FOUR-TIMES champion Roger Federer weathered a tough battle against Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller to book his place in the semi-final of the US Open with a 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 win last night.
On a sweltering afternoon, the second-seeded Swiss was tested to the full by a player ranked 130th in the world before sealing victory in two hours 26 minutes.
Federer, seeking his fifth consecutive US Open title but his first grand slam c
rown of the year, edged marathon man Muller 7-5 in the third- set tiebreak to win his 32nd consecutive match at Flushing Meadows.
"It was really difficult and Gilles has played a fantastic tournament," said a relieved Federer. "He was won more matches than all of us.
"It was particularly difficult with the sun and wind and he has been serving great. I didn't get that many opportunities and that is why a straight-sets win is the best result. I'm really happy with the way I pulled it out at the end because I thought it was going to four sets."
Federer's opponent in the last four will be American favourite Andy Roddick or third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic, who were scheduled to play their quarter-final late last night.
The opening set went with serve until the 12th game when Federer piled on the pressure and appeared likely to break his big-serving opponent. However Muller, trailing 5-6, did well to save five set points before holding for six-all.
Federer, deposed as world No 1 two weeks ago by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, raced into a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak but was pegged back to 4-4 before again pulling ahead. The crowd gave both players a standing ovation after a breathtaking rally of aggressive shot-making finally ended with Federer winning the point to go 6-4 up. The Swiss clinched the first set at the seventh attempt.
Federer broke Muller in the ninth game of the second and comfortably held serve to wrap up the second set.
The third set was also tight, Federer winning the tiebreak 7-5 when left-hander Muller netted a backhand.
Muller, who twice had to fight back from two sets down to book his place in a grand slam quarter-final for the first time, had been on court for four more hours than Federer before their contest.
TODAY'S ORDER OF PLAYMen's doubles final:
7-Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic) & Leander Paes (India) v 2-Bob Bryan)/Mike Bryan (US) (not before 5pm BST)
Women's singles semi-finals:
Elena Dementieva (5) (Rus) v Jelena Jankovic (2) (Ser) (not before 6:30pm BST); Dinara Safina (6) (Rus) v Serena Williams (4) (USA) (not before 8:30BST)
The full article contains 468 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
