Federer reaches championship match

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andy Roddick was right there when Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title. And he was right there again when Roger Federer moved within one victory of matching Sampras' record.

After a scorching day in which temperatures hit 111 degrees, Federer beat Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 in more manageable 91-degree heat Thursday in the Australian Open semifinals.

The Swiss star will be playing in his 18th Grand Slam final but won't know his opponent until today, when Spanish left-handers Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco meet in the other semifinal.

Federer will be going for a fourth Australian title. Serena Williams will be doing likewise, and also going for a 10th Grand Slam singles title. She ended the 15-match winning streak of Olympic champion Elena Dementieva, winning 6-3, 6-4 to set up a final against Olympic silver medalist Dinara Safina.

This was Federer's seventh straight win over Roddick in a major and put his overall record in this matchup at 16-2. His loss to Roddick in Miami last year now seems like an aberration.

Roddick lost to Sampras in straight sets in the quarterfinals at the 2002 U.S. Open when he was a 20-year-old emerging talent. Sampras, then 31 and in his 52nd major, retired after beating Andre Agassi two matches later to win the U.S. Open.

Roddick won the next year at Flushing Meadows and held the No. 1 ranking in 2003. Federer was about to embark on an astonishing run.

"I think when Pete did it -- I was a part of that one, too -- everyone was saying how kind of lofty of an achievement it was," Roddick said. "I don't know if we thought we would see it any time soon. Little did we know [Federer] was going to start it the next year and go after it."

Roddick is 26, just more than a year younger than Federer.

Roddick lost 15 pounds during the offseason and started retooling parts of game with new coach Larry Stefanki so he'd be more competitive against Federer. Yet every time he gave himself half a chance, Federer shut him down.

"He just came up with shots when he needed to," Roddick said. "That's what he does."

Serena Williams had little problems in her singles semifinal, then combined with sister Venus to win a doubles semifinal. They will play for the title today against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Safina defeated fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6 (4) to move into contention for her first major and the No. 1 ranking -- two things her older brother, Marat Safin, achieved.

Federer's focus has been increasingly sharp since he was forced to come back from two sets down to beat Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. In his quarterfinal, he convincingly took down No. 8-ranked Juan Martin del Potro, then did the same against Roddick.

This was the hottest January day in Melbourne in 70 years. By the time Federer and Roddick were on court in the evening, temperatures had dropped and the retractable roof was open.

Federer broke twice in the first set. Adding to Roddick's frustration was a call that went against him as Federer served at 4-1, sparking a running discourse with chair umpire Enric Molina.

A tiebreaker loomed in the second set with Roddick serving at 5-5. That was until Federer upped the ante and won the last 12 points. The pattern was repeated in the third.

At this stage last year, Federer was deconstructing his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He spoke of having "created a monster" with all his success.

Federer is over the mononucleosis that lingered at the start of last year and contributed to a season in which he lost the No. 1 ranking he held for 237 weeks. He said he's in much better physical and mental shape, yet still surprised how any dip in form is interpreted.

"If I lose a set or two sets against Berdych, everybody is like, 'Oh, my God, he's not the same anymore,"' he said. "And then you beat Del Potro and everything is back to normal. You don't lose your edge that quickly. It's just not possible."

He responded to the close shave against Berdych in the best way he knew.

"Came up with two great victories now and usually that's when I start playing my best: Toward the end of the tournament," he said. "I think this is where you should judge a great player."

No Spaniard has won the Australian title, but Nadal is clearly best qualified. He's the only man to beat Federer in a Grand Slam final -- three times at the French and the five-set epic last year at Wimbledon.

Federer said he'd have more of an advantage over Verdasco, who has never reached this stage of a major.

But "playing Rafa is obviously more exciting because of the history we have," he said. "Him being the best player in the world at the moment, it would make it a very intriguing match."