Tennis: Flawless Federer Crushes Roddick

Roger Federer continued his defence of his Australian Open title with a superb 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 victory over sixth seed Andy Roddick in the semi-final.

Federer, yet to lose a set in the tournament, briefly found himself on the back foot in the first set despite breaking Roddick in the first game of the match. Four unforced errors in succession allowed Roddick to break back just three games later, tying the set at 2-2, and the American appeared in good form as he moved to a 4-3 lead on the back of some effective net play.

But Federer broke again in the ninth game of the set and never looked back, winning the next nine games straight and only committing one unforced error in a definitive second set showing. Roddick refused to surrender meekly, breaking the run and taking two more games the final set, but in the end Federer needed less than an hour and a half to tie up the win.

"I was really worried going into this match he had been playing so well," said Federer. "I played incredibly well. I had one of those days where everything worked. It's just unreal, I'm shocked myself, I don't know what to say."

He will face either twelfth seed Tommy Haas or tenth seed Fernando Gonzalez in the final on Sunday.