Federer breezes into final with Madrid master class

Roger Federer will play for the No. 2 ranking in Sunday’s Mutua Madrid Open final after dismissing Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-finals on Saturday. Victory also saw the 30-year-old Swiss pass $70m in career prize money.

The third-seeded Federer will face Tomas Berdych in the final and takes in a 10-4 career lead over the Czech, including victory in both their clay-court meetings. The Basel native is bidding to win a record-equalling 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown.

In his fifth meeting with the No. 8-ranked Tipsarevic, Federer improved to a perfect 5-0 record as he dispatched the Serb in 67 minutes. Tipsarevic had ousted defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, but lost his serve three times against Federer and won just 24 per cent of his return points.

"I think that the main reason is that he was a better player than me out there," said Tipsarevic. "The main thing is that he managed to adjust to the wind really, really well. I think that apart from being the best player, that he is probably the best the player in the world when it comes to adjusting to any situation on the court."

"It was a great event for me. I played semis, I beat two or three great players here. But I am a little bit disappointed with my performance today and I still think I could have done way better."

"I'm focused on what I'm doing this week," said Federer. "I'm trying to play well and get as far as I can. I've been able to get on a roll. I've played better as the week went on under tough conditions, especially with some wind tonight. I've had a lot on the line before, it's no different now."

"Berdych can be a big threat in a final like this. I expect quick points and big shots from both sides. I hope to play a clean match on serve and take it from there," said Federer.

Federer is through to the final at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for the fifth time. He lifted the trophies in 2006 (d. Gonzalez) and 2009 (d. Nadal) and finished runner-up in 2007 (l. to Nalbandian) and 2010 (l. to Nadal).

Federer is riding a 44-4 match record since losing to Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals last year. This season he has won three ATP World Tour titles in Rotterdam (d. del Potro), Dubai (d. Murray) and Indian Wells (d. Isner).

Date: 12.05.2012.