Roger Federer advances at U.S. Open

With his 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5) U.S. Open quarterfinal win over Gilles Muller, the Luxembourgian qualifier ranked No. 130 but not acting like it of late, Federer ensured he still hasn't lost prior in any of the first five rounds of the four Grand Slams since a third-round loss in the 2004 French Open.

Conveying the value of the accomplishment, the player who used to greet quarterfinal wins with sheer stoicism hollered "Come on!" as Federer attained match point in the third-set tiebreaker, and made a little hop when the left-handed Muller's final backhand burrowed into the net.

A year that began with Federer having won 11 of the last 16 Grand Slams, but battling mononucleosis, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, has wound up with Federer going semifinal-final-final-semifinal in the four majors, with still a chance to improve upon that against either Djokovic or Andy Roddick in a U.S. Open semifinal match on Saturday.

Muller, who barely escaped the qualifying tournament, had beaten players ranked No. 39, No. 18 and No. 5 among his seven wins since landing in New York the day before he began playing. He challenged Federer but lacked the consistency, producing more winners (46-42) but more errors (32-19), even while reversing recent Federer matches by controlling the net more, rushing 50 times to Federer's 24.

Other than his stirring fourth-round, five-set match with Igor Andreev on Tuesday, Federer has won all 12 other sets here, and has continued denying he deems his year unacceptable. Told the 18 straight semifinals was "great" in an on-court interview with U.S. Open just after the match, Federer grinned, "Yeah, it is great."