WIMBLEDON, England -- Queen Elizabeth's long-awaited return to Wimbledon will have to wait, it seems, for another year. Andy Murray, the young Briton she had hoped to watch from the Royal Box in the final tomorrow, will not be taking part in the festivities.

Instead, the Andy who will take on Roger Federer at the All England Club will be Andy Roddick, the huge-serving, still-improving American who, in one of the most significant victories of his career, put an end to Murray mania with a mature, tactically sound, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) victory.

"I had to play my best tennis out there to win today," the sixth-seeded Roddick said in his post-upset remarks to the BBC. "I can't say enough good things about Andy's game, but I can play some tennis sometimes. Not many people were giving me much of a chance at all. I knew if I could stay the course, I'd have a shot. That's all you can ask for."

Murray's compatriots were asking for much more from their new tennis icon. Yesterday, they packed into Court 2 and onto the grassy knoll still known as Henman Hill to watch the semifinal on big-screen televisions. Millions more watched in pubs and in their homes in the hope that Murray could become the first British man since Henry 'Bunny' Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon final.

But Murray's remarkable, counterpunching game was not quite as lethal as usual, as Roddick put 75 percent of his first serves in play and cleverly picked his spots to attack instead of trying to batter his way past the lanky Scotsman on a point-by-point basis.

"Throughout my career, I've had a lot of shortcomings, but trying hard hasn't been one of them," Roddick said. "To be fair, he had all the pressure on him, and I could come out and kind of swing. And that probably helped me today."

Roddick reached the final here in 2004 and 2005, losing on both occasions to Federer. Now, he has a rematch in his first Grand Slam final since the 2006 U.S. Open final where also lost to Federer.

"Our last couple of matches have all been three sets and all been very close," Roddick said of Federer, who has won 18 of 20 matches against the American and never lost to him in a Grand Slam.

Tommy Haas failed to solve the Federer riddle in the first men's semifinal yesterday. In surprisingly fine form at age 31, the feisty German brought his own complete game to bear on Federer, expertly mixing slice with topspin.

But Federer is back in a pre-Rafaelite world that looked gone for good when he lost in the final here last year. Never looking flustered, rarely looking hurried, he never allowed Haas a single break-point opportunity and smoothly moved into his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final with a 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3 victory on Center Court.

"He just comes up with the goods, you know," Haas said.

"He can play defensive and turn it into offensive so quick, like no other player, and that makes him so extremely tough."

Though officially seeded second here, Federer became the top seed in the tournament when Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who beat Federer in the classic final last year, withdrew because of knee problems shortly before Wimbledon began.

Nadal eclipsed Federer for much of the past year, but the momentum at the top of the game has shifted quickly.

With Nadal losing early at the French Open, Federer was able to win the only Grand Slam singles title he lacked. With that heavy weight off his psyche, Federer has been calm and collected at the All England Club, dropping just one set in six matches.

He has moved well, hit his groundstrokes well and, above all, served like the champion he is under pressure. Haas never managed to push Federer to deuce in any of his service games yesterday; it might come as some consolation that Federer did not lose his serve against Robin Soderling in the fourth round or Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals, either.

Win again tomorrow, and Federer will regain the No.1 ranking from Nadal. More important to sports historians, he will break the career record for Grand Slam singles titles he now shares with the former American champion Pete Sampras. Each has 14.

"At the end of the day, you have to let the racket do the talking," Federer said.

"I'm happy where my game's at right now. I'm so excited that I have a day off, so I can kind of really get ready for the finals, because it's a big one, you know. I know what's on the line. I hope I can play another good match."

Federer said he was uncertain whether Sampras would make the long journey from his home in California for the final.

"He might come around; he might not," Federer said.

"It's his choice, but I'd love to see him because he's a good friend of mine. I'm very honored that I share the record of 14 with him."

For a man whose game has a broad appeal that extends beyond the game's usual fans, the numbers still have a tendency to take over with Federer. This will be his sixth consecutive Grand Slam final and his 20th overall, which is an all-time record: breaking his tie with Ivan Lendl.