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New York — The untouchable aura has faded but the results are coming all the same for Roger Federer, who held off 130th-ranked Gilles Muller at the U.S. Open to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for an 18th consecutive time.
Second-ranked Federer had to work harder than expected in a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Muller on Thursday. It was his 32nd consecutive victory in a row at Flushing Meadows, where he has won the past four championships.
Bidding for a 13th Grand Slam title, which would move him one short of Pete Sampras’ record, Federer will next meet No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who beat 2003 champion and local favorite Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Two points from forcing a fifth set at 5-4 in the fourth, No. 8 Roddick double-faulted twice and was broken for the fifth time — twice more than he lost serve in his first four matches here combined.
Djokovic and Federer’s meeting will be a rematch of last year’s U.S. Open final. Djokovic, who is 2-6 against Federer, called the Swiss star the “absolute favorite.”
Djokovic was thinking of Federer’s record, not so much on this week’s form.
No other man has played in more than 10 major semifinals in a row — although it was Djokovic who cashed in the last time Federer lost a semifinal at a Grand Slam tournament, the young Serb upsetting him in the semis before going on to win the Australian Open in January.
Black, Paes win mixed doubles title
Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Leander Paes of India won their first U.S. Open mixed doubles title by beating Liezel Huber of the United States and Jamie Murray of Britain 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the final Thursday.
Paes has won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, and Black has won three — but this was the first for each at Flushing Meadows and the first for them as a team.
They were seeded fifth at the U.S. Open. Huber and Murray were unseeded.
Despite playing a man who never before was past the third round at a major, Federer had some trouble with Muller. He wasted six set points in the opener but closed it out on his seventh chance when Muller missed a backhand volley. Federer only went 1-for-11 on break-point chances.
“Today was particularly difficult — the sun, the wind, and he’s been serving great,” Federer said of Muller, a qualifier. “I didn’t get that many opportunities.”
Saturday’s other men’s semifinal will be top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who has beaten Federer in the last two finals at Grand Slams, against Scotland’s Andy Murray.
In the women’s semifinals Friday, two-time champion Serena Williams will face Russia’s Dinara Safina, and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia will meet Russian Elena Dementieva. One of the four will move up to No. 1 in the rankings after the tournament.
Federer spent a record 237 consecutive weeks atop the men’s rankings from February 2004 until last month, when Nadal supplanted him. That’s only one of the streaks Federer has seen snapped this year. AP
