Roger Federer ready to serve up sixth US Open crown
Roger Federer blew Robin Soderling away in straight sets in their US Open quarter-final match to further stamp his authority on the 2010 edition of the tournament he’s won five times before.
In windy conditions on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world No. 2 delivered a barrage of 18 aces to his fifth ranked opponent – a small nod, perhaps, to the sparkling service performance Soderling put on in the final three sets of their quarter-final match at the French Open.
In Paris, the Swede claimed a four-set win over Federer, his first in 13 matches they’d played against one another, to end a run of 23 straight Grand Slam semi-final appearances for the world No. 2.
Having missed out on a place in the final four at Roland Garros and then again at Wimbledon (thanks to Tomas Berdych), Federer was in no mood to make it three quarter-final exits in a row.
In difficult conditions both players made their share of unforced errors, Federer made 33 and Soderling just one less, but it was the Swiss’ dominant performance on serve that really separated the two. Last year’s US Open runner-up finished with a first service percentage of 64%, but more impressively won 86 per cent of points on his first serve.
Soderling did manage to create six break point opportunities against the world No. 2’s serve, with four of them coming in Federer’s opening service game. The former world No. 1 didn’t give him much of a look in after that, as Soderling had just two more chances to break his serve for the rest of the match.
At one stage, Federer completed three straight service games with a run of 12 unreturnable first serves on his way to a tally of 43 unreturned first serves for the match.
And while Federer too manufactured only six break point chances against his opponent, the second seed turned five of them into breaks, something Soderling could only manage to do twice.
Federer now moves through to the semi-finals, where he’ll take on third seed Novak Djokovic, without having dropped a set in his five matches so far.
He’s handled the difficult conditions in New York, first the heat and now the swirling winds, with aplomb; his serve, always a weapon thanks to the variety and placement Federer employs, was nothing short of devastating in the quarters; and he’s playing like he’s got the ball on a strong (think back to that first round through-the-legs trick shot).
In short, the 16-time Grand Slam champion is playing like he’s ready to add a 17th to his collection this weekend.
He’s now just two wins away.
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