Federer coasts into final
Roger Federer ensured he would remain the world’s second ranked player heading into the US Open after reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight-sets win over Marcos Baghdatis.
The Swiss hardly raised a sweat as he cast aside the unseeded Cypriot, who beat world number one Rafael Nadal in the previous round, 6-4 6-3 in just over and hour.
Federer needed to reach Sunday’s final to keep a hold of the number two ranking and will fancy his chances of going on to claim to title with wild card entrant Mardy Fish lying in wait.
Fish won through with a 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 win over compatriot and ninth seed Andy Roddick.
Roddick had looked on course for an easy win after he won the opening set and led 5-2 in the second before the players were forced off for the second time due to rain.
But when they returned Fish was a different player as he forced the second set to a tie-break, which he won before running away with the match.
Victory for Fish also provided the world number 36 with some measure of revenge after Roddick had beaten him in the final of the same tournament in 2003, when Fish squandered match points.
