5054EBDE-5ABC-46F7-9E88-094074C65972
By Richard Pagliaro
© Natasha Peterson/Corleve
(September 6, 2010) The nearby No. 7 train rumbled in the distance and the Federer Express rolled on its familiar major track. Roger Federer roared into his 26th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over 13th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer in a match that was more problematic than the score suggests.
On a night in which the stars came out — Alex Rodriguez, Cameron Diaz, and Federer's friends Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani were in his support box next to wife Mirka — Federer fought off 10 of 12 break points to subdue French Open semifinalist Melzer.
A streaking Federer has not dropped a set in four tournament victories and will face his biggest challenge of the tournament in the form of Robin Soderling. The fifth-seeded Swede was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victor over 21st-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes.
On a drizzly day in June, Soderling reigned a series of resounding winners across the red clay in overwhelming defending French Open champion Federer, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the French Open quarterfinals to snap the World No. 1's record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. It was Federer’s first loss before a Grand Slam semifinal in seven years, ending one of the most hallowed record streaks in tennis history.
"I think obviously toughest conditions for both players are playing on wet clay when it rains," Federer said. "That is what we had in the last match. No excuses there, but it's just tough conditions to play in. We usually played in each other on faster courts because we usually played the same tournaments, which are more on the hard courts or the grass courts. This is where we faced off quite often against each other."
Federer typically come out firing against opponents who have beaten him in prior meetings and will carry a 12-1 lifetime record against Soderling into the match. They squared off in the Flushing Meadows quarterfinal stage last year with Federer posting a 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(6) win.
"I'm looking forward to it. He's a great player having an incredible last couple of years," Federer said. "These days he's able to do it consistently so this is obviously a tough draw for me playing Robin. I played him in quarters last year and was able to come through in a tough four-setter."
Since he began working with coach Paul Annacone, Federer has tried to step into the court more often and he has been playing his topspin backhand more frequently. Soderling forced him to hit off his back foot at times during the French Open match and it will be interesting to see the tactics Federer chooses in the rematch.
Soderling unleashed his windmill swings to deliver winner after winner across the soggy, slow clay, but the quicker conditions of the US Open should favor Federer — if he can get the serve back into the court and engage the Swede in rallies.
"I expect it to be tough, especially now that he's gotten a taste of how to beat me," Federer said. "It's up to me to clean up my game and put in a good performance...Like against any good server, trying to read the serve, get into good baseline rallies, try to move him around and just play a good solid match and have no hiccups on your own serve. I've been able to do that 12 times out of 13 so it's a matter up to me now if I can do it again."
Tonight's match was hardly one-way traffic.
World No. 15 Melzer, who has a shot to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in both singles and doubles, is a crafty player adept at using the drop shot and working his way to net.
The first-set tiebreaker turned on two fortuitous net cords and some fierce forehands from Federer leaving Melzer raging at the heavens in frustration.
An early sign that this would not be Melzer's night came when Federer hit a forehand down the line that collided with the top of the tape, hung in the air for a split second while Federer leaped in the air as if trying to will the ball over the net. The ball plopped over on Melzer's side and Federer had a 2-1 lead in the breaker.
At 4-all, a Federer return again ran into the top of the tape and again betrayed Melzer. Attacking net, Federer hit a stab stretch backhand drop volley that Melzer could not control for set point. Firing a forehand crosscourt to open the court, Federer followed with a forehand down the line to seize the second set with a scream.
Melzer looked down like a man who had just had his wallet swiped right before his eyes and was powerless to do anything about it.
"It's a pity that I didn't win at least one set," said Melzer, who won nine of 10 trips to net in the second set. "I think I deserved the second set. I think I was the more dangerous player. I had break points, he didn't have (as) many. You couldn't be more lucky that he was in a tie breaker than he was in this tie breaker."
Federer concurred fortune favored him tonight.
"I know I got real lucky," Federer said. "Maybe I would have won the tie break anyhow also maybe not being lucky. That's the way it goes. I could see he had big frustration after the two let cords...In the third set I broke him hitting three shanks. It was a good 10 minutes for me."
Federer's father, Robbie Federer, sat in the post-match interview sitting in the rear of the room while sipping a bottle of Evian and joined the rest of the room in spontaneous laughter when Federer was asked how it feels to see his face plastered across the official car of the US Open.
"I can't sleep at night it's so amazing, the feeling," Federer deadpanned.
Rubbing his forehead as if perplexed by some of the questions tossed his way, Federer again broke up the room when New York journalist Nate Chura prefaced his question about tennis with the phrase "on a much lighter note..."
"On a lighter note, right," Federer said smiling. "It's a really light subject, really relaxed but go ahead."
"I prefer it when it's not so much out there because obviously also then trickles down into the press and to the players, all that stuff," Federer said. "I don't like to be aware of it. I didn't even know it kind of existed until a few years ago. I know it's naive, but honestly I never even heard of it until a few years ago...Honestly, I have no clue how much is going on. So we have a very tough code on us that we're not allowed to do it, our entourage is not allowed to do it. We have tough regulations."