NEW YORK – It may not have been the Roger Federer of old, but the outcome was familiar. The Swiss superstar is in a Grand Slam semifinal for a record 18th straight time.
Seeking his fifth straight US Open title – a feat that hasn’t been done since Bill Tilden did it in 1924 – Federer overcame a surprisingly strong performance by qualifier Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (5) 6-4 7-6 (5).
“It was really difficult,” Federer said. “Gilles played a really fantastic tournament. … It was hard just to get solid contact on his serve.”
Federer has not won a Grand Slam tournament title since last year’s Open – his 12th major title, two behind the men’s record held by Pete Sampras.
“I was very happy the way I pulled it out at the end because it looked like it was going (to a) fourth (set),” Federer said. “You try to stay positive, but you look at the score and sometimes it’s not good.”
Muller may have come out of the qualifying and been a surprise quarterfinalist, but he gave Federer all the tournament’s number two seed could handle. The left-hander’s big game – he finished with 16 aces – matched Federer for much of the afternoon.
“It was tough today, especially to break against the wind,” Federer said. “It was almost impossible. He’s a big guy. He gets great angles and he’s got a lot of safety in his serve, especially the first serve. He does have great variety.”
It was the first time the best player from Luxembourg has made it past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament, and only once did he make it that far, at Wimbledon in 2005 when he upset Rafael Nadal in the second round. Prior to this year, Muller had won only one match on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Center, and that was an first-round upset of Andy Roddick three years ago.
The two held serve through the first set, with Federer stymied when he had two set points on Muller’s serve in the 12th game. Federer then jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before Muller pulled even at 4-4.
Four points later, Federer rifled a backhand down the line that Muller got his racquet on, but was unable to control his shot and his volley went wide.
That gave Federer, who had failed to convert five break chances, the opening set.
Federer finally broke Muller’s serve in the ninth game of the second set – the first service break of the match and, as it turned out, the last – then held his own serve to grab a two-set lead.
Still, Muller didn’t fold. He fought off several break points in the ninth game of the third set. If Federer had broken there, he would have served for a spot in the semifinals. Instead, Muller refused to back down and served his way out of the trouble to take a 5-4 lead.
Federer reacted by holding at love. And again the left-hander showed the game that had taken him to the quarters, blasting his 14th and 15th aces of the match for a 30-0 lead. He eventually held at 15, the final point coming when he brought Federer to the net with a drop shot, and then softly lifted an offensive forehand lob over Federer’s head that hit a foot inside the baseline.
“I think it’s not so much about him. I think it was more me,” Muller said. “Before when I played him, I think a lot of players have too much respect for him. I mean, he’s a nice person outside of the court, and he’s a good player, so everybody has a lot of respect for him.
“But on the court nobody should have respect for him. You just go out there to win, no matter who is on the other side of the court.”
The third set, like the first, went to a tiebreak, which Muller began with yet another ace. It wasn’t enough.
When he ripped a backhand cross-court pass to take him to match point, the usually staid Federer shouted, “Come on,” accompanied by a fist pump, an outlandish, for him, show of emotion.
Federer closed out his victory on the very next point. When Muller netted a backhand, Federer had survived yet another strong attack and had a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.
“I’m happy to keep sort of the semifinal streak alive,” Federer said. “That’s a huge streak, you know, for such a long time.
“I played well this tournament, so I’m really happy to keep it alive and give myself an opportunity again to be in the final four. I hope this time around I can take it a step further than I did in Paris or Wimbledon.”
