Fedex one win away from record

Swiss ace Roger Federer is just one win away from equalling Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles.

Roddick put up a good fight, producing some of his best tennis, but Federer was a class apart and secured a 6-2 7-5 7-5 win.

He will now face either Rafael Nadal or Fernando Verdasco in Sunday's final in Melbourne when he will be looking to regain the title he surrendered last year to Novak Djokovic when he was suffering from glandular fever.

"I kind of came up short against Novak. I thought he played a fantastic match against me," Federer said after his latest win.

"I do feel better mentally (this year). I'm obviously more healthy so I can focus on playing well. I'm really pleased about my performance so far in the tournament. The draw was difficult and dangerous if you look back on who I had to play."

On Thursday, Federer held serve throughout the encounter and seemed able to raise his level at just the right time to slap down Roddick's challenge.

Roddick came into the clash having lost to Federer in 15 of their 17 previous meetings so knew he had to produce something special to reach his first Australian Open final.

He had won their last encounter - in Miami last year - but things did not start well for the seventh seed on this occasion.

Federer made his customary fast start, breaking Roddick's serve in the third game. The American was soon a double break down and vented his frustration during an argument with the umpire.

Roddick seemed determined to attack the net whenever possible, but his volleying did not appear to be up to scratch, while Federer often came up with a pass.

The Swiss maestro was soon a set to the good, but Roddick was keen not to go down without a fight and his level improved in the second set.

Undoubtedly fitter under new coach Larry Stefanki, his serve began to cause Federer more problems and he dug in to keep the set on serve.

However, when the set reached its business end, Federer pounced.

Roddick was broken to love in the 11th game and Federer easily served out for a two-set lead.

As the American sat down he must have wondered what he had to do. The statistics showed he had got 70 per cent of his first serves in, yet he was still two sets down and being out-aced by the second seed.

As the third set progressed on serve, the quality rose again and the crowd on the Rod Laver Arena - roof open - clearly wanted another set.

However, the pattern of the second set was repeated - Federer striking at just the right time.

Roddick saved three break points at 5-5 but not a fourth and moments later Federer was celebrating victory thanks to a sumptuous forehand winner down the line.

Reflecting on his win, Federer said: "I had a great start. That helped a lot. I mean, I thought that I played really solid out there tonight. I thought level was high throughout the match.

"I had a couple good games where I served really well in the first set, and that gave me a lot of confidence going into the second one. I was moving well and getting a lot of balls back and making it difficult for Andy to get the upper hand from the baseline. That was kind of what I was hoping for."

Roddick insisted he would take "a lot of positives" out of his run to the semis, but knew he had been beaten by the better man.

He said: "I hit the ball pretty well. If you look at his stats for the match, both of us had pretty good stats. You know, he just came up with shots when he needed to. That's what he does."