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Federer to meet Blake in Cincy final

MASON, Ohio, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Roger Federer needed more than 2 1/2 hours to beat Lleyton Hewitt and set up a meeting with American James Blake in Sunday's final at the Cincinnati Masters.

The top-seeded Federer won, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-1), Saturday to beat the Australian star for the 11th straight time. He also won last week in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Montreal Masters, and hasn't lost to Hewitt since the 2003 Davis Cup.

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Blake topped Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 62.

A win over Blake on Sunday would give the Swiss superstar his 50th career ATP singles title. He was denied it last week when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final at the Montreal Masters.

Federer has already won four titles in 2007, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but has also lost in title matches three times. He will try for his second Cincinnati crown, having prevailed in 2005.

The ninth-seeded Blake would have to pull off a first Sunday to claim the championship, as he has never topped Federer in six career meetings. He lost to Federer four times last year and has not played him yet this season.

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