Federer Dominates Roddick To Set Up All-Swiss Semifinal
By: James Waterson
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Photo Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
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(November 4, 2011) World No. 4 Roger Federer lost only 10 service points en route to a 6-3, 6-2 win against Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors Friday.
The win was Federer’s 21st win in 23 matches against the American, and it extends the Swiss’ winning streak against Roddick to seven matches.
Friday’s match stayed on serve until the eighth game, when Federer’s slice backhand forced several unforced errors from Roddick’s forehand. The Swiss then hit two forehand winners an un-returnable serve to close out the first set.
Federer, the defending champion, broke in the first game of the second set, and he continued to use his slice backhand to set up strong shots from his forehand. The lethal combination proved too much for Roddick, as he would drop serve again later in the set.
Roddick, who is known for his strong serve, struggled to find any consistency with his first delivery. He hit only 36 percent of his first serves in, which lead to him winning 57 percent of his service points.
Meanwhile, Federer excelled in his service games, as he won 79 percent of those points.
“It was a tough day for Andy, he wasn't at his best,” Federer said. “He was good in the first six games but then I started to take control.”
The 16-time Grand Slam champion will face fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals. Wawrinka had a quick day on court as well, as he dominated Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour.
Despite hitting only 39 percent of his first serves in, Wawrinka won 78 percent of his service points. That number indicates how dominant he was in the match, as Mayer had no answers for Wawrinka’s shots from the baseline.
The German couldn’t find any solace on his own serve, as he didn’t even win half of his service points.
Although Wawrinka was dominant today, he will have his work cut out for him against Federer, who has won nine of their last 10 matches. In fact, Wawrinka has taken only one set in their last seven matches.
“It's special to play Stan because we are the top two Swiss and this match is in Switzerland,” Federer said. “There are no secrets between us. We've played 10 times and have practiced together many more.”