By Chris Oddo | Wednesday September 9, 2015
Roger Federer rumbled past Richard Gasquet to reach his record 38th Grand Slam semifinal.
Photo Source: US Open/USTA
Brevity was the soul of Roger Federer’s wit on Wednesday in New York as the Swiss maestro put a heavy shellacking on Richard Gasquet to reach the US Open semifinals for the tenth time, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
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Yet to drop a set this hard-court season, Federer was never threatened in defeating his French opponent for the 15th time in 17 meetings, and seventh in a row.
“No doubt about it I think I played a very good match,” said Federer. “I think I felt the ball great.”
Federer clocked 50 winners, 16 aces and did not face a break point, and he grabbed early leads on Gasquet in all three sets to ensure a lack of suspense. But the night session crowd pitched in plenty of enthusiasm—including an impromptu Beyonce dance-off from Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon—to keep the atmosphere more electric than the competition.
“I was able to stay aggressive and enjoy myself out there, so it was a good match,” said a happy Federer after improving to 50-7 on the season.
Federer also improved to 77-10 lifetime at the US Open and reached his record 38th career Grand Slam semifinal with his victory. Only Pete Sampras (71-9) has a better winning percentage at the Open, and nobody has reached as many major semifinals. The next closest, Jimmy Connors, reached 31.
But this year’s quest for Federer is not about reaching the semifinals. Coming off a Wimbledon final appearance, Federer has taken his breathtaking game to yet another level this summer, displaying scintillating form that has many believing that his 18th major could be coming.
The 34-year-old has not lost since Wimbledon, and has only dropped serve twice in ten matches (118 service games), seven of which came against Top-25 competition.
“When you’re confident and you’re playing well, things are easier, so you don’t stress out as quick,” Federer said. “Honestly I’ve had a really rock-solid last year-and-a-half, so I think I know what I’m doing right, I can analyze very quickly when things are not going well and why that’s happening.”
He added: “When I go out there I have a really positive mindset, and I enjoy myself.”
Federer will continue his bid to become the first man in the Open Era to win six titles in New York on Friday when he meets Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss semifinal. Despite owning a 16-3 lifetime edge over Wawrinka, Federer has lost two of five, including their last battle at this year’s French Open.
Federer does own an 11-0 edge against Wawrinka on hard court but the compatriots have gone to a deciding set in their last three tilts on that surface.
“Stan’s a different animal,” said Federer. “He’s up there, he’s won Grand Slams, and he’s been consistent also at Slam level. In the last nine or ten Slams he’s reached eight quarters at least or better, and won two of them. It shows that in best-of-five he can eventually find his rhythm and then he’s very tough to beat.”