NEW YORK — Dealing well with the whipping wind and a familiar foe, 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer served his way to a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over fifth-seeded Robin Soderling on Wednesday night to reach the U.S. Open semifinals.
Federer accumulated an 18-2 edge in aces against the big-hitting Soderling and improved his career mark against the Swede to 13-1.
The lone loss had come in their most recent match, in the French Open quarterfinals this year. Soderling’s victory there ended Federer’s streak of reaching the semifinals at a record 23 consecutive major tournaments.
Earlier, Novak Djokovic was muttering to himself and gesticulating wildly during his 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-2 victory over 17th-seeded Gael Monfils of France.
And, yes, Djokovic smacked himself in the head twice with his right hand — after winning a point.
But the 23-year-old Serb managed to figure out how to deal with the swirling wind that topped 20 mph, choosing tactics wisely — he won points on 40-of-59 trips to the net — and never allowing Monfils back into the match after a tight first set.
“It might be the case that (I’ve) developed,” 2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic said. “Over time, you get experience playing in the different conditions, different situations.”
He adjusted, and he didn’t let the wind bother him nearly as much as Monfils did. It was Monfils, after all, who tried to get too fancy in the match’s fourth game.
As a ball headed toward him, Monfils jumped and brought his racket around his body and through his legs, when a regular swing would have sufficed. His attempt at a trick shot — a variation of one Roger Federer hit for a winner against Djokovic in the 2009 semifinals at Flushing Meadows — landed in the net.
“I thought, ‘Please, don’t make it,’ ” Djokovic said. “I have been experiencing that too many times.”
Monfils, meanwhile, was not amused one bit by how hard it was to handle the wind, which kept changing directions and carried shots this way and that.
“I was completely lost,” Monfils said. “Can’t serve. Can’t really use my forehand. You run for what?”
The wind clearly affected play all day, and there were about a half-dozen points that were stopped because debris wound up near the court during top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki’s 6-2, 7-5 victory over 45th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova in the last women’s quarterfinal.
“This felt like playing in a hurricane or something,” said Wozniacki, who will face Vera Zvonareva, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Kaia Kanepi, in Friday’s semifinals.
U.S. Open/glance
Weather: Mostly sunny and breezy. High of 89.
Men’s results: Quarterfinals: No. 3 Novak Djokovic beat No. 17 Gael Monfils 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-2. No. 2 Roger Federer def. No. 5 Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Women’s results: Quarterfinals: No. 7 Vera Zvonareva beat No. 31 Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-5. No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki def. unseeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5.
On court today: Men, quarterfinals: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny vs. No. 25 Stanislas Wawrinka.
Today on TV: Tennis Channel, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (live), 9-10 p.m. (highlights); ESPN2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (live), 6-9 p.m. (live)
