NEW YORK, 9 September 2006 — Top-seeded Roger Federer dropped a set and had a hard time putting away No. 5 James Blake before finishing a 7-6 (7), 6-0, 6-7 (9), 6-4 victory Thursday at the US Open to reach a record-tying 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.
“The score says it all. The match could have been easier. Could have been tougher. We both missed our opportunities here and there, but that’s kind of expected, because we took our chances on our shots,” Federer said. “It turned out to be a thriller.”
Even in the toughest of moments, Federer was so masterful that Blake and the partisan audience in Arthur Ashe Stadium showed their admiration. Some of Federer’s winners were met with applause from a capacity crowd of 23,712, other shots made Blake acknowledge aloud how impressed he was.
“There are times you just have to say, ‘Too good,’ and move on,” said the American, who came into the night 0-4 against Federer, having lost all 10 sets they’d played.
“There’s just too many things he does well. He doesn’t panic. He plays offense unbelievably well. He plays defense better than anyone I’ve ever played.”
But Blake did not go quietly, saving a total of three match points and breaking Federer twice when he served for the match, at 5-3 in the third set and 5-2 in the fourth, celebrating the latter with a little strut.
“I take pride in the way I fought,” Blake said. “It’s a good feeling to know that I’m close to Roger. ... I guess he’s human.”
Right until the very end, Blake kept pushing, holding a break point and staving off two match points in the final game. Blake also saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker, and certainly had other chances: He wasted three set points in the opening tiebreaker and three break points at 1-0 in the fourth set.
“It took a while today, but look, it’s tough,” Federer said. “You make mistakes, he plays well, and momentum shifts.”
Federer, the two-time defending champion, advanced to a semifinal Saturday against Russian No. 7 Nikolay Davydenko, who dropped the first two sets in a half-empty stadium, then came back to beat No. 14 Tommy Haas of Germany 4-6, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The other men’s semifinal will be No. 9 Andy Roddick against unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who upset Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
“I’d probably like to play Andy, I guess, but (we’re) not quite there yet,” Federer said. “We look like the big favorites, but we’ve seen what happens to favorites sometimes, so we have to be careful.”
Davydenko and Youzhny give Russia two men’s semifinalists at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time in the Open era, which began in 1968. Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov lost in the final four at the 2001 US Open.
The women’s semifinals Friday feature three women who’ve been ranked No. 1 and won at least one Grand Slam title. No. 1 Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo plays No. 3 Maria Sharapova, and No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium plays No. 19 Serb Jelena Jankovic, who never made it beyond the fourth round of a major until this tournament.
Blake never has been past the quarterfinals at a Slam; he lost at the same stage here last year to Andre Agassi.
Federer, meanwhile, hasn’t lost before the semifinals at a major since the 2004 French Open. His 10 semifinals in a row match Ivan Lendl’s run from 1985-88 as the longest in the Open era, and Federer is aiming for his ninth Grand Slam title.
He hadn’t lost a set at this tournament until Thursday, and he sure came close to dropping the opener against Blake. Federer broke at love for a 5-4 edge with a spinning return, but Blake broke right back with the help of a double-fault and two unforced errors. They went to the tiebreaker, where Blake won five straight points to 6-4. Federer erased the first set point with an ace, and Blake gave away two others with a long forehand, then a return into the net.
The highest drama came in the third-set tiebreaker. Federer was a single point from winning at 9-8 after a 30-stroke exchange ended with Blake dumping a backhand into the net. But Blake extended the match with a backhand winner down the line.
Finally, Blake closed the tiebreaker on his fifth set point, when Federer slipped to his knees while trying to hit a passing shot. Blake was in position for a 2-0 edge in the fourth set, with Federer serving at love-40. But Federer won the next five points, with three service winners, a forehand winner and a Blake error.
Serving for the win for a third time, Federer did come through, the match ending on a shot into the net by Blake. The American hung in there, but he could not prevent Federer from improving to 68-5 this season.
It’s surprising that Davydenko, who’s 54-22 this year, will still be around to play his tour-leading 77th match of the season, given that he failed to get past the third round at the US Open before. He did make a major semifinal at the 2005 French Open.
