PARIS(AP) Roger Federer is back in the chase again at the French Open, stretching his record to 98-0 through the first five rounds of the last 20 major tournaments. The Swiss star is just two wins from a career Grand Slam and tying Pete Sampras all-time record of 14 major titles.
Yet reaching the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2008 was considered a down year for Federer - even if he did get to three finals and win one. And his teary reaction after the loss to Rafael Nadal in this year's Australian Open final made many wonder if his best days were behind him.
I thought I played great in Australia,'' Federer said after beating Gael Monfils in straight sets to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for a record 20th straight time.For some reason, just because I lost in five, people think I played terrible at the Australian Open. It's not the case.
``I played great in Australia and ran into Rafa, who played phenomenal tennis. Unfortunately, I didn't play a great fifth set, but he took advantage and got it.''
Federer, who plays Juan Martin del Potro on Friday, won't have to worry about Nadal this year at Roland Garros. The four-time defending champion from Spain lost in the fourth round to big-serving Robin Soderling, who will face Fernando Gonzalez in the other semifinal.
Soderling may be the biggest surprise of the four remaining players, and he might just have had the toughest road to get there.
Before beating top-ranked Nadal in four sets, he eliminated 14th-seeded David Ferrer of Spain in four. In the quarterfinals, Soderling beat No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets.
If you'd ask me, like, four years ago, I'd say I will never reach a semis in Paris,'' said the 24-year-old Soderling, who had never before reached the fourth round at a major.But for every year, I think I started to play better and better on clay.''
On Friday, he'll be coming up against another player with a hard serve and a big forehand in Gonzalez, who lost to Federer in the 2007 Australian Open final.
I like to play more on the hard court, but in this year or last year I've been feeling really good on the clay,'' said Gonzalez, who is 4-3 against Soderling.The worst thing I have is the return of serve, (but) here on clay, the serve, it's not really important like on the other surfaces.''
Of the four semifinalists, Federer is only player to have won a Grand Slam title. In fact, he's the only player to have previously appeared in the French Open semifinals, losing to Nadal in that round in 2005 and then falling to him in each of the last three finals.
At this stage, I expected I would be in semifinals, but I was not expecting Rafa to be out before the semifinals,'' Federer said.But once you've reached the semifinals, those four guys have an opportunity to win the tournament.''
Only twice in Federer's 20-major semifinal run has he received a free pass. Andrei Pavel withdrew from the fourth round of the 2004 U.S. Open with a herniated disc in his lower back to give Federer his first quarterfinal spot at that tournament. At Wimbledon in 2007, Tommy Haas withdrew from the fourth round with a torn stomach muscle.
Twenty semifinals is incredible, but 20 semifinals in a row? It's even more incredible, even to me,'' Federer said.Sometimes I lose sight of it because of all the tournaments and matches I play all along the year. You lose sights of these records, but that's probably the one I'm most proud of.''
To reach his fourth straight French Open final, Federer will have to beat Del Potro, a promising 20-year-old Argentine he's beaten in all five meetings. Although del Potro obviously wants to win his first Grand Slam title on Sunday, he knows who he'll be cheering for if he loses to Federer.
Everybody wants Roger to win this tournament,'' del Potro said.But if I can't do, if I can't win this tournament, I want to see, next Sunday, Roger with the trophy.''