rogerfederer.com - Roger in the semis

Roger in the semis

Roger defeated Argentine David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 Thursday night to meet Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. It was a clear step into the semifinals against Hewitt, a winner earlier in the day in a 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Roger beat Hewitt in the Open final last year and has won their last eight matches, four in Grand Slam events, going back to the 2004 Australian Open. "Maybe we had enough men's tennis over the last few days," said Roger, the only semifinalist who did not play five sets in the quarters. He didn't shy away from saying that he couldn't play much better than he did against the 11th-seeded Nalbandian in a 1-hour, 40-minute sweep.

Asked about the Agassi-Robby Ginepri match on Saturday, Roger said that he's happy to see two Americans in the semifinal. "This doesn't happen every day so you better enjoy this moment, " he said smilingly.