Federer in ATP semis

LONDON (AP):

Roger Federer continued his dominance over Robin Soderling with a 7-6 (5) 6-3 win yesterday to earn a spot in the semi-finals at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.

Federer improved to 3-0 in the round-robin phase of the tournament to secure first place in Group B, while Soderling fell to 1-2 and didn't win enough games to stay in contention for a semi-final spot.

Federer improved his career record against Soderling to 15-1, with his only loss to the Swede coming in this year's French Open quarter-finals.

"(Soderling) always brings out something different every time he plays me, because he has to try different things," Federer said. "I was able to handle it well, which was a very happy feeling for me to have."

Federer broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set, hitting a backhand passing shot that Soderling could only return into the net. The second-ranked Swiss then set up match point with a drop shot and converted it when Soderling hit his return into the net.

Federer has yet to lose a set in the tournament and took advantage of Soderling's 25 unforced errors on the indoor hard court at the O2 Arena.

The two traded breaks once in the first set before Federer took control of the tiebreaker by earning a mini-break with a forehand winner after a long rally, and followed it up with two straight aces for a 5-2 lead. He converted his second set point with a lunging one-handed backhand that Soderling let sail past him thinking it would be long, only to see it land in the far corner of the court.