Old school, new trick

In any sport, in any match, there are certain key moments that determine the outcome. In the thick of a five-set, five-hour epic, the momentum can change in an instant. A double fault, a missed volley, and suddenly the dominant player can be distracted, deflated and derailed.

So when Andy Roddick saw Roger Federer make two consecutive video line-calling challenges and get them both right, he should have known he was in for a pounding. Unfortunately for the American, that moment came in only the sixth game of the first set - and by then, he was already two breaks of serve in arrears. It was not going to be a comfortable night.

Federer was aiming to reach his 18th Grand Slam final and so equal Pete Sampras' record of major final appearances. It took him just two hours and seven minutes to make his date with history as he clattered Roddick 6-2 7-5 7-5, notching up his 16th win over the American in 18 meetings.

Federer belongs to the old school. A traditionalist through and through, he believes in the purity of his sport: two individuals going head-to-head with the outcome decided only by talent and human error. The old ways suit Federer best. Good grief, this is the man who wore a cardigan to Wimbledon – they don't come more traditional than that.

Video line-calling is, in Federer's view, a newfangled invention and has no place in his traditional world. He does not like it, he does not approve of it and, for the most part, he is utterly rubbish at using it. Time and again he calls for the video, and time and again, he is proved wrong. It is probably the only part of the game he has failed to master.

But when the Mighty Fed suspected that the tramline judge had made a boo-boo on two consecutive shots, the computer technology proved that the traditionalist was correct. By the third set, Federer had really got the hang of the challenging process, and again proved the linesman to be wrong. By then, Roddick had got the message: this was not to be his night.

A wry smile briefly played across Federer's lips.

A look of grim resignation settled over Roddick's features.

It was all very well for his coach, Larry Stefanki, to tell Roddick to take a chance, to take his courage in both hands and attack, but his charge was dealing with a different animal here. Against Novak Djokovic, the sudden assault on the net had taken the Serb by surprise (and the heat and the onset of cramp had eventually forced Djokovic to quit) but against Federer, it barely brought a raised eyebrow. The quality of Federer's passing shots was in a league far beyond anything Roddick had faced in five previous rounds.

Then there was the problem of exactly where to put the ball. Roddick was not doing much wrong, but Federer was doing everything so much better. There were times when he constructed the point just as his coach would have wanted only for Federer to whip up a moment of magic and take the lead. Then there were other times when the American was not allowed a say in the tactics as Federer ran him ragged, pulling and pushing him from corner to corner as if he were a junior in a training drill.

As for the serve – Federer out-aced Roddick, and when he was not acing him, he was dragging him out of position with the first delivery and then making the winner look easy.

Oh, and in between times, there was some stupendous hitting and some belting rallies.

When Federer felt the need to give himself a little encouragement, it was in a low growl, a quiet "Come on!". This happened rarely, and usually when Roddick had had the temerity to manufacture a break point. Three times he had a chance on the Federer serve, and three times the Swiss grabbed the opportunity away from him.

At the other end, Roddick's cries of "Come on" were often grunted as he set off on another wild goose chase in pursuit of another Federer winner. It was that sort of match.

So now the Mighty Fed has an extra night off as he waits to see whether he will be facing Rafael Nadal or Fernando Verdasco in the final. Should he win that encounter, he will equal another of Sampras' records and claim his 14th Grand Slam title.

"It's just great to be playing here – it's fun out there," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "If I can break records, too, then that's great."

Now that he has got the hang of the line-calling technology, anything seems possible.