| July 3, 2009 Federer advances to 7th Wimbledon final
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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Five-time champion Roger Federer delivered a masterful grass-court performance Friday to beat Tommy Haas in straight sets and reach his seventh straight Wimbledon final, putting him within one win of a record 15th Grand Slam title.
Seeming to get stronger with every match, Federer put on a serving clinic and took advantage of his break-point chances to subdue the 31-year-old German 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3 in just over two hours.
Federer is the first man to make it to seven consecutive Wimbledon finals in the history of a tournament that began in 1877.
He never faced a break point in beating Haas for the ninth straight time to reach his record 20th Grand Slam final, pulling out of a tie with Ivan Lendl.
"I'm very happy with my performance and it's unbelievable to back into another Wimbledon final," Federer said. "I've had a lot of pressure over all the years, so this is just another great match, great opportunity for me to get into the history books."
Federer, who will meet the winner of the second semifinal between Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, has won 18 straight matches as he closes in on his 15th major title. He is tied with Pete Sampras at 14.
If Federer wins Sunday, he will be the third player to win six or more Wimbledon titles. William Renshaw and Sampras both won seven.
"It's not the only reason why I'm playing tennis, because mostly because I love it and I enjoy playing tennis, but sure going for
