Federer, Ferrer advance to Masters Cup final

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and David Ferrer were semifinal winners Saturday at the Tennis Masters Cup and will play for the title of the lucrative season-ending event on Sunday.
The top-seeded Federer had a surprisingly easy match against nemesis Rafael Nadal, posting a 6-4, 6-1 triumph, while the sixth-seeded Ferrer cruised past American Andy Roddick, 6-1, 6-3.
Federer's 59-minute victory against Nadal was his most one-sided in the rivalry, which the Swiss star has recently dominated. The world No. 1 has captured five of the last seven matches with the Spanish sensation, losing only in the finale at the Monte Carlo Masters and French Open this spring.
"For me to beat him on hard court indoors is a great result," said Federer, who is now 6-8 lifetime against Nadal. "And the way I played today, I wish I could play every time like this against him. But it's not that easy."...Full Story

Federer, Roddick post Day-4 wins in Shanghai

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Swiss Roger Federer and former top-ranked American star Andy Roddick were Wednesday's Red Group round- robin winners at the exclusive $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup. Roddick has already clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals here.
The top-seeded Federer rebounded from a Monday loss against Fernando Gonzalez by whipping fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-3, while a fifth- seeded Roddick improved to 2-0 this week by handling a seventh-seeded Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium. Roddick moved to 7-3 lifetime versus the Australian Open runner-up Gonzalez.
Federer got past Davydenko in 1 hour, 26 minutes with the help of four service breaks, compared to two for the Russian, while Roddick doused "Gonzo" in 1 hour, 5 minutes by winning 21 more points (59-38) than his Chilean counterpart. The massive-serving American, who fired only four aces in the big win, also broke Gonzalez three times, while the Chilean failed to record one break in the setback.
The amazing Federer is now 16-1 all-time in his Masters Cup round-robin matches and 11-0 lifetime versus Davydenko, who succumbed to the super Swiss in this year's U.S. and French Open semifinals...Full Story

Round-robin groups revealed for Tennis Masters Cup

Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - The two four-man groups for next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup were announced on Wednesday, as Swiss great Roger Federer will head up the Red Group, while powerful Spaniard Rafael Nadal spearheads the Gold Group. Federer is the defending champion.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, while the second-seeded Nadal is joined in the Gold quartet by No. 3 Serbian Novak Djokovic, No. 6 Spaniard David Ferrer and No. 8 Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Spain will be the only country with more than one participant this year (Nadal and Ferrer).
Round-robin play will commence Sunday on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium, with two matches on the docket. The French Open champion Nadal will open up against Gasquet, while the nightcap will pit Djokovic versus Ferrer...Full Story

Federer reaches semis; Gonzalez falls in Basel

Basel, Switzerland (Sports Network) - Hometown hero Roger Federer was among Friday's quarterfinal winners, while last year's runner-up and former champion Fernando Gonzalez went by way of the upset at the $1.2 million Swiss Indoors tennis event.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer handled German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 at St. Jakobshalle. The Swiss Federer captured his 544th career singles victory, making him the active wins leader on the ATP. Former world No. 1 Carlos Moya is second to Federer, with 543 wins.
Federer topped the Chilean Gonzalez in last year's Basel finale and was the back-to-back runner-up in his hometown in 2000 and 2001.
The reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Federer was last week's Madrid Masters runner-up to Argentine star David Nalbandian...Full Story

Federer will play in Davis Cup playoff this month

London, England (Sports Network) - Roger Federer has decided to play Davis Cup for Switzerland this month.
The Swiss will face the Czech Republic in a playoff on an indoor carpet in Prague from September 21-23, with the winner joining next year's 16-team World Group.
Federer had said that he would not play Davis Cup this year so he could concentrate on his top-ranking status and the Grand Slams. He won three of the four majors this year and was the runner-up at the French Open.
The 26-year-old Federer will be joined on the Swiss team by Stanislas Wawrinka, Michael Lammer and Yves Allegro. The formidable Czechs will counter with Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Lukas Dlouhy and Martin Damm.
Federer captured his fourth straight U.S. Open title last week, giving him 12 major titles for his brilliant career.

