ENCOUNTERING UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM

Momentum. That word has always fascinated me: mass multiplied by velocity. Simply put, a moving train will kill a mosquito when they collide at the same speed of approach per second!

It's a secret well-utilized by the hulking linebackers in American Football. The following story is a different take on this established phenomenon:

[ Last Updated: Thursday, 25 January 2007, 10:10 GMT


Majestic Federer thrashes Roddick

By Caroline Cheese

Roger Federer produced a phenomenal performance to blow away Andy Roddick 6-4 6-0 6-2 and reach the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Roddick came into the semi-final in confident mood, but after taking a 4-3 lead in the first set, the American was virtually a spectator.

World number one Federer reeled off 15 of the next 17 games, hitting 45 winners compared to just 12 errors.

The defending champion needed just one hour and 23 minutes to reach the final.

"I was really worried going into this match he had been playing so well. I played incredibly well," said the Swiss star, who is through to a record-equalling seventh straight Grand Slam final.

"I had one of those days where everything worked and I was unbeatable.

"It's just unreal, I'm shocked myself. I've played good matches here, but never really almost destroyed somebody. That's a highlight of my career."

A shell-shocked Roddick struggled to come to terms with a demoralising defeat - his 13th in 14 matches against the world number one.

"It was frustrating. It was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible," he said.

"I just got to keep doing what I do. I put in as much as I can every day. I don't know if you'll find someone who questions that.

"You try not to get discouraged. I caught an absolute beating tonight. No doubt about it. You deal with it and you go back to the drawing board."

Federer's virtuoso display left a packed Rod Laver Arena awestruck.

They had arrived expecting a close match between the top seed, who had been out of sorts in his quarter-final win over Tommy Robredo, and a resurgent Roddick.

Instead, they were treated to a Federer masterclass, a performance BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd described as the best he had ever seen.

The top seed began brightly, breaking at the first opportunity, but after taking a 2-0 lead, he allowed Roddick back in with a loose service game.

But once Federer broke again at 4-4 and then clinched a 33-minute first set with an ace, it was one-way traffic.

In a staggering second set, Federer unleashed 11 winners and made one error.

Roddick won a total of six points.

The 24-year-old cast increasingly despairing glances at his coach Jimmy Connors but the famously battle-hardy American legend could offer no inspiration on this occasion.

Roddick did well to stem the tide by holding serve to make it 2-1 in the third set but as hard as he tried, Federer had an answer to everything the American threw at him.

Fernando Gonzalez and Tommy Haas meet on Friday at 0830 GMT to decide who meets the world number one in Sunday's final but on the evidence of this performance, it is a question of who picks up the runner's-up cheque. ]


SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6297737.stm



NOT TO IMPLY ANYTHING, OR MOCK ANYBODY, IS THIS WHAT BEING 'RAILROADED' REALLY MEANS?