Federer vents fury in lull after storm

NEW YORK – Roger Federer got another chance at Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a Grand Slam quarterfinal – and beat him. Now Novak Djokovic gets another shot at Federer.

Federer reached his eighth consecutive semifinal at the US Open by beating Frenchman Tsonga, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, on Thursday night in a match delayed about 1-1/2 hours by rain in the first set.

At Wimbledon in late June, Tsonga upset 16-time major champion Federer in the quarterfinals after dropping the first two sets. Until that loss, Federer was unbeaten in 178 matches when taking a two-set lead in a Grand Slam match.

“It’s true, the Wimbledon match does come back into your mind, especially when he’s got break point in the third, and you’re wondering if it will be like Wimbledon,” Federer said. “But I was able to come out of that one.”

Now Federer faces top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the US Open semifinals, the fifth straight year they will play in New York. Federer holds a 3-1 edge.

In their most recent head-to-head meeting, in this year’s French Open semifinals, Federer ended Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak.

“I don’t know how much Paris is going to help me or help him. It was just one of those great matches of the year. It was special in the moment itself. I hope it’s something similar,” Federer said, looking ahead to Saturday’s semifinals.

Djokovic advanced to the semifinals after Serbian Davis Cup teammate Janko Tipsarevic retired while trailing, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-0, 3-0.

Djokovic has reached his sixth consecutive major semifinal and improves to 62 wins from 64 matches in 2011. No. 20 Janko Tipsarevic had his left hamstring bandaged by a trainer at 5-0 in the third set, before later deciding he couldn’t finish.

Djokovic needed his own visit from the trainer for treatment on a bloody left big toe after sliding to get to a drop shot in the fourth set’s opening game. They’re good friends and met for a long hug at the net when Tipsarevic conceded; he said he told Djokovic he was sorry for stopping.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and John Isner all won their fourth-round matches to reach the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Stosur and Angelique Kerber filled the four spots in the women’s semifinals.

Because of showers earlier this week, the US Tennis Association extended the tournament, delaying the men’s final by 24 hours to Monday. The women’s final was shifted from Saturday night to Sunday.

At least there was plenty of tennis played, quite a change from Tuesday’s total washout and Wednesday’s 15 minutes of play.

No. 2-seeded Nadal beat 68th-ranked Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-2, in Arthur Ashe Stadium. No. 4 Murray eliminated 84th-ranked Donald Young of the United States, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, in the Grandstand, and No. 28 John Isner got past No. 12 Gilles Simon of France, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), on Court 17.

The 21st-seeded Roddick next faces Nadal with a semifinal berth at stake after completing a rain-delayed, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, victory over fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain.

Murray next plays Isner, who reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career. (AP)