Grinder Roger Federer Aims to Make Novak Djokovic His Next Victim

In the glorious landscape of Roger Federer's tennis career the grand slam victories, all 15 of them, tower above everything but in the foothills of that astonishing feat there sits a litany of other records that testify to the great man's genius.

Like eye-catching women in the life of James Bond, there is one for every occasion. Like buses in downtown Geneva, they come along with clockwork regularity. Yet there are there some records that speak to a Roger Federer most people hardly know: he is the grinder supreme.

When the world No1 steps on to the court tomorrow at Flushing Meadows to play the No4 seed Novak Djokovic he will be appearing in his 22nd successive grand slam semi-final. How good is that? Well, the next man on the list, at 10, is Ivan Lendl, and he was supposed to be the most resilient grinder of all time.

As for the current generation of players – the second longest streak of semi-final appearances is held by Djokovic and Juan Martín del Potro. It stands at one.

Even Lendl, who for a long time was more resistant than most when it came to accepting Federer as one of the greatest players of all time, has been won over. "If you called me eight years ago and said, 'There will be a guy who comes along, and he'll be in 21 straight grand slam semi‑finals', well, I would be looking for a polite way to end the conversation as quickly as possible because I'd be talking to somebody out of their mind," the former US Open champion said before this year's tournament started. "It's just ridiculous. There is no other way to say it. You can't explain it to people, it's just absurd."

Certainly, Federer himself found it difficult to explain exactly how he had sustained such a high level of performance over such a long period of time.

"I think it's just a wonderful record. It's not important, but it's nice to have, let's put it that way,'' he said after his quarter-final win over Robin Soderling. "It's something I never ever aimed for, that's clear, but it's probably one of the greatest records that I've created in my career. It just shows how lucky I've been that I could stay healthy, you know, and always create opportunities."

Opportunity will come knocking once again in his meeting with Djokovic with the No1 seeking to become the first man in almost 90 years to win six successive US Open titles. Early in the season, the Swiss would have been the overwhelming favorite, as opposed to a strong one, but the Serb has played some great tennis over the past 12 days, not least in his quarter-final against the dangerous Fernando Verdasco, whom he beat in four sets.

Federer defeated Djokovic in the 2007 US Open final as well as in the final of the recent Masters Series event in Cincinnati but he is taking nothing for granted. "It is going to be a tough match. He has done well against me in the past but let's see what happens,'' the No1 seed said.

Cautious optimism and a little humility; a record breaker's two best friends.