Roger Federer says the wind is his friend

While everyone around him at Flushing Meadows was cursing the wind and its effect on a tennis ball, Roger Federer was basking in it, loving it, embracing the challenge of adjusting to it at the last split second. That ability to focus under duress is what separated him from fifth-seeded Robin Soderling in his 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and before the tournament is over, that quality might separate him from the entire field in his quest for a sixth title here.

Soderling played a solid match and likely would have beaten most of the top men in the world, but his normally powerful serve deserted him. He didn't get his first ace until the fifth game of the third set, and by then, Federer had 15 aces. After losing the first two sets, Soderling lifted his play in the third set and succeeded in breaking Federer's serve for only the second time in the match to take a 5-3 lead.

But Federer immediately broke back in the next game, held serve to even the set at 5-5 and then broke Soderling again before serving out the match and ending with his 18th ace. It was a brilliant display of skill and determination by the No. 2 seed, whose serves often brushed the lines.

Federer said he used to hate playing in the wind. "It's cold; it's blowing in your eyes," he moaned. He once had a match at the Open with Andre Agassi where he failed to handle the difficult conditions. His answer was to work to overcome that failing and adapt to the conditions.

The wind, Federer said, "doesn't affect my concentration. What I'm also very good at is hitting a good serve even though the ball toss is not in the right location anymore [because of the wind]. I can serve to all different corners with either kick or flat or slice. That allows me to have a great variety of serves.

"When it's windy, I don't struggle much in it because my second serve is reliable. I don't panic or double-fault so much. So, it's obviously a huge weapon in conditions like this."

The difference against Soderling was Federer's 18-2 advantage in aces and the fact he only had two double faults. After Soderling broke Federer, his own spirit was crushed when the Swiss player broke back. Soderling knew there was no way, with match point in sight, that he would get another chance to break Federer because he was serving too well.

"On the baseline, I also shanked some balls and mistimed a few and misread a few like we all did today," Federer said. "But the serve today was the biggest key."

Now, he's moving on to the semifinals on Saturday, where he will face No. 3 Novak Djokovic, whom he has eliminated three straight years at the Open, including the 2007 final and in the semifinals the past two years. Federer said Arthur Ashe Stadium's hardcourt is Djokovic's best surface. If he reaches the final, it's likely that No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who has a quarterfinal to play Thursday night against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, will be waiting for him.

"We've had a tough tournament with either heat or wind," Federer said. "I expect to see something going on Saturday. The weather has a big role to play if it's windy...the match will be played quite differently than if there is no wind."

While the opposition may dread more of the blustery, swirling winds in Ashe Stadium, Federer would welcome it. To him, it feels as though the wind always is at his back.