Federer, Djokovic to meet for U.S. Open crown

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will play for the U.S. Open title on Sunday after each won semifinal matches on Saturday.
The top-seeded Federer posted a 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, while the third-seeded Djokovic beat the heat and Spain's David Ferrer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, in the opener of Saturday's afternoon twinbill.
Federer continued his amazing play in Grand Slam competition, reaching a final for the 10th straight time. He will try for his fourth consecutive U.S. Open title and his 12th overall Grand Slam crown.
Standing in his way is the 20-year-old Djokovic, who was the last man to beat the Swiss superstar. Federer lost to the young Serb in the final of the Montreal Masters last month.
A victory Sunday afternoon would put Federer just two Grand Slam titles behind the record of 14 set by Pete Sampras. Federer would also become the first player to win four straight U.S. Open titles since the great Bill Tilden won six in a row from 1920-25....Full Story

Federer, Djokovic on collision course in New York?

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - The men's semifinals will be staged Saturday at the U.S. Open, where top-seeded and three-time defending champion Roger Federer will take on fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko and third- seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will tangle with 15th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer. Three of the top-four seeds are still standing at this hardcourt fortnight.
The world No. 1 Federer is a seemingly unstoppable 9-0 lifetime against Davydenko, including a victory in this year's French Open semis. The super Swiss also topped the gritty Russian in last year's U.S. Open semifinals and is 3-0 versus Davydenko in Grand Slam action.
The 26-year-old Federer has already reached a record nine straight Grand Slam finals, going 7-2, and owns 11 major titles, including the last two Aussie Opens and the last five Wimbledon championships. His two major finals losses came at the hands of Rafael Nadal at the French Open over the last two seasons.
Federer is 26-0 at the U.S. Open since reaching the top of the ATP rankings in 2004...Full Story

Federer routs Blake in Cincy for 50th career title

Mason, OH (Sports Network) - Roger Federer breezed past James Blake in straight sets of the Cincinnati Masters final to capture his 50th career ATP singles title.
The Swiss superstar had little trouble defeating the American Blake, winning 6-1, 6-4, to become the fifth-youngest player to reach 50 career wins at 26 years and 11 days. Novak Djokovic denied Federer of the milestone last week in the final at the Montreal Masters.
It is the fifth title in 2007 for Federer, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. The top-seeded and world No. 1 Federer also captured his second Cincinnati crown, having won here in 2005.
The ninth-seeded Blake fell to 0-7 lifetime against Federer, having lost to the Swiss star in three finals.
Federer pocketed $400,000 for winning, while Blake took home $200,000.

Federer eases into Rogers Masters final

Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Top-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer defeated Czech Radek Stepanek in the semifinal round of the $2.45 million Rogers Masters -- the sixth of nine Masters Series events this year.
The world No. 1 Federer ousted Stepanek 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to advance to Sunday's final where he will meet the winner of the Rafael Nadal/Novak Djokovic match scheduled for Saturday evening.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion Federer defeated France's Richard Gasquet in last year's Rogers Masters finale in Toronto. This event alternates between Montreal and Toronto each year.
Federer also captured this event in Toronto in 2004 and has now won his last 16 matches in Canada.
The 2007 Rogers Masters titlist will collect $400,000.
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Roger Federer wins Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Roger Federer outlasted Rafael Nadal in a grueling five-set classic to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final on Sunday.
The Super Swiss becomes just the second man in the Open Era to capture five straight Wimbledon championships. Swedish icon Bjorn Borg turned the trick previously from 1976-80
The top-seeded/World No. 1 Federer used his legendary conditioning to overwhelm the second-seeded Nadal in the final set to secure things. It took nearly four hours for him to down the talented Spaniard 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2, and claim his 11th Grand Slam title.
Federer is now a dominating 38-4 lifetime at the All England Club and upped his record grass-court winning streak to 54, including 34 straight at Wimbledon.

