Men's semifinal: 2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) v 7-Andy Roddick (US)
KEY POINTS:
Andy Roddick has been here before, up against Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals and coming off a last-up win over the Swiss master.
Things got ugly.
After downing Federer at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event the week before the 2007 Open, Roddick made the schoolboy mistake of playfully remarking: "No one beats Andy Roddick 10 times in a row".
It was a joke, of course, the American stealing an old line from Vitas Gerulaitis, who almost three decades earlier coined one of the most famous quotes in tennis after snapping his 16-match losing streak against Jimmy Connors.
Federer, though, had the last laugh when he spanked Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in the Open semifinals.
Little wonder Roddick - who upset Federer in Miami last March to improve his appalling win-loss record against the 13-times Grand Slam champion to 2-15 - is making all the right noises before their latest Melbourne Park shootout tonight.
Roddick says it was ludicrous that Federer had to put up with claims he was past it when he lost the world No1 ranking to Rafael Nadal last August.
"I was really happy to see Roger win the US Open last year," the Open's No7 seed said after defending champion Novak Djokovic retired from their quarter-final while trailing two sets to one and 2-1 in the fourth.
"If I'm being frank with you guys, he was a lot classier in that press conference with everyone here than I would have been if I was in that position.
"He has nothing to prove. He's the greatest. He's created quite an animal for himself, where if someone wins a set they're questioning his form.
"The guy made two finals, a semi and won a slam last year and people are saying he's off form.
"He deserves a lot more respect than that ... you're dealing with a guy who's probably the greatest ever."
Hence why Roddick is affording Federer that due respect.
And so he should.
The three-time Open champion was sublime in his 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday night, ruthlessly proving that while Argentina's world No6 remains some way off arriving as a Grand Slam force.
Spain's Fernando Verdasco last night advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal in 23 attempts, beating last year's Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
The 14th-seeded Verdasco, who upset Britain's Andy Murray in the fourth round, beat Tsonga 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
- AAP
