TWO HOURS was quite enough for Roger Federer’s 21st consecutive Grand Slam semi-final yesterday. An imperceptible twist of pressure on the big points, a tiebreak, and a solid serve was all that was needed to end the run of 31-year-old Tommy Haas.

Federer came in afterwards and told us “they’re never easy, those big matches”. Those who had watched his 7-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against the 24th seed thought he was having a private joke.

Federer can do irony and sarcasm fluently in several European languages. But yesterday the fringe barely flopped out of his white bandana as he surgically carved Haas out of the draw. Federer maybe be urbane and modest off court, but on it he has a streak that is both detached and ruthless.

Smooth, unfussy, merciless, efficient, ostentatiously talented. One particular shot from the top seed towards the end of the final set brought the adoring crowd to its feet. Haas had played a ball wide to Federer’s backhand and had followed in to the net to smother whatever scrambled return the former champion might throw back. Stretching out and low, Federer feathered the ball with a vicious slash of his almost flat racquet, floated the ball over the head of Hass and dropped it just inside the baseline.

Afterwards Haas was asked if he had detected any weak links in the Federer game. It was a genuine question born largely out of the fact that no chinks can be seen from the stand, so maybe a guy who has just played him might have spotted some kink.

“There aren’t really any weaknesses,” confirmed the German. “He moves in such smooth ways and has such good defensive play. The slice bites a lot. I think maybe if he gets a bit tight, he can make unforced errors . . . He made two spectacular slice lobs over my head at important points.”

Haas didn’t play badly and Federer need almost two sets before he began to get a look in on the serve that had been impressively going past him for over an hour and a half. It took a tiebreak to separate them in the first set, but as Federer probed he finally broke the Haas serve in the 12th game of the second set for 7-5.

By then an air of inevitability had settled over Centre Court as people asked themselves who ever comes back to beat Federer from two sets down. Just one more service break in the third set for 6-3 settled the match.

Inevitably, the post-match interest lay with Federer’s growing title collection.

“I’m very proud of all the records I’ve achieved because I never thought I would be that successful as a kid,” said Federer, who is seeking a record 15th Grand Slam title.

In that respect the rumour mill has been cranked up. Pete Sampras is reported to be in London to see his record, which Federer has equalled, finally being left behind.

“It’s quite staggering now having reached my sixth straight Grand Slam final,” said Federer. “Having so many things go for me now, and again on Sunday, is amazing. As a kid I would have been happy winning a couple of tournaments, maybe collecting Wimbledon.”

The Andy Murray factor aside, this Wimbledon for the neutrals has been about Federer’s quest. That he is regarded as the best player many here have ever seen – and that includes Rod Laver, who was watching from the Royal box this week – as well as the most aesthetically pleasing to watch makes him the player most want to see leave a large mark on the game.

That requires him to win in what is a record seventh straight Wimbledon final.

But making a play for his 15th major is proving not to be as intimidating as capturing Bjorn Borg’s record of five straight Wimbledon titles.

“Trying to achieve the fifth straight Wimbledon, equalling Borg’s record, for some reason that meant the world to me,” said Federer. “I was like in a bubble for two weeks just trying to achieve it.

“So this time around I think I’m a lot more relaxed. Maybe it’s also because of Paris (where he won for the first time this year). But really, I think that experience of going for my fifth Wimbledon was really a big one. That’s why I might actually be a bit more relaxed this year.”

What his relaxed chances are of achieving his goal seem to be pretty good, with Haas opining that there is little that can stop him, except perhaps himself.

“For him being in this occasion so many times, I feel like he just has the edge over everybody just in how he feels and how he has to play and what he has to do without thinking too much about it. Today I served well, but he just keeps on coming up with the goods. He can play defensive and turn it into offensive so quick, like no other player, and that makes him so extremely tough.”

Andy Roddick will know exactly how tough that examination will be as he has lost to Federer three times this year: at the Australian Open in January, in Miami in March and on the clay in Madrid prior to Roland Garros in May. He has also lost here twice in the final to Federer. On one of those occasions he said he “threw the kitchen sink at Federer and a bath tub came back”.

Expect the same again.