Federer Advances to Australian Open Final
By PAUL ALEXANDER
MELBOURNE, Australia – Roger Federer advanced to the Australian Open final Friday by beating Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.
Federer was sharp – and occasionally brilliant – in beating the German for the seventh consecutive time. The six-time Grand Slam champion will face underdog Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in Sunday’s final.
"I really turned it up when I had to," said Federer, who won the Australian Open in 2004.
The Swiss star broke Kiefer early in the first set to go up 3-1, at one point sprinting from the baseline for a drop shot and flicking a backhand around the post and down the line for a clean winner.
In the same game, Federer reached another drop shot and sent a lob over Kiefer’s head that the German hit long.
Kiefer won the second set after breaking Federer at 5-6. The German wasted his first opportunity with a weak forehand into the net, but Federer sliced a backhand wide on the next.
Federer committed only two unforced errors in the third set – after 26 in the first two sets – to retake control. With Federer serving at 5-0, Kiefer saw his only break point vanish on a shot that was called long but that TV replays showed was on the line.
Kiefer held serve to start the final set, but Federer then won five straight games. Kiefer saved two match points while serving at 1-5, then a third as Federer served in the next game. Federer finished it off with a serve that Kiefer whacked into the net.
Swiss flag T-shirts were scattered around Rod Laver Arena, and the crowd was clearly behind Federer against the testy Kiefer, who repeatedly questioned calls.
Kiefer was fined earlier in the tournament for swearing and was warned twice about obscenities in the quarterfinals.
In Saturday’s women’s final, eighth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium will try to extend her Melbourne Park winning streak to 14 matches against No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo of France.
Henin-Hardenne won the Australian Open in 2004 and missed last year’s tournament due to injury.