TENNIS US OPEN:ROGER FEDERER survived a battle against Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller to book his place in the US Open semi-finals with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) 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 crown of the year, edged Muller 7-5 in the third-set tiebreak to win his 32nd consecutive match at Flushing Meadows.
In that third-set tiebreak Muller led 4-1 and 5-3 before the world number two hit back ruthlessly.
"It was really difficult today and Gilles has played fantastic tournament," a relieved Federer said. "He was won more matches than all of us, 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 either American favourite Andy Roddick or third-seeded Novak Djokovic.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will both be playing their first US Open semi-final tomorrow - which is remarkable given the huge gulf in their collective experience.
The big difference is that for Murray it will be the first time he has progressed this far in any of the four slams while for the Spaniard, just a year older than the Scot, it is his ninth major semi-final.
More tellingly, he has lost only once at this stage, going down to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in this year's Australian Open when the Frenchman blew him off the Rod Laver Arena with an all-out attacking onslaught that had similarly swept Murray away in the first round.
Nadal and Murray have met five times, with the Briton losing them all, including a straight-sets drubbing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals this summer. That said, Murray has been able to get considerably closer to the world number one on hardcourts, leading by two sets to one at the Australian Open last year before going down in five, though in their last four meetings he has not managed a single set. The Scot has improved his game significantly over the past 12 months but so too has Nadal who has become a player for all surfaces.
Murray knows what he has to do, just as he did in his quarter-final against Juan Martin del Potro. He gave the huge Argentinian teenager no pace to hit off and for two sets played him like a salmon on the Tweed. At 3-1 up in the third it appeared done and dusted, only for Murray to let the set slip away in a manner that he cannot possibly afford to do against Nadal. In truth Murray has not played his best tennis so far this tournament. "I played the big points great and I don't care what happened throughout the course of the match as long as I win." A fair point.
Murray believes he must return much better than in their most recent encounters if he is to win. "The first couple of times I played him I returned very well. Take away Wimbledon and we have had some close sets, some really tough matches. Normally my return of serve is the best part of my game."
That said, Murray's own serve appears much more open to attack than that of the Spaniard.
Many had thought the big-hitting American Mardy Fish might cause an upset, given Nadal's previously patchy form at Flushing Meadows, but after losing the opening set he raised his game several notches to win at a gallop 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. It is these power surges that have made Nadal such a formidable opponent who has won 53 of his last 55 matches, including the Olympic gold medal.
Before this year the Spaniard has tended to fade after Wimbledon, the US cement courts being particularly harsh on the feet and knees that have troubled him in the past. This year, no doubt mentally lifted by winning the Wimbledon title for the first time, and then replacing Roger Federer as the world number one he has shown a conviction, a carapace of inspired intensity, that has made him seemingly invulnerable at this level, much as Federer was except when he played Nadal on clay.
That said, Murray will not be fazed.
Guardian Service
