Federer has a reputation as a talent. He beat Sampras in the fourth round here in 2001, an early sign of mortality for Sampras. But Federer had never been to a Grand Slam semifinal until Friday, when he put his shots together with stunning consistency.
"I don't know if there's anybody out there more talented," Roddick said. "He's a great athlete; he's so quick out there."
And Roddick added: "Now it seems like he's putting it together upstairs and it's all coming together for him. He's a very good player."
As the last male Yank, Roddick has his own expectations. He changed coaches coming into this tournament, dropping his friend Tarik Benhabiles and adding Brad Gilbert, who did not feel the need to talk up his new pupil on Friday.
"Not much he can say, you know," Roddick said.
"`Good tournament. It's a good start with us.' You know, not much. We got to go home tomorrow."
When he flies home to Florida, he will presumably have enough first-class room in which to stretch his legs and fall asleep. As the plane rumbles down the runway, Andy Roddick is quite likely to see himself whipping a yellow ball to the open right side of the court, and watching it stop -- splat! -- on the tape.
"That's the shot I wanted," he said. "If I had to do it again, I'd go for it the exact same."
He may indeed do it over and over again. And every time it will come out exactly the same.
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