Roger Federer marches on to US Open semi-final

Roger Federer moved into the semi-finals of the US Open at Flushing Meadows, the 22nd consecutive time that he has reached this stage at a grand slam, but the World No 1 was made to work by 12th seed Robin Soderling of Sweden in a four-set game that spanned two and a half hours.

It was the third time that the players had met in a grand slam this season - Federer winning the French Open final against Soderling and having knocked him out of Wimbledon - and the reigning US Open champion looked to have the measure of his opponent, taking the first set 6-0 with some clean hitting.

Within the hour mark, the second set had followed 6-3, and Federer was on his way to his 39th straight victory at Flushing Meadows. But Soderling fought back and took the third set on a tie-break, before forcing Federer to serve out another tie break 8-6 in the fourth to take the match.

"It was so close towards the end and it's just a great relief to come through because Robin just got better and better as the match went on," the relieved Federer said afterwards. "I knew it was going to be tough but the beginning was a bit too easy and all of a sudden he found his way into the match and showed what a great player he really is."

Federer's opponent on Saturday will be Novak Djokovic, who won his quarter-final against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. It will be the third consecutive year that the pair have met in the semi-final. ·