U.S. Open Day 11: Federer storms back to beat Monfils; Cilic thumps Berdych

Roger Federer did it the hard way Thursday night, having to dig himself out of a two-set hole, and save two match points, en route to a 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 win in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. He was up against the crafty and acrobatic Gael Monfils, who started out playing like he had nothing to lose, but ended up playing like he'd already lost. 

Federer was far from sharp in the first two sets, spraying his forehands all over the place, missing would-be put-aways, gifting the speedy Monfils a slew of hanging drop shots, and connecting on barely more than half of his first serves. 

The windy conditions were a factor early on, and seemed to favor Monfils, who thrives on frequent pace-changes, and who used that variety to keep Federer off-balance. His passing shots were also spot-on in the early going, which was crucial because it made it difficult for Roger to dictate play the way he likes to - by rushing the net.       

So Monfils went up two sets, on the cusp taking down the five-time champ, making his first Grand Slam semifinal in over six years, and pulling off what would probably go down as the biggest win of his career. He had a 45-2 record after winning the first two sets of a best-of-five.  

But when you're playing the greatest of all time those stats tend to get thrown out the window, and Federer finally found his sweet spot in the third set. After making 26 unforced errors in the first two, he made just one in the third, while smacking 12 winners. He stuck with the gameplan and kept moving up to net. Eventually Monfils started to press, ever so slightly, and Roger had the opening he needed. 

The fourth set was where the match was decided. Federer broke early, but Monfils showed serious grit, breaking back to level the set at 2-2. Meanwhile, the normally cool-headed Federer did his best Andy Murray impression, muttering under his breath and whacking his racket on the net cord and jawing with the chair umpire for no real reason. The two stayed on serve until finally, at 4-5, Federer had to serve to stay in the tournament. 

He looked nervous, played tight, duffed a couple forehands, and found himself down double-match point. But he found that elusive first serve when he needed it, as the great ones always seem to, and saved both. A massive forehand and massive serve later, a stunned Monfils was serving at 5-5. He double-faulted twice in a row to lose the game. Federer served out the set, let out a primal yell while Monfils collapsed lifelessly into his chair, and the rest was a formality. The fifth set was over in 27 minutes.

It's the ninth time Federer has come back from two sets down to win, the most among active players. The last time he pulled it off? Against Julien Benneteau In the third round of Wimbledon in 2012. That tournament also happens to be the most recent Grand Slam title on Federer's resume. 

Cilic dispatches Berdych to reach second career Slam semifinal

In the other men's quarterfinal, one of the ugliest matches you'll ever see in the second week of a Grand Slam, Marin Cilic pasted Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 7-6, in two hours and 12 minutes.   

It's amazing how much things can change from match to match. While the 14th-seeded Cilic is certainly a more formidable foe than anyone Berdych faced en route to the quarters, the No. 6 seed looked nothing at all like the player who battered his way into the round of eight with back-to-back, straight-sets, sub-two-hour wins. He didn't drop serve in either of those matches. Against Cilic, he was broken in four of his first five service games, and won just 56 percent of his service points for the match. He double-faulted five times, including twice on break point. 

Cilic deserves a good deal of credit, both for his excellent positioning behind his first serves, and great anticipation in the return game. He got ahead in rallies early and often, connected cleanly on put-away shots and finished with 10 more winners than errors. But ultimately, he didn't beat Berdych so much as Berdych beat himself.   

The first two sets were particularly unsightly, with Berdych hitting on just 40 percent of his first serves, mustering just 10 winners against 22 errors, and losing all but 11 of his return points. He pulled it together in the third, but by then he'd dug himself too deep a hole. 

Serving up 4-2 and 30-15, Berdych had a double-bounce called against him by chair umpire Louise Engzell. Instead of letting it go and focusing on winning the set, he railed and railed against the call - which, by the way, was entirely correct - got into a tiff with Engzell in which he accused her of not knowing anything about tennis, then made consecutive unforced errors to lose the game and the break. Five games and a tiebreak later, he lost the match.

In the wholly one-sided affair, Cilic out-winnered Berdych 46 to 21, out-aced him 19-5, and won 14 percent more of his service points. It's the second career Grand Slam semifinal for the 25-year-old Croat, and the first since the 2010 Aussie Open, nearly five years gone. It's also the second straight Slam at which Cilic has ousted Berdych. He beat him in the third round at this year's Wimbledon in four sets. 

Cilic and Federer will square off in the semis on Saturday.