Tennis: Federer to play Djokovic for Swiss Indoors title
GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
BASEL, Switzerland — Roger Federer will play Novak Djokovic in the Swiss Indoors final in a bid for a fourth straight title in his hometown tournament.
Federer defeated childhood friend Marco Chiudinelli 7-6 (7), 6-3 in one semifinal. In the earlier one, Djokovic saved three match points in rallying to beat Radek Stepanek 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2.
On Sunday, Djokovic will face Federer in the arena where the Swiss great was once a ballboy.
"Obviously, the home crowd will be behind him," Djokovic said.
Federer has not lost serve in four matches, though Djokovic will be his first seeded opponent. Djokovic, ranked No. 3, won for the 70th time this year, tops on the ATP Tour. This will be the Serb's ninth final, also a tour best. He is 3-5 in title matches in 2009.
Chiudinelli had a set point in a first-set tiebreaker. But Federer struck a backhand crosscourt winner as his opponent advanced to the net, then took the next two points. Federer broke serve early in the second set and quickly closed the match.
Chiudinelli was playing in the first semifinal of his injury-plagued career, and earned a place in the main draw of next week's Paris Masters. Ranked No. 884 a year ago, Chiudinelli will be near the top 50 in Monday's new rankings.
Djokovic had beaten Stepanek easily in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open in September. This match, however, was far was more testing. He trailed his 14th-ranked Czech opponent 5-4 in the second set and was 0-40 down before reeling off five straight points to win the game.
"I wouldn't say necessarily it was my good shots that prevented the loss. It was luck only," Djokovic said. "I just tried to get some first serves in and at least get that advantage. On this (hard-court) surface, it's crucial."
Djokovic's first serves faltered in the second set, and a double-fault gave Stepanek three match points. Djokovic responded with heavy serves and ground strokes, and needed just one set point on his next service game. He converted it with a forehand winner. In the deciding set, Djokovic broke in the first and seventh games.
