• Rogers Cup

Federer battles to win over Djokovic

Roger Federer will need to show all his quality to beat a rampant Andy Murray © Getty Images

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Roger Federer booked himself a final clash with Andy Murray after edging past Novak Djokovic 6-1 3-6 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup.

Federer is limbering up for the US Open and his form has steadily improved through the week and this win over Djokovic will see him leapfrog the Serb to No. 2 in the world.

And for long spells it appeared as if it would be no more than an exercise canter for Federer who cruised through the first set, with Djokovic firing 16 unforced errors in a one-sided opening salvo.

Federer secured a break of serve at the start of the second set, but Djokovic found some quality to force a decider.

The third set was a far closer affair, with the pendulum swinging Federer's way in the 11th game. The Swiss saved three break points to hold and Djokovic crumbled in the following game, making a string of errors, as Federer moved into Sunday's final.

"I could have won the match earlier but I'm very happy to have come through anyhow," Federer said. "I've had some tough losses this year and it's nice to get some of those back. I was losing the tight matches that I'm supposed to win."

Djokovic was content to take the match to three sets, as he felt his performance did not merit it.

"I didn't find my rhythm," he said. "After only half an hour it was already set and break up. But I managed to come back, and I started feeling the ball better. But overall it wasn't the best performance by my side. I wasn't serving well when I needed to, and I made a lot of unforced errors on my backhand side.

"So to be able to be in the position to win this match with the performance that I don't think is good enough, it's okay, it's fine. It's a little bit frustrating that I haven't used the opportunity I had in the end, but he was realistically a better player today."

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