Serve-and-volley kings set up final

Never fall for Roger Federer's Toblerone chocolate smile. All the men in the Andy Roddick camp must have decided to finally have a quite meal and say goodnight.

Never fall for Roger Federer's Toblerone chocolate smile. All the men in the Andy Roddick camp who would have been preparing a Yankee Doodle party to celebrate American Independence Day on Friday must have decided to finally have a quite meal and say goodnight.

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The slam bang king succumbed to Federer in three straight sets 7-6(8/6), 6-3, 6-3 at The Championships. The handsome Swiss will now negotiate Mark Philippoussis in the final on Sunday.

Earlier, ‘Scud’, as Philippoussis is known, decimated Sebastien Grosjean, the 13th seed, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-3, his potent serve once again stood him in good stead.

What a day it turned out to be. None had doubted the Scud's ability to come out with the big stuff, but Federer's all-round game came to the fore as he beat the American who is already being touted as the next champion to take over the mantle from Pistol Pete and Andre Agassi.

There was some doubt about Federer's fitness a couple of days back when he was bothered by back pain. But the way he played on Friday, serving big, making some superb returns and thriving on the great stage ambience, there is no doubt Federer is the one for the future.

None from Switzerland has ever got this far, but this smart 21-year-old had served notice of his potential two years back when he shocked Pete Sampras.

It was Roddick who had a set point in the first set tie-break. Once he blew it, Federer jumped at the chance and rode on his impressive form. 'I think I served very well today and had things under control," said Federer at the post match conference.

But well before that, Federer already had his highs. On the third match point on his own serve, Roddick slammed a forehand wide to bring up the end in an hour and 43 minutes. The crowd stood up and gave Federer a standing ovation, something quite unusual for a semi-final.

"This win means a lot to me, especially since it came in three sets," said Federer, seed fourth here. Coming into The Championships, Federer had shone on grass, as he won the title in Halle, Germany. As for fifth seeded Roddick, the 20-year-old, he was the master at Queens.

But on Friday, all this did not matter, what mattered was Federer playing at a clip, which he perhaps had not done even in 2001. And it has been his ability to sustain the pressure, which made him look so good.

As for Philippoussis, the Australian slammed 11 aces to get past Grosjean, who is predominantly a baseliner. Having beaten bigger back court players like Andre Agassi, Philippoussis knew all he had to do was enjoy himself and attack.

It came naturally to the Aussie, who as an unseeded player has surprised all by making it this far.

"It feels great to be here. Almost two years back I was in bed after surgery, wondering whether I could play again. It's been a difficult trip back and I guess everything in life happens for a reason," said the Scud who aims to become only the third unseeded player to win the title here.