Federer serves Roddick another loss in Aussie Open semis

MELBOURNE -- Even top-ranked Roger Federer was stunned by his domination of Andy Roddick.\nAfter looking vulnerable in some of his earlier matches, Federer was virtually untouchable as he beat sixth-seeded Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 Thursday at the Australian Open to reach his seventh consecutive Grand Slam final, tying a record set by Jack Crawford in 1934.\n"This was definitely one of my best matches I ever played," said Federer, who is seeking his 10th major title. "I had one of these days when everything just worked, I was unbeatable. It's just unreal. I was playing out of my mind. I am shocked myself.\n"The tournament is not even over yet, so let's not get carried away. Let me do it one more time."\nSerena Williams earlier proved her doubters wrong.\nUnseeded after an injury-plagued 2006 that limited her to four tournaments, Williams reached her first Grand Slam final in two years by beating Nicole Vaidisova 7-6 (5), 6-4.\nStanding in the way of an eighth Grand Slam title -- she already has two here -- is top-seeded Maria Sharapova. The Russian turned her semifinal against No. 4 Kim Clijsters into an Australian farewell match for the 23-year-old Belgian, who is retiring at the end of the year, with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.\nFederer will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez and No. 12 Tommy Haas.\nRoddick had hoped that his net-charging tactics, implemented by new coach Jimmy Connors after Wimbledon last year, would help him close the gap with Federer. He beat the Swiss star at an exhibition tournament less than two weeks ago.\nFederer made sure it didn't happen again when it counted.\n"He was playing so well," Federer said. "I thought I would see 50 aces going past me. That's why I didn't read the papers today, didn't switch on the TV and I just tried to focus on my game."\nFederer ran off 11 games in a row from serving at 3-4 in the first set. He blunted Roddick's powerful serve and whipped passing shots seemingly at will, leaving Roddick flat-footed and staring in disbelief.\nRoddick won only nine of his 31 net approaches and had only 11 winners. Federer had 10 aces, 45 winners and just 12 unforced errors.\nIt got so bad that Roddick got a huge ovation after whacking one of his few winners, then another when he held serve to end Federer's 11-game streak.\n"I caught an absolute beating tonight," said Roddick, who lost a set 6-0 for the first time in 25 Grand Slam events. "It was miserable. I'm going to try to take this like a man as much as I can"