On top of the world

Federer beats Ferrero to make final, claims top ranking

Roger Federer will replace Andy Roddick as the world's top-ranked player. AP

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Roger Federer advanced to the Australian Open final Friday, turning his showdown with Juan Carlos Ferrero for the top ranking into a rout.

In becoming the 23rd player to ascend to No. 1, Federer took control of the semifinal after fending off four break points while serving at 3-3 in the first set, rallying from 0-40.

From 4-4, Federer won five straight games and eight of nine, and never gave Ferrero a chance to break again, winning 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in just 1 hour, 29 minutes.

"I love it," said Federer, when asked of his new status as No. 1. "It makes me feel really strange."

Federer was cheered on by a group of vocal fans in T-shirts of the Swiss red flag with white cross, showing none of the European nation's traditional neutrality.

"They're very neutral when it comes to other things, but when it comes to sports, they go wild," he said of his countrymen.

Federer will be seeking his second Grand Slam when he faces former No. 1 Marat Safin in Sunday's final.

Safin has beaten U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick -- ranked No. 1 coming into the Australian Open -- and defending Australian Open champion Andre Agassi in his last two matches.

Unseeded and ranked only 86th after an injury-plagued 2003, Safin could rise to 18th by beating Federer. Roddick will fall to third and Agassi will drop one spot to fifth.

"Marat is a nice guy and we've always had great matches. It's good to see him back," Federer said. "We're all happy but we're all scared at the same time."

He said that while he had been confident of beating Ferrero, his calm exterior masked inner jitters.

"Maybe I have a poker face, but I get really nervous," Federer said.

He missed out on an earlier chance at the top spot last August when he lost a semifinal to Andy Roddick at Montreal, but said the experience helped him get over the hump this time.

"I was basically shaking all over my body because I couldn't believe the chance I had," Federer recalled of serving for the match against Roddick, only to be broken and lose in a tiebreaker. "It was the defeat that hurt me the most last year. Today I was much more relaxed."

He also missed a chance at No. 1 at the Masters Cup in Houston in November before finally becoming the first Swiss man in the top ranking. Martina Hingis was No. 1 on the women's side.

Third-seeded Ferrero, facing a seeded player for the first time in six matches after benefiting from a rash of upsets in his quarter of the draw, looked increasingly downcast as Federer ripped winners from the baseline and the net, while keeping him off-balance with a mix of spins with pinpoint placement.

Ferrero said that strained groin muscles, suffered earlier in the tournament, began acting up during his only chances to break Federer and limited his movement, preventing him from putting in a full effort.

"I started to feel the pain in my legs," said Ferrero, who also has complained of back and arm problems over the last two weeks. "It was a disaster."

He added that he will rest instead of playing for Spain in next week's Davis Cup match-up in the Czech Republic, adding that he felt the short break after the Masters Cup in November and the Davis Cup final loss to Australia in Melbourne may have contributed to his problems.

Federer had 11 aces and 34 winners, finishing off the match when Ferrero hit a serve return long. He turned to his friends in the players' box.

"I just really wanted to enjoy that moment," he said.

Top-ranking is on the line in the women's final Saturday between No. 1-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, the reigning French and U.S. Open titlist, and fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters.

They have played 17 head-to-heads on tour, including eight times in 2003, with Clijsters holding an overall 9-8 edge. But Henin-Hardenne leads 2-0 in Grand Slam finals.

Neither has lost a set in six matches. Clijsters, seeking her first title in a major, has been battling a sprained ankle. As the fiancee of Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, Clijsters will be the crowd favorite in the final.

Top-seeded Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez won their fifth Grand Slam women's doubles title Friday, the first championship to be decided.

It was the eighth straight Grand Slam doubles final for Ruano Pascual, a 30-year-old Spaniard, and Suarez, a 27-year-old from Argentina. They had their serve broken only once, while serving for the match at 5-2, but rallied for their fourth break to finish off fourth-seeded Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-3.

"Our coordination is really good," Suarez said. "I think we have a really good feeling between us."

Martina Navratilova, 47, took another step toward her 10th Grand Slam mixed doubles title when she and India's Leander Paes -- the defending champions -- beat Jonathan Erlich of Israel and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.