Roger Federer dominated Andy Roddick in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday to earn his seventh consecutive Grand Slam final.

Federer was virtually untouchable as he beat sixth-seeded Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.  

"This was definitely one of my best matches I ever played," said Federer, who is seeking his 10th major title. "I had one of these days when everything just worked, I was unbeatable. It's just unreal. I was playing out of my mind. I am shocked myself.

"The tournament is not even over yet, so let's not get carried away. Let me do it one more time."

Switzerland's Roger Federer reacts after his semifinal win over Andy Roddick of the U.S. on Thursday.
(Vincent Thian/Associated Press)

Federer will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez and No. 12 Tommy Haas.

Roddick had hoped that his net-charging tactics, implemented by new coach Jimmy Connors after Wimbledon last year, would help him close the gap with Federer. He beat the Swiss star at an exhibition tournament less than two weeks ago.

Federer made sure it didn't happen again when it counted.

"He was playing so well," Federer said. "I thought I would see 50 aces going past me. That's why I didn't read the papers today, didn't switch on the TV, and I just tried to focus on my game."

Federer ran off 11 games in a row from serving at 3-4 in the first set. He blunted Roddick's powerful serve and whipped passing shots seemingly at will, leaving Roddick flat-footed and staring in disbelief.

Roddick won only nine of his 31 net approaches and had only 11 winners. Federer had 10 aces, 45 winners and just 12 unforced errors.

It got so bad that Roddick got a huge ovation after whacking one of his few winners, then another when he held serve to end Federer's 11-game streak.

"I caught an absolute beating tonight," said Roddick, who lost a set 6-0 for the first time in 25 Grand Slam events. "It was miserable. I'm going to try to take this like a man as much as I can."

Federer yielded only six points in the second set to Roddick, who tried to bash a ball into the air after falling behind 5-0, only to lose his grip on the racket and toss it toward the side of the court. Roddick apologized when it hit an Associated Press photographer on the knee, and received a conduct warning from the chair umpire.

Federer's seventh consecutive Grand Slam final appearance ties a record set by Jack Crawford in 1934.  

Serena back in finals

Unseeded and ranked No. 81, Serena Williams made it back to a Grand Slam final with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Nicole Vaidisova at the Australian Open.

She will face top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the final, the 19-year-old Russian advancing 6-4, 6-2 later Thursday over No. 4 Kim Clijsters in the second semifinal.

Williams and Sharapova are 2-2 in head-to-heads, with Williams winning their last encounter after saving match points in the semifinals here two years ago before going on to win the title. It was her last major title.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, weathered Vaidisova's powerful forehands and gave back plenty of her own, sometimes surprising the 17-year-old Czech player with her speed around the court and the pace of her ball.

Serena Williams exults in a 7-6, 6-4 semifinal win at Melbourne Park.
(Rick Stevens/Associated Press)

After leading 5-1 in the second, she needed six match points before sealing it with an overhead.

"Yahoo!" she said, laughing and celebrating the win.

"She played some incredible points on match point," Williams said. "She just got relaxed.

"It reminded me a bit of myself. I just tried to stay focused and tried to stay calm — it was just great."

Sharapova overcame an early service break to dominate Clijsters, who was only able to convert two of her 12 break point chances despite the Russian's eight double-faults and 33 unforced errors.

Sharapova, the U.S. Open champion, will be making her first appearance in an Australian Open final after two losses in the semifinals.

Clijsters, who will retire at the end of the season and plans to start a family, has lost four semifinals here and the 2004 final.

She gave Sharapova match point with a double-fault, and Sharapova clinched it with a forehand winner down the line.

Williams won two of her seven majors at Melbourne Park and is one win away from her most improbable title.

In between her win here in 2005 and her run to this year's final, Williams had not beaten a top 10 player and dropped out of the top 100 at one point last year.

By reaching the final, she is expected to surge back into the top 20.

"I cannot believe it," Williams said. "That's awesome.

"That was so fast. I'm excited.

"I have nothing to lose. I'm back in the top 20 [and] that means so much to me."

Williams played only four tournaments in 2006, finishing the season 12-4 and without a title.

She was the ninth-lowest ranked player to make a Grand Slam semifinal since computer rankings were introduced in 1975.

If she wins, she would be only the second unseeded player to win the Australian in the open era.

Vaidisova broke Williams's serve in the first game and was dictating early rallies until Williams broke back to level at 3-3.

The pair traded breaks late in the set, with Vaidisova going ahead 5-4 and having a set point on serve before Williams rallied to break back and force a tiebreaker.

The 25-year-old American led 5-1 in the tiebreaker, but allowed Vaidisova back to 5-5 by serving consecutive double-faults.

She set up set point with a backhand winner after Vaidisova dumped a forehand into the net.

Williams broke Vaidisova twice and took a 5-1 lead in the second set, but the No. 10 seed rallied and won four straight games, saving four match points after being down 0-40 to hold the ninth game.

"I almost did a gagaroonie there," Williams said. "Basically, you know, gagging."

Serving again to finish it off, Williams had match point No. 5 at 40-30, when Vaidisova whipped a backhand crosscourt on the line for a winner.

Williams initially thought the ball was out and started to celebrate, then clearly wanted to challenge the decision, but had no challenges left after using up her allotment earlier.

Her 10th ace of the match, on a second serve, set up Williams's sixth match point and she finally cashed this one, throwing her hands in the air and leaning back to look at the sky.