By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer won a measure of revenge and a return to the U.S. Open semi-finals as he beat fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4 7-5 on Wednesday to book his place in the last four for a seventh successive time.
Federer demoralized the big-hitting Swede, who was runner-up at the last two French Opens, by firing in 18 aces, while Soderling could only muster two as he went down meekly on a cold, windy New York night.
The Swiss master said figuring out how to deal with conditions was simply part of his job description.
"I've practiced my serve my whole career," said Federer, who put 64 percent of his first serves in play and won 86 percent of them. "If I can't serve in the wind I've got a problem.
"You can wake me up at 2:00 in the morning or 4:00 in the morning I can hit serves. It's what we do."
RIGHT PLACE
Soderling, who lost his first 12 matches against Federer before beating him at Roland Garros, was full of praise for his opponent.
"He's a good wind player," the 26-year-old Soderling said. "He moves really well. He's always in the right place."
On Federer's serving, he said: "He was brushing the lines with his first serves which is not easy."
Federer took the decisive break of the second set in the fifth game.
Soderling came alive in the third set, hitting out more powerfully and hustling around to engage the Swiss in rallies and broke for a 5-3 lead after three Federer errors.
But serving for the set, Soderling's big forehand let him down when he dumped two forehands into the net to give the break right back.
Federer then ran off the next three games, closing with a bullet ace out wide.
Next up for the second-seeded Federer will be third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who beat France's Gael Monfils to advance. Federer beat Djokovic in the Flushing Meadows final in 2007 and in the semi-finals the last two years.
"He's obviously looking for that big breakthrough here in the Open, so it's going to be a tough one," Federer added.
(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by John O'Brien)
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.