seeded Roger Federer reached the semifinals of the Paris Masters for the first time by defeating Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 7-6 (4) Friday. Federer, who earlier this week called the Parisian indoor tournament his “worst” Masters, had previously lost three times in the quarterfinals. Following victories in Stockholm and Basel, the Swiss star won a 12th consecutive match and delighted the crowd by sending winners all over the court during a 20-minute first set he opened with an ace. Federer, who fired 18 aces and had 33 winners overall, will next face the winner between No. 3 Andy Murray against local favorite Gael Monfils. Melzer showed a better face in the second set but wasted a mini break early in the tiebreaker and missed an easy forehand volley to give Federer a 5-4 lead. The 16-time Grand Slam winner set up match point with an ace and converted it with a service winner. “I thought I played a wonderful first set, being aggressive on returns, serving really good. So it was the perfect set,” Federer said. “Got a bit of a fright early on in the breaker, but he's not famous for being the best server in the game so I knew I would always get a sniff.” Fourth-seeded Robin Soderling also reached the semifinals, using 18 aces to defeat Andy Roddick 7-5, 6-4. Soderling will play Michael Llodra after the Frenchman made light work of 10th-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, winning 7-5, 6-1. Soderling got off to a strong start on the fast Bercy center court, losing just one point on his first serve in the first 10 games. “Against Andy, it's always just a matter of taking the chances you get,” the Swede said. “And then today I think I did really well. “I served pretty well. I could have put some more first serves in but my second serve was good and overall it was a good match.” “Maybe I should move over,” Soderling said when asked if he should buy a flat in Paris. “It's a nice city and I have the best memories of my career here, both in Roland Garros and here in indoor.” Roddick said he might have lost his focus after qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals in London Thursday. “That's my fault. I should be professional enough not to have that.” Soderling will also feature in the year-ending tournament from Nov. 21
