Federer out for payback after US meltdown
PARIS: To understand how much Roger Federer would enjoy shattering Novak Djokovic's grand-slam dream on Friday, just go back to last year's US Open semi-finals.
Federer will play Djokovic for a French Open final berth at Roland Garros, desperate to thwart the Serb's bold bid to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four majors.
There is no love lost between this pair. Mutual respect, yes.
Last September, Djokovic swatted a Hail Mary return for a dramatic winner - which John McEnroe labelled ''one of the all-time great shots''.
After the match, Federer bristled when asked if Djokovic's match-turning forehand was ''luck, risk or a function of confidence''.
''Confidence? Are you kidding me? I mean, please,'' Federer said. ''Look, some players grow up and play like that. I remember losing junior matches - just being down 5-2 in the third and they all just start slapping shots. It all goes in for some reason because that's the kind of way they grew up playing when they were down. I never played that way. I believe in hard work's going to pay off … so, for me, this is very hard to understand how can you play a shot like that on match point.''
Meanwhile, confirmation arrived at Roland Garros that Andy Murray does not yet belong in the same grand slam company as the world's top three players.
Murray will have a chance to atone on his preferred grasscourts of Wimbledon later this month, but his 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-2 French Open quarter-final loss to sixth seed David Ferrer surely must have removed the Scot from a so-called ''big four''.
Boasting 31 grand-slam titles between them to Murray's none - Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are in a league of their own.
Instead of facing Murray in Friday's semi-finals, Rafael Nadal will meet countryman Ferrer after six-time champion Nadal's 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final win over over Nicolas Almagro.
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