Federer, Nadal reach semis; Roddick falls in Wimbledon quarters

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning four-time champion Roger Federer and last year's runner-up Rafael Nadal charged into the semifinals, while two-time finalist Andy Roddick lost to talented Frenchman Richard Gasquet in Friday's quarterfinal action at Wimbledon.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer needed two days to get past 20th-seeded former top-ranked star Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 on the famed Centre Court. The match was tied at 5-5 in the first set here on Thursday when rain halted play for the day.
Federer prevailed in 2 hours, 16 minutes with the help of 15 aces among his 51 winners and five service breaks. The 27-year-old Ferrero recorded 32 fewer winners and only broke Federer's serve on two occasions.
The high-flying Swiss, now 36-4 lifetime at the All England Club, wound up dropping his first set of the fortnight against the Spanish Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion.
"OK, a set is lost, but a match isn't lost," Federer said.
This marks Federer's first result here in a week, as the combination of a scheduled day off, inclement weather and a withdrawal by his scheduled fourth- round opponent, Tommy Haas, kept him idle here for five days.
"It was hard for me," said Federer. "I had many days off. I'm just really happy I came through it and I'm back in the rhythm now."
Federer's grass-court winning streak is now up to 52, including a 32-match string here at the All England Club. The super Swiss already owns 10 Grand Slam titles and is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to capture five straight Wimbledon championships. Swedish icon Bjorn Borg turned the trick here from 1976-80.
The 25-year-old Federer has appeared in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals and landed in the semifinals in his last 13 majors. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and lost to the Spaniard in the last two French Open title bouts.
Federer, who's also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ, will meet the surprising Gasquet in Saturday's semifinals.
A second-seeded Nadal, the reigning three-time French Open champion, reached his second straight Wimbledon semi by dousing seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court on Day 11 here.
Nadal moved on in 2 hours, 7 minutes with the help of 30 unforced errors by his fellow 21-year-old Berdych. The powerful Spaniard also piled up four key breaks, compared to only one for his 6-foot-5 counterpart.
Unlike the well-rested Federer, Nadal played for a fifth straight day here on Friday.
Nadal's semifinal opponent will be rapidly-rising Serbian star Novak Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in last month's French Open semis. The Spaniard is 4-1 lifetime against the Serb, including a 3-1 record this season.
A 12th-seeded Gasquet came all the way back to stun the third-seeded Roddick 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3), 8-6 on Court 1. Roddick was up two sets and 4-2 in the third when Gasquet mounted an unlikely comeback.
Roddick won his first 14 sets at this fortnight before Gasquet turned their round-of-eight match around on Friday.
Gasquet stunned Roddick in 3 hours, 34 minutes. The Frenchman actually struck more aces than the massive-serving American (23-22) and piled up 33 more winners (93-60) than Roddick.
The 24-year-old Roddick is a former world No. 1 and captured his lone Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2003. He lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals.
Gasquet, who had never won a five-set match before Friday, will meet Federer for a seventh time, with the supreme Swiss holding a 5-1 all-time advantage. Federer beat Gasquet in the first round at Wimbledon a year ago and has won five straight matches in their series.
The 21-year-old Gasquet will perform in his first-ever major semi on Saturday.
In another marathon quarterfinal on Friday, a fourth-seeded Djokovic landed in his second semi in the last two majors by outlasting 10th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (11-9), 6-7 (3-7), 4-6, 7-5 on Court 1. A fatigued Djokovic needed five hours to sneak past the 2006 Wimbledon semifinalist Baghdatis. The victory marked the fourth-longest match in modern Wimbledon history. And the longest Wimbledon singles match ever played on one day lasted only five minutes longer than this Djokovic-Baghdatis epic.
Djokovic recorded a huge service break to grab a 6-5 lead in the fifth set and closed out a game Baghdatis by holding his quality serve in the 12th game of the stanza. The Serb fired 12 aces among his 58 winners on Day 11. The Cypriot struck 16 more winners than Djokovic, but also piled up 10 more unforced errors (60-50) in the disappointing setback.
A weary Djokovic played 9 hours, 12 minutes of tennis over the last two days here. He required 4 hours, 12 minutes to stave off former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt here on Thursday and required some on-court treatment from a tour trainer on Friday.

