NEW YORK, Sept 9: Top seed Roger Federer remained on course for his fourth consecutive US Open title by beating combative Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 in the semi-finals on Saturday.

In Sunday’s final, the Swiss maestro will face Novak Djokovic, who became the first Serbian man to reach a Grand Slam final when he defeated Spain’s David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

Federer committed an uncharacteristic 25 unforced errors against Davydenko and had his serve broken five times.

Fourth-seeded Davydenko broke Federer’s serve in the first game of the match and led 3-1 before the world No 1 recovered to take the set in steamy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Davydenko had two set points in the third set but Federer, bidding for his 12th Grand Slam title, fought back to secure the victory in two hours, 21 minutes.

Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the opening set against Ferrer but recovered with service breaks in the seventh and ninth games to win the opening frame and set the tone for the match.—Reuters