Federer rolls past Kiefer to gain final

The top player in the world had only one lapse during the easy victory.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Roger Federer spent some time chatting with Rod Laver Friday afternoon, then went out and showed the tennis great why he's dominating the sport right now.
Federer spoke with Laver -- who twice completed Grand Slam seasons in the 1960s -- for the first time just hours before his Australian Open semifinal against Nicolas Kiefer.
Apart from a minor lapse while serving to stay in the second set, the top-ranked Federer was imperious as he advanced 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 to Sunday's championship match against 54th-ranked Marcos Baghdatis.
He hit 39 winners and had 33 unforced errors -- 20 fewer than Kiefer, who was playing in the semis for the first time in 34 majors.
"It's fantastic to play in front of him," Federer said of Laver.
Pre-match anxiety
He remained composed despite acknowledging some pre-match anxiety about the prospect of getting so close, yet still being so far from a seventh Grand Slam singles title.
In the fourth game, Federer scrambled to retrieve a Kiefer drop shot, sprinting from the baseline, and punched a backhand around the net post for a clean winner. Kiefer watched it land, nodded and dropped serve to fall behind 3-1.
And there were frequent slice backhands that hit the court and spun off sideways, making Kiefer's life much more difficult.
Federer and Laver shared a courtesy car at the U.S. Open once before, but Federer said he'd been too awe-struck to talk.
"We talked this time, not purely about tennis," Federer said of his meeting with the California-based Australian. "He was really what I expected -- a great person, great man."
Competed for two sets
Kiefer competed for two sets, but was outclassed in the third and fourth.
After a volatile five-setter against Sebastien Grosjean in the quarterfinals, when he tossed his racket over the net and was warned twice for using obscene language, Kiefer barely raised his voice, except for occasional disputed line calls.
"I tried to stay in the whole time, but I just couldn't make it. In the end, he was just too good," Kiefer said. "I lost to the best player in the world and he showed it in the big moments."
Federer is aiming for his third consecutive major after winning at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2005.
Earlier Friday, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie became the first Chinese players to win a Grand Slam title, beating Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3 in the women's doubles final.
Hingis in doubles final
Martina Hingis, returning from a three-year layoff, reached Sunday's mixed doubles final with India's Mahesh Bhupathi. They beat Stosur and fellow Australian Paul Hanley 6-3, 6-3 and will face sixth-seeded Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhotseva.
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