Italian Open: Roger Federer beats Stan Wawrinka to seal Djokovic final

Rome Swiss Roger Federer beat countryman Stan Wawrinka 64 62 in the Italian Open semifinal to set up his third final of the year against Serbian rival Novak DjokovicWawrinka had caused the first major upset of the week when he battled Rafael Nadal throughout a thrilling quarterfinal on Friday to send the seventime Rome champion crashing outRoger Federer of Switzerland serves to compatriot Stan Wawrinka during the ATP Tennis Open semi final match in Rome AFP PHOTOBut despite a blistering start which saw Wawrinka race to a 30 lead in the opening set the 30yearold from Lausanne appeared to pay for his efforts late into the night at the Foro ItalicoFederer bounced back from losing the early break to break back twice on his way to sealing the first set 64Wawrinka was even more out of sorts in the second set unforced errors steadily creeping into his game as Federer eased into his stride and reached a stage where he was able to pick his shots comfortablyFederer bidding for his maiden title in Rome having lost three finals two to Nadal earned three break points in the third game of the second set and won the game when Wawrinka attempted a wild halfvolley from a tight angle which he nettedFederer moved 31 up on his next service game and broke his fellow Swiss again for a 41 lead before wrapping up the setI was happy with how I played I was able to impose my game Basically rock solid from the moment I got my game down said FedererSo far this year its one apiece between Djokovic and Federer the former winning their last final at Indian Wells to make amends for Federers win in DubaiCareerwise Federer holds the advantage with 20 wins to Djokovics 18 although the Serb has shown glimpses of brilliance this week and a variety of shots that put all of his rivals in troubleHaving lost twice in Rome to Djokovic in the semifinals Federer admitted he will have to be at his best on what will be their first clay final of the yearIve done fairly well against him in the past added FedererIts up to me to put in a really good performance Earlier the Serbian swept clay court specialist David Ferrer aside in straight sets breaking the Spaniard once in each set to secure his chance for a fourth crown in RomeDjokovic said he felt encouraged by a performance in which he held serve against one of the best returners in the game but admitted he had to dig his way out of trouble on occasionI did face a couple of break points especially in the second set when maybe I was a bit fortunate to dig my way through and up and play well enough to break him in both sets when it was most needed said DjokovicCompared to previous matches that I played here this week this is definitely the best match so far and the performance is satisfying and giving me enough reason to believe I can play at this level and maybe even better tomorrowThe womens final will be contested by Russian third seed Maria Sharapova and Carla Suarez the 10th seed from SpainSuarez is in contention for only her second career title after squeezing past Simona Halep of Romania 26 63 75Sharapova the favourite following the third round withdrawal of defending champion Serena Williams overwhelmed compatriot Daria Gavrilova 75 63 to book her second final since claiming a second successive title in 2012But the Russian warned I think she Suarez loves the surface she grew up on the clay I beat her the last couple of times but I have had losses against her so I know what a difficult player she can beShe seems like shes playing with a lot of confidence shes very dangerous and has one of the best one hand backhands on the womens tourIt will be a tough final