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ALMOST FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE: Andy Roddick (above) dominated with his booming serves and took advantage of Roger Federer's shaky play down the stretch. -- PHOTO: AP
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KEY BISCAYNE (FLORIDA) - ANDY Roddick whacked one last thunderous serve to finally beat Roger Federer, then walked slowly to the net with his head down, as if unsure how to celebrate such a rare achievement.
With an almost flawless performance, Roddick ended a streak of 11 consecutive losses against his nemesis on Thursday at the Sony Ericsson Open.
He dominated with his serve and took advantage of Federer's suddenly shaky play down the stretch to win 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
'I came in knowing that nobody has beaten me 12 times in a row,' Roddick told the delighted capacity crowd afterwards.
'So I had that on my side.'
In the women's semi-finals, Serena Williams overcame a slow start to outlast Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Williams toiled for nearly three hours to reach match point against Kuznetsova, then hit two more shots and raised a fist, tired, but triumphant.
She needs one more win for her fifth Key Biscayne title, and second in a row.
'I haven't won anything five times, except I win all the time in Uno,' Williams said. 'I don't think that counts.'
Her opponent today will be fourth seed Jelena Jankovic, who beat No19 Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4.
Roddick improved to 2-15 against Federer, who came into the tournament hoping to quell talk that his game is in decline.
Slowed by mononucleosis early in the year, the top-ranked Federer has yet to reach a final in 2008, making this his worst start since 2000.
'I am just sort of disappointed not to see my name playing in the finals,' Federer said. 'I think I have the game to obviously be there.'
Roddick's opponent in the semi-finals last night was No4 Nikolay Davydenko, who beat unseeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1.
To beat Federer for the first time since 2003, Roddick had to be at his best, especially down the stretch.
He fell behind 0-30 serving at 3-3 in the final set, then won the next 11 points, five of them through to unforced errors by Federer.
'I figure I was due,' Roddick said.
'He hadn't missed a ball in a crucial moment for about six years against me. I figured the law of statistics had to come my way eventually.'
Federer lost serve at love to fall behind 3-5, losing the only break point he faced in the match.
Roddick closed out the victory with a 224kmh service winner, and he served well throughout, hitting 18 aces - including two in the tie-breaker.
That helped him end a streak of 10 consecutive sets lost against Federer.
'I always said it's tough to play against Andy - you know, that serve,' Federer said.
'He's always going to have a chance. That's why I'm quite amazed about my record against him.'
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