BILL DWYRE - Djokovic's comedy may be merely the appetizer

NEW YORK -- Who knew, on the eve of the men's U.S. Open tennis semifinals, that there would be a way to squeeze into Roger Federer's spotlight? Who knew it could be done with off-court shenanigans?

Today, when Federer plays No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays No. 15 David Ferrer of Spain, there will be no question who is No. 1.

The maestro from Switzerland, who conducts an orchestra of shots while others play single instruments, will be standing at the podium with a baton. His achievements up to now are well known, including being No. 1 in the world 188 consecutive weeks, more than anybody else. Ever.

But if tennis is a sport of achievement, it is also a sport that thrives on personality. Which is what the world still watching in the late hours of Thursday night discovered in Djokovic, the Serbian Stand-Up. Win or lose, a booking on Leno is forthcoming.

Djokovic had just muscled his way past venerable Spaniard Carlos Moya, a former No. 1 and French champion who, at 31, was grasping for one final straw before the rocking chair.

When Djokovic was in trouble in the second-set tiebreaker, serving with Moya at set point, he missed his first serve and then disdained the safe route and hit a second 118 mph for an ace.

"If you want a positive outcome," he said, "you have to take a risk."

Half an hour later, he was finished with Moya and summoned back onto the court for the usually predictable TV chitchat. The questions are soft, the purpose warm and fuzzy and the result seldom compelling journalistically. But this time, TV took a chance, and we shall all be eternally grateful.

Djokovic, known on the tour for his fast rise and great sense of humor -- but not yet known among U.S. fans who are still struggling to pronounce his name -- was asked to do one of his player impersonations.

Again, who knew?

Suddenly, you had a 20-year-old -- chitchatting in a language not his, moments after reaching only his third-ever Grand Slam semifinal after playing for 2 hours 18 minutes -- being asked to do impromptu stand-up in front of more than 23,000 people and several million TV viewers.

What did Djokovic do? He asked which player they wanted. And what ensued will go down as one of the funnier moments in the history of this tournament.

Maria Sharapova, he was told.