THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia - Roger Federer has a lot of reasons to like James Blake.
The 12th-ranked American has a reputation as a nice guy away from the court and a good sportsman on it. More importantly for Federer, Blake always puts up a good fight against the Swiss star - before losing.
Top-ranked Federer improved his record against Blake to 8-0 and advanced to the Australian Open semifinals with a 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory Wednesday.
Federer seeks to win here for the third straight year and pull within one of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles. He's also one step away from his 11th consecutive Grand Slam final after winning 19 matches in a row at Melbourne Park.
"It's great to be on top of the game for so long and be compared to the greats like Rod Laver and Sampras," Federer said.
He's not too worried about younger players stealing a little of the spotlight, either.
"I'm looking at history, looking at my own game," Federer said.
He next faces No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who defeated No. 5 David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 to join two other Serbian players in the semifinals. Ana Ivanovic ousted Venus Williams 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Wednesday. Jelena Jankovic defeated Serena Williams a day earlier.
The same three players reached the French Open semifinals last year on clay, proving they can win on different surfaces. Djokovic also made the Wimbledon semifinals and was runner-up to Federer at the U.S. Open.
Swiss flags outnumbered U.S. flags on a perfect night for tennis, and Federer had to be nearly perfect to beat Blake, who used his powerful forehand to keep the Swiss star from taking control of points.
"Playing against James, it's always great fun," said Federer, dressed in all black again for a night match. "He's dangerous when he's even behind in the game. He made some incredible shots."
Blake's feelings about Federer were similar - to a point.
"He seems like one of the guys in the locker room," Blake said. "Then you go out there, he beats you. You come back in the locker room and he's one of the guys."
The fans, in a packed Rod Laver Arena, were on the edges of their seats as neither player gave an inch.
With a tiebreaker looming in the first set, Federer was at his usual best under pressure, breaking Blake as he served at 5-6.
Blake saved two set points while serving at 4-5 in the second set and three more after falling behind 6-2 in the tiebreaker. But there are only so many escapes possible against Federer, who finally converted his sixth set point.
Federer was cruising at 5-1 in the third set when Blake, refusing to yield, ran off three straight games. Federer finally held to finish it.
"I really went in thinking I had a good chance to win," Blake said. "I thought I played pretty well. But he came up with some of his best at the right times, and that was the difference."
Serbia has a population of 10 million - half the size of Australia, which has zero home players left here. Despite a shortage of facilities, the country is churning out good players, just like other eastern European countries.
Russia's Maria Sharapova, ranked fifth, played No. 3 Jankovic Wednesday night, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
No. 4 Ivanovic played No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who defeated Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 late Wednesday night, but the match had not ended by press time.
The Williams sisters have 14 singles majors between them, but their one-time dominance on women's tennis is being seriously challenged.
"There's been a lot of talk every single year," Venus Williams said. "I think what's important to me is what goes on in my head. I have full expectations and aspirations to continue to play high-quality tennis and to continue to be a champion."
Djokovic pounded his big serve and mixed up his baseline game against Ferrer, keeping the Spaniard constantly on the run, but Djokovic started to lose his composure toward the end, yelling at the crowd for shouting while he served.
"There's no excuse for that. I was very nervous and was behaving very badly. I'm very sorry about that," Djokovic said. "I have a lot of expectations and pressure, and sometimes it's difficult to stay calm on the court. But I'm working on that."
