Federer overwhelms Roddick again

8220;I know that my game matches up well with his, but that doesn8217;t mean I8217;m going to beat him all the time,8221; Federer said. 8220;Andy has been trying many, many different things out against me. It8217;s dangerous for me to play against him, especially with the guy having such a big serve. Today, I read it well.8221;

Federer, who is the defending champion, landed 83 per cent of his first serves, never faced a break point and had 33 winners to just 13 unforced errors.

Roddick was so frustrated that he battered a racket to extinction for the second time in the tournament, bashing it against his left foot five times after Federer broke his powerful serve for the third time to pull ahead 3-0 in the second set. Federer wasn8217;t ready to say he8217;s sorry for his domination, clearly recalling his one loss to Roddick, four years ago in Canada.

8220;I lost it 7-6 in the third, and that was my first opportunity to become No. 1 in the world,8221; Federer said. 8220;He didn8217;t feel sorry for me back then either.8221;

Some skeptics were speculating that Federer might be starting to slip when he lost his first round-robin match to give him a two-match losing streak for the first time in four-and-a-half years. Roddick certainly wasn8217;t among the doubters.

8220;It seems like most times we play, he8217;s on top of his game, which is a little annoying,8221; Roddick said. 8220;I guess I just have to figure out what about my game brings out the best in him and try to adjust. Some of the guys who beat him are quick. Unfortunately, that8217;s not my strength. You kind of have to go with what you8217;re good at, try to make adjustments.8221;

Roddick said he was a little disappointed that the day8217;s marquee match-up was mostly for pride after the fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, already out of contention with two losses, beat No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez 6-4, 6-3 earlier to eliminate the Chilean from the Red Group. All that was at stake was determining the semi-final pairings in the year-ending tournament for the top eight men in the rankings.

Roddick has just 20 hours to get his confidence back before he faces No 6 David Ferrer, who went undefeated in the Gold Group, in the semi-finals. Federer gets a couple of extra hours of rest before playing the second-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Davydenko was inconsistent again, with 33 winners offset by 35 unforced errors.

But so was Gonzalez, who has developed a reputation for being brilliant one match, as he was in beating Federer on Monday, then letting down.

Davydenko8217;s victory gives him a little confidence after two earlier losses here. Now he8217;s looking forward to a couple of days in the sun in the Maldives before starting preparations for Russia8217;s Davis Cup final against the US team led by Roddick.

Gonzalez8217;s frustration boiled over when he netted a forehand on break point while serving at 4-5 to concede the first set to Davydenko. His received a code violation after smashing his racket on the court, then bashing the net post as he walked back to his chair.