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Federer rolls into another U.S. Open final; Hanna stops Nadal/Murray

Sat 6th, September 2008

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Roger Federer continued his dominance at the U.S. Open Saturday, as he outlasted Novak Djokovic and kept alive his chances for a fifth straight title hours before Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area and suspended the other semifinal, between top-ranked Rafael Nadal and sixth-seeded Andy Murray.

The match between Nadal and Murray was moved to Louis Armstrong court and started during the Federer/Djokovic match, but still did not finish before the rain started. Murray, who is 0-5 lifetime against the top-seeded Nadal, held a surprising 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 2-3 edge when play was suspended.

The match will be resumed at 4:00 p.m. (et) on Sunday. The men's final will be pushed back a day, to Monday at 5:00 p.m. (et).

The Spaniard Nadal, who topped the Scotsman Murray in Hamburg, Wimbledon and Toronto earlier in the season, is 3-0 versus the 21-year-old Murray on hardcourts over the last two years. Murray is appearing in his first-ever major semifinal, while Nadal is performing in his first career U.S. Open semi at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The five-time major titlist Nadal is a brilliant 75-8 this season, including a tour-high eight titles, while Murray is 40-13 with three championships.

The 22-year-old Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, four-time French Open and Olympic champion. He's trying to become only the fourth man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win three straight Grand Slam events, joining Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Federer, who has done it twice.

Before Hanna and its rain stopped play, the second-seeded and reigning four- time champion Federer downed the third-seeded Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in a semifinal that was moved up an hour to 11 a.m. (et) to beat the inclement weather.

The win, in a rematch of last year's U.S. Open final, was Federer's 33rd straight at Flushing Meadows, and gave him a chance to pick up his 13th Grand Slam title on Sunday. The 27-year-old Swiss didn't seem to mind the earlier start, as he ripped through the first set in a little more than 20 minutes.

"I think the way I played the first set was the key moment, you know, get the first set. I had a feeling he was looking a little weary, a little bit tired," said Federer, who had 20 aces to six by Djokovic. "I think I broke his will as well when I got the third set. I think he let his head hang a little bit."

The 21-year-old Serbian Djokovic made a match of it when he took the second set, and had his chances in the third set. Federer, though, rallied back to win the third set. Djokovic hung tight, but after knotting the fourth set at 2-2, he watched as Federer rolled off four unanswered points to clinch the match, and move to 7-2 lifetime against the Australian Open champion Djokovic.

"He was playing good," said Djokovic of his opponent. "I think he deserved to win, absolutely. I was just a little disappointed from my side that I wasn't able, physically I wasn't able enough to give him a challenge.

"I think I played well that second set, and, you know, was on serve in that third one. Then I was just unlucky to lose that third set and then more or less routine in the fourth for him."

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