tennis worlds the white bandanas they wore. To his credit Bjorkman was the first to admit as much. He said: "It was nice to be around and see someone play as near to perfection as you can play tennis. I had the best seat in the house. He makes it look so simple. "I asked him how he felt. He said he thought he saw the ball like a bowling ball, a basketball. I just wanted to check because if he said he'd had a bad day I'd have been worried." Bjorkman even considered it tougher playing Federer than seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras. Added Bjorkman: "I have always felt Pete is the greatest, but with him you could find a way to get games here and there. Roger didn't give me any freebies. "He looked like he wanted to win every point. That's why it seemed more difficult playing Roger than Pete. Roger has got everything. "I always felt Stefan Edberg was one of the greatest movers. He was as smooth as a cat but Roger is above that. He doesn't look like he's moving a lot, but he's always there and his power is amazing." In truth, however, the Bjorkman serve too often was too short, his approach play not nearly carrying enough venom. Federer's first move came in the third game when Bjorkman dumped an easy volley into the net and then tried to trade cross-court forehands. It ended in his serve being broken. The seventh game brought another service break, this time Bjorkman attempting a drop shot, only for Federer to step forward and flick it dismissively away with a ripping backhand. If ever a shot said the master had the measure of his man it was that one. At that moment, 5-2 in the first set, the match ceased to be a contest. Bjorkman, try as he might to take returns early, simply had nothing with which to hurt the man who has been world number one for the past 127 weeks. The second set must have seemed like a humiliating blur for Bjorkman, whose only chance came in the fourth game when he held a love-30 lead. Four unanswered points, including two aces, was the Federer riposte. A ripple of embarrassment went through the Centre Court crowd. There are few things worse in sport than witnessing a mis-match of such dimensions. Even when Bjorkman played his best point of the match in the fourth game, a great return, a flick cross court, he still lost the point. And so Bjorkman inevitably became Federer's 47th consecutive victim on grass, a running streak which shows no sign of coming to a close. Not when you listen to Federer. He admitted: "It was flawless. It's just a beautiful feeling. You don't get it very often because usually you have very close matches. When you can dominate an opponent, it's always nice, especially in a semi-final of a Grand Slam." Not that he would allow even a smidgen of complacency before tomorrow's final. He said: "I have to forget the whole tournament so far. I can't rely on a flawless performance, straight sets, no worries, no break points, all this stuff. I'm sure I will have to fight much harder in the final than today." Why, he might even need to shower. | 
