Fed Express thunders towards showdown

WORLD number one Roger Federer claims his game is better than at this stage last year after reaching the French Open semi-finals yesterday.

The 24-year-old Swiss star booked his place in the last four at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year with a 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory over Mario Ancic, the 12th seed from Croatia.

Federer, who won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2005 as well as the Australian Open in 2006, was defeated in the semis here last year by eventual champion Rafael Nadal.