NEW YORK - Roger Federer watched his opponent's last shot of their U.S. Open semifinal drop out, then calmly walked to the net for a handshake. He didn't drop to his knees, didn't thrust an index finger to the sky, didn't take off his shirt - the sort of celebratory gestures Novak Djokovic came up with earlier Saturday upon reaching his first Grand Slam final.
You see, Federer does not get overly excited about semifinal victories, even at majors tournaments. He's all about titles, and now he's one victory away from yet another: No. 4 at the U.S. Open, No. 12 overall at Slams.
Tested at the start and again late, the No. 1-seeded Federer worked his way past No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday, stretching his winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 26 matches.
In Sunday's championship match, Federer will face the only man to beat him over the past three months: Djokovic. The No. 3-seeded Serb had a harder time with the heat and humidity than with his foe but overcame all three to defeat No. 15 David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
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