Federer reaches fourth round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer continued his quest for his fifth straight Wimbledon title as he posted a straight-set victory in the third round on Friday.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer faced a former world No. 1 in Marat Safin of Russia and won 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). It is his 51st successive win on grass.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 31 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open titlist and was this year's French Open runner-up to Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost at the AEC since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round back in 2002.
Federer, who is now 35-4 lifetime here, will next face 13th-seeded German Tommy Haas, who bounced back from a first set loss to down 21st-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
There were three third round upsets on Friday as fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, ninth-seeded American James Blake and 15th-seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic were all handed losses.
Gonzalez, the Australian Open runner-up, was handed a defeat in five sets by unseeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6.
Blake took the first set, but then lost the next three to 20th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Blake has never advanced beyond the third round at the All England Club.
Ljubicic won the first set of his match against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, but the dropped the next three 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.
Twelfth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet marched on by leveling his countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
In unseeded play, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a straight-set winner against Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

ATP: Federer storms into third round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer needed just 10 minutes to dispose of Juan Martin del Potro on Thursday.
Federer was leading the promising Argentine 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 when action was suspended for the day on Wednesday due to rain. As play resumed Thursday, Federer immediately dismissed del Potro by winning four of five games to take the third set 6-1 and claim his 50th successive win on grass.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 30 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
Federer has not lost on grass since 2003. The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ and was this year's French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost here since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round back in 2002.
Federer will face former world number one Marat Safin of Russia in the third round. The 26th-seeded Safin downed Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). Qureshi was the first Pakistani to play on the men's side at Wimbledon in 31 years.

Roddick rolls; Federer runs into rain at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Two-time finalist Andy Roddick was a straight-set second-round winner Wednesday at Wimbledon, while reigning four- time champion Roger Federer was leading his second-rounder when rain halted play for the day at the All England Club.
The third-seeded Roddick improved to a career 25-6 here by handling Thai Danai Udomchoke 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) following a brief rain delay on the famed Centre Court.
The massive-serving Roddick, who has never lost before the third round here, advanced in 1 hour, 44 minutes with the help of 15 aces among his 40 winners on Day 3.
The 24-year-old Roddick is a former world No. 1 and has appeared in four Grand Slam finals, with his lone victory coming at the 2003 U.S. Open. He lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finales.
Roddick's third-round opponent will be lefthanded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer will have to wait until Thursday if he wants to extend his grass-court winning streak to 50 matches, as he was leading promising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 when action was suspended for the day.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 29 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
Federer has won his last 49 grass-court matches overall, dating back to 2003, which includes a 20-match streak in Halle, Germany.

ATP: Federer, Roddick open with wins at rainy Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning four-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick were a pair of straight-set winners on a rain-interrupted opening day at Wimbledon.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Swiss Federer handled Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court at the venerable All England Club. Federer barely broke a sweat in an uneventful 91-minute victory. The start of the match, and all of the day's action, was delayed by rain for just over 2 1/2 hours, and the wet stuff is in the forecast for most of this first week.
Federer fired nine aces and broke Gabashvili's serve on four occasions on his way to the second round, where he'll meet 6-foot-5 Argentine Juan Martin del Potro or Italian veteran Davide Sanguinetti.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 29 matches at the All England Club, while Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ and was this year's French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost here since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round in 2002.
A third-seeded Roddick got past fellow American Justin Gimelstob 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) on Court 1. Roddick uncorked 16 aces and held his lethal serve throughout the entire match.
The former No. 1 star and 2003 U.S. Open champion Roddick lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals and could meet the mighty Swiss in this year's semis. Federer also downed Roddick here in the semis in 2003.