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The Roar

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Federer sets grand slam mark even he can't explain

10th September, 2009
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Roger Federer extended a record even he can’t believe when he clinched his 22nd successive grand-slam semi-final berth at the US Open on Thursday (AEST).

Federer released an almighty roar of relief after resisting an inspired comeback from Robin Soderling to notch a 6-0 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the giant-killing Swede in a pulsating quarter-final at Flushing Meadows.

Accustomed to re-setting records seemingly every time he steps onto the court these days, Federer was almost lost for words when asked to explain his latest milestone, the 28-year-old’s 22 straight slam semis so far beyond Ivan Lendl’s previous-best run of nine in a row from 1985-88.

“I don’t know, it’s not one I aimed for, that’s for sure,” said world No.1 Federer after setting up a rematch of last year’s semi-final with Novak Djokovic.

“Really, I don’t know what to say. It’s probably one of the greatest records, for me anyway, in my personal career.

“I’m just happy it keeps on going. I’m personally healthy. I guess that’s most important because that’s what’s allowed me to play well at majors and I’m in for a shot again to defend my title, so it’s fantastic.”

Fourth-seeded Djokovic advanced to so-called “Super Saturday” in New York for the third consecutive year with a sapping 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 7-5 6-2 quarter-final win over Spanish 10th seed Fernando Verdasco.

But the 22-year-old world No.4 preferred to focus on a feat of a different kind before contemplating another daunting confrontation with the Swiss master.

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“Mentally, it was important for me to overcome today’s challenge and get into the semi-finals (of a grand slam tournament) for the first time in 2009, so I feel a kind of relief,” Djokovic said.

If Federer can topple the Serb for the third year in a row at the Open, the top seed will have the chance to equal Bjorn Borg’s all-time record 41 consecutive wins at a slam in Sunday’s title match.

Borg’s streak came at Wimbledon between 1976 and 1981, when John McEnroe finally halted the Swede’s historic run of five straight titles.

With so much at stake, Federer is hungry as ever to improve on his 8-4 head-to-head record with Djokovic.

“We’ve played the last couple of years (here): semis last year, finals the year before and we’ve seen over the years what a great player he is on hard courts,” Federer said.

“So I’m sure it’s going to be a tough match, so I’m looking forward to the match.”

After bowing to Federer in last month’s Cincinnati Masters final, Djokovic lamented being “born in the wrong era”.

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“Roger and Rafa (Nadal) are two … maybe one of the best players that ever played this game – Roger for sure is,” he moaned.

“It’s kind of hard because that they raise their level in the final stages of the tournaments, especially the finals.

“That’s why they perform their best tennis. So for me to reach the final stages is a big success. Hopefully in the future I’ll be able to get some titles.”

But his tune hadn’t changed much on Thursday.

“Roger, you know, we don’t need to talk a lot about him,” Djokovic said.

“His records in US Open, we all know his style of the game. I have been playing against him many, many times and a lot of different kind of surfaces.

“There is no secrets in each other’s game, so it’s a matter of (having) a good day.

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“I hope I can have a good day and concentrate, and physically I’m going to have enough time to recover and be ready.”

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