Roger Federer battles into the finals at Brisbane

First time I've seen Roger sweat this much in his career

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Roger Federer survived a scare to reach the final of the Brisbane International with a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy.


The top seed was pushed all the way by his French opponent but eventually pulled through to wrap up the win in an hour and 55 minutes.


He will face home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in the final after the Australian veteran defeated No 2 seed Kei Nishikori 5-7 6-4 6-3.


Federer, who at 32 is the same age as Hewitt, is looking forward to the clash against the former US Open and Wimbledon champion.


"We go back 17 years, our coaches back in the day were best friends. It's amazing we have a chance to play in Australia, our first time in a final here I think," Federer said.


"I struggled a lot against him in the early stages of my career."


Against Chardy, Federer had things much his own way in the opening set but his opponent hit back in the second, dominating the tie-break to take the match to a decider.


Chardy finally cracked when he served two double faults and made two forehand errors at 3-4 down in the final set, handing the decisive break of serve to the 17-time grand slam winner.


Earlier, Hewitt showed all his battling qualities as he fought back from a set down to see off his Japanese opponent in temperatures approaching 41 degrees Celsius.


"I don't know, I keep putting myself through it - must like punishment," Hewitt said of the conditions.


"It was tough conditions, really tough to play out there for both of us today. It turned into a mental battle."


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