By Bill Scott Sep 5, 2008, 4:03 GMT
New York - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are to stage a repeat of last year's final at the US Open when the pair of leading seeds clash in a high-voltage semi-final.
Federer charged into a record 18th-straight Grand Slam semi-final Thursday as he fought past feisty qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
The Swiss top seed, still searching for his first major title of the season, kept up his bid for success in 2008's final Grand Slam.
Djokovic, whose loss in 2007 gave Federer his fourth-consecutive title at Flushing Meadows, booked his place Thursday as he destroyed former winner Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) in their quarter-final, where controversy exploded in a post-match interview.
'Andy said I had 16 injuries, and that already got the crowd against me,' the often-injured Serb said. 'They all think I'm faking it. That's not a nice thing to say.'
The 21-year-old threw the slight back at the American after preventing a fifth set as Roddick stood two points away.
'I'm really happy to win playing against Roddick on his court at his event,' Djokovic said. 'To win against him is a huge effort.'
Djokovic won the Australian Open after beating Federer in the semi-finals in January, but the former number one won in Monte Carlo three months later when Djokovic retired.
Federer won his 43rd New York match against a mere four losses as he overcame Muller, set to rise to 62nd in the world from 130.
The Swiss stands 6-2 over Djokovic. 'He's the absolute favourite,' the Serb third seed said. 'It's a big challenge for him to try and get back to number one.'
Federer is bidding for his 37th hard-court title. He is second on the all-time list, 10 titles behind Andre Agassi.
He is playing the US Open for the first time since 2001 without holding a trophy on cement coming into the tournament, but Thursday's was also his 32nd-straight win at the event, where he last lost to David Nalbandian in the round of 16 in 2003.
'I'm happy to keep the semi-final streak alive,' Federer said. 'That's a huge streak for such a long time.
'I played well this tournament, so I'm really happy to give myself an opportunity again to be in the final four. I hope this time around, I can take it a step further than I did in Paris or Wimbledon.'
Muller's best previous result was a Grand Slam third round - at Wimbledon in 2005 when he upset Rafael Nadal in the second round.
The outsider was worn down by 0-2 comebacks in New York against Tommy Haas and Nicolas Almagro.
Tropical Storm Hanna in the Atlantic could bring bad weather for the weekend, a threat organizers are watching closely.
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