Roger Federer returned to winning rhythm as he blew past Robin Soderling in a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory to reach a seventh consecutive semifinal at the US Open, beating a strong wind as well as a dangerous opponent.
The victory gave the Swiss 13 wins from 14 meetings with the Swede who knocked him out of his French Open title defence nearly three months ago in the quarterfinals. A strong wind, which constantly changed direction made life a misery for the fifth seed.
Federer will confront a familiar face in Saturday’s semis as he plays Novak Djokovic for a fourth straight year at Flushing Meadows.
“The wind was really blowing.” said Federer. “But I’ve trained my whole life on my serve. If I can’t serve in the wind, I’ve got a problem.”
He broke Soderling for a 6-5 lead in the third while leading two sets to love, then calmly served out the victory.
Federer said the match with Djokovic will be a challenge. “I’m 3-0 here against him; we always play in big matches. He is playing great after his first round and I know he’s looking for a big break at the Open.”
Wozniacki, Zvonareva roll on
In women’s play, top-seed Caroline Wozniacki waltzed through another victory as the Dane defeated Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5.
Russian Vera Zvonareva continued to tear up the Grand Slam stage, reaching her second consecutive semifinal at a major with a defeat of Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-5.
The seventh-seeded winner backed up her appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals, which she parleyed into a final against Serena Williams two months ago.
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