Federer Beats Roddick; Federer vs. Nadal in Semis

The match was a dead rubber. Davydenko put Federer in the semis by beating Gonzalez in straights. However, Federer played some sublime tennis to defeat Andy 6-4, 6-2. This match is one of the best Federer matches this year in terms of form.

In the Semis, Federer faces Nadal in a rematch of last year semis. Roddick faces in-form Ferrer.

From BBC:

Roger Federer was in inspired form to beat Andy Roddick 6-4 6-2 and set up a meeting with Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Masters Cup.

Nikolay Davydenko’s earlier win over Fernando Gonzalez meant Federer reached the last four regardless of whether he beat Roddick, who was already through.

But the world number one still raised his game and out-fought and out-thought Roddick, who was powerless to respond.

Roddick will face David Ferrer in Saturday’s other semi-final match.

Federer lost his opening match against Gonzalez but he was back to his masterful best here, getting the straight-sets win he needed to top the Red Group.

Roddick battled gamely but never looked like putting his opponent in trouble and paid the price for several poor shots at crucial stages of the match.

The pressure could have been on Federer if Gonzalez had beaten Davydenko, who was already out of contention, but the Russian triumphed in an error-strewn match.

Gonzalez produced some memorable individual shots against Davydenko but could not maintain any sort of form.

The Chilean runs around his backhand when possible, preferring to utilise his often devastating forehand and while that tactic still worked occasionally, he looked short of energy.

Davydenko, who made several unexpected forays to the net, was hardly firing on all cylinders, hitting 33 winners but making 35 unforced errors too.

But Gonzalez was even more inconsistent and his frustration was evident when he smashed his racquet after a forehand mistake saw him concede the first set.

The pattern continued in the second set and although Gonzalez did not lack heart, he was short of inspiration.

A marathon game saw Davydenko break to go 5-3 up and he served out for victory, completing his win with a smash on match point.

“I lost my first two matches but winning the last gives me confidence. Now I can go on holiday.” said Davydenko.

“My confidence wasn’t so great but I won a few points coming to the net and volleying and I finished strongly.”

Spanish duo Nadal and Ferrer booked their semi-final spots with straight-set wins over Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet in the Gold Group on Thursday.