Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Federer, Wawrinka Win to Set Up All-Swiss US Open Semifinal
NEW YORK — The All-Swiss semifinal is on at the US Open.
Roger Federer and his Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka both won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday night, setting up Friday’s clash in the semifinals between the two men who led Switzerland to the Davis Cup title in 2014.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic will meet defending champion and No. 9 Marin Cilic in the first semifinal on Friday afternoon, with No. 2 Federer and No. 5 Wawrinka to follow.
Federer will be appearing in a record 38th Grand Slam semifinal after beating No. 12 Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, in 1 hour, 27 minutes inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The crowd included Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon — who entertained the crowd at one point by dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ — and Andre Agassi, whom Federer beat in the 2005 US Open final.
“For Switzerland it’s huge that we have two guys in the semifinals of the US Open,” Federer said. “I think we are both very much pumped up that’s the case. The only better scenario would have been in the finals, but this is already very, very good. We are very proud of that.”
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Federer is seeking his first US Open final since 2009, his sixth US Open crown and the 18th Major of his storied career.
The 34-year-old father of two sets of twins still hasn’t lost a set in this tournament and continued his brilliance against the Frenchman, upping his record to 15-2, 9-0 on hardcourts.
Stan Wawrinka celebrates after defeating Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Federer has had similar success against Wawrinka, whom he leads 16-3 all-time, with all three of Wawrinka’s wins coming on clay. But Wawrinka won their most recent matchup in the quarterfinals of the French Open and then went on to win the Roland Garros title for his second Grand Slam crown. In fact, since the start of 2014, Wawrinka has two Grand Slam titles and Federer none.
“I think Stan played a wonderful match against me in Paris and I was very happy that he went on to win the tournament,” Federer said. “I was happy for him.”
He hopes for a different ending in New York.
A year ago, Federer was crushed in straight sets in the semifinals by the big-serving Cilic, who went on to beat Kei Nishikori in the final.
“The only difference is I played [Gael] Monfils] five sets in this tournament in the quarterfinals so this is going to help me a lot physically and mentally to save energy,” Federer said. “I hope because of that I can play a better semifinal. But I must admit that Cilic was absolutely on fire last year.”
Wawrinka dispatched big serving Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 after Anderson had taken out No. 3 Andy Murray in a four-hour-plus Round of 16 match on Monday that obviously took something out of him.
The third set was so lopsided that Wawrinka even tried the patented Federer “SABR” move in which he snuck in and attacked behind a second serve.
Asked if both players would do it in the semifinals, Federer joked, “We’ll do only that the whole match. The longest rally will be like three shots.”
Wawrinka said he wasn’t copying Federer with the SABR, only trying to pick things up from the top players that might help him.
“I’m not trying to do what he’s doing,” Wawrinka said. “Just the reason why I improve so much the past few years it’s also because I’m looking a lot what the top guys doing, Novak, Roger, Rafa.
“I always try to see why they are so good. I’m not trying to do what they are doing. I’m just trying to see how they improve, how they can play so well, how can they play so fast, how they can do the passing shot and everything.”
SABR or no, Wawrinka thinks he’s gotten closer to Federer’s level, as evidenced by the French Open win and a tough four-set loss in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“I think the past three years, for sure, I get closer from him,” Wawrinka said. “My level improved a lot. I’m playing better tennis. So I was always really close from him, if we look Wimbledon last year.
“I will for sure need to play my best tennis. He’s playing really well so far. He loves to play. He know how to play. He had some amazing match. It’s going to be a big challenge. I think I’m ready.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEW YORK — The All-Swiss semifinal is on at the US Open.
Roger Federer and his Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka both won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday night, setting up Friday’s clash in the semifinals between the two men who led Switzerland to the Davis Cup title in 2014.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic will meet defending champion and No. 9 Marin Cilic in the first semifinal on Friday afternoon, with No. 2 Federer and No. 5 Wawrinka to follow.
Federer will be appearing in a record 38th Grand Slam semifinal after beating No. 12 Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, in 1 hour, 27 minutes inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The crowd included Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon — who entertained the crowd at one point by dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ — and Andre Agassi, whom Federer beat in the 2005 US Open final.
“For Switzerland it’s huge that we have two guys in the semifinals of the US Open,” Federer said. “I think we are both very much pumped up that’s the case. The only better scenario would have been in the finals, but this is already very, very good. We are very proud of that.”
