KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Roger Federer, far short of his fluent best, beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-6 7-5 last night to set up an Australian Open semi-final showdown with Andy Roddick.
The top seed and defending champion struggled in blustery conditions against the seventh seed, but still did enough
at key moments to extend his winning streak to 34 matches and stay on course for his 10th grand slam title.
"Conditions were very slow and it was windy so I had to adjust to that," Federer told a news conference. "Tommy is a tough baseliner so he plays it smart. I tried to change things up a bit but I struggled to find my rhythm.
"Overall, I played pretty well. The breaks of serve were due to the windy conditions. My attacking style worked out well and I volleyed really well. As long as I get through I'm happy."
Federer started slowly on Rod Laver Arena, making a number of uncharacteristic errors, but the world number one still broke Robredo's serve three times in the opening set.
The Spaniard took advantage of this carelessness to contrive two breaks of his own but Federer ruthlessly seized on his first set point with a flowing backhand down the line.
The Swiss continued to misfire in the second, mixing a couple of wild mis-hits with a succession of weak groundstrokes into the net, and Robredo stayed with him until the top seed broke for 5-4.
Tame forehand
Federer, 25, then played a poor service game, slipping to 15-40 before sending a tame forehand volley wide.
Robredo comfortably held serve but Federer typically raised his game in the tiebreak, roaring into a 6-2 lead and clinching it at the first opportunity.
Federer broke early in the third set but handed the advantage straight back and if the 24-year-old Robredo had been able to push harder he could have extended the Swiss maestro further.
Robredo had to serve at 5-6 to save the match and Federer pounced, wasting his first match point with an errant backhand down the line before forcing the Spaniard to drift a backhand wide to seal victory in two hours 20 minutes.
"I was able to break his serve a few times but I couldn't serve well enough myself," Robredo said. "I had a few chances but I was not able to take them. He played great shots on important points and that's why he is the best player in the world."
It was the fourth time Federer has reached a grand slam semi-final without dropping a set and his match against sixth seed Roddick will be his 11th successive appearance in the last four of a major, beating Ivan Lendl's professional era record of 10 in a row.
Federer has won the Australian Open twice, beating Marcos Baghdatis in last year's final and Marat Safin in 2004.
- REUTERS