World No 1 Roger Federer has set up a Masters Cup semi-final showdown with rival Rafael Nadal after defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets in the final round-robin match in Shanghai.
Federer's 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Roddick ensured the defending champion topped the Red Group and booked a last-four contest with world No 2 and Spaniard Nadal.
The match will be a repeat of last year's semi-final which saw Federer edge a close contest 6-4, 7-5. Roddick, who has now failed to beat Federer in 11 matches since 2003, will face Gold Group winner David Ferrer in the other semi-final. Federer, who has won the end-of-season tournament three times, had already ensured his passage through to the last four before today's contest with Roddick. The Swiss had progressed courtesy of Nikolay Davydenko's 6-4, 6-3 win over Fernando Gonzalez which was the first match on court. Federer, who had lost his opening round-robin match to Gonzalez, was back to his best against Roddick and breezed past his opponent in just over an hour. He wrapped up the opening set in 33 minutes as Roddick double-faulted to go a break down in the third game. Roddick was then two breaks down in the second before holding serve, but never looked like staging a comeback as Federer completed victory with a stylish forehand on his first match point. |
No comments:
Post a Comment