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| Roger Federer celebrates his win over Thomas Johansson in the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Canada© Elsa/Getty Images |
TORONTO (Ticker) - As expected, the top two players in the world -- Roger Federer of Switzerland and Andy Roddick of the U.S. -- have made it through to the final of the $2.5 million Tennis Masters Series/Toronto.
Federer, the top seed and world No. 1, ran his winning streak to 22 matches by rallying to defeat Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the U.S. Open Series event Saturday, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The streak is the longest on the ATP Tour since a 24-match run by Pete Sampras in 1999. Federer is 56-4 this year, including 28-2 on hard courts.
Federer is looking for his eighth title of the year, which would be the most on tour since Thomas Muster won 12 in 1995. Among his victories are the French Open and Wimbledon.
Roddick had an easier time advancing to the final, dispatching Nicolas Kiefer of Germany on Saturday night, 7-5, 6-3. Roddick has won 21 of his last 22 matches, with his lone loss to Federer in the final at Wimbledon. Kiefer had been 4-0 in semifinals this year.
Last week, Roddick defeated Kiefer in straight sets to claim his second consecutive Indianapolis hardcourt title and fourth this season. Roddick is on a roll similar to the one he had last summer, when he went 27-1 during the hardcourt season, capping it with a U.S. Open title.