Roger Federer's Switzerland is into the Hopman Cup final for a second straight year after the 20-time grand slam champion beat exciting young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday night.
Federer overcame a scare in the first set tiebreak to win 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) in 93 minutes.
Serving it up: Switzerland's Roger Federer during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the Hopman Cup in Perth.Credit:AP
The win gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the tie – enough to book them a spot in Saturday's final given they already beat Great Britain (3-0) and the US (2-1) earlier in the tournament.
Greece needed to beat Switzerland 3-0 to reach the final, and their hopes looked promising when the 20-year-old world No.15 Tsitsipas led 4-1 in the first-set tiebreak.
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Federer reeled off four straight points to get himself back into the contest, before a late Tsitsipas double fault handed the Swiss maestro set point.
Tip top: Up-and-coming 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas forced the Swiss legend to dig deep.Credit:AP
Eight of the first 11 service games in the opening set were won to love, and service continued to dominate in the second set.
Federer couldn't convert either of his three break points in the second set as the contest headed to another tiebreak.
The 37-year-old came up with the goods again in the tiebreak, producing a deft drop shot to set up three match points.
Switzerland will take on either Germany or Australia in the final.
AAP
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