When Gael Monfils was serving for what would have been the greatest win of his career, Roger Federer was fearing the worst. “I wasn’t feeling great,” Federer, the 17-times grand-slam winner, said. “I was just thinking ‘Oh well, this it, just make sure you go down fighting’.”
Yet about 40 minutes later, the 33-year-old, in the glorious twilight of his career, lifted his racket into the air after sealing a brilliant comeback from two sets down to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
He will play Marin Cilic for a place in Monday’s final - it is his first semi-final here for three years - and despite the Croatian’s fine win over Tomas Berdych, will be the favourite.
Yet in all truth, Federer should have been packing his bags and heading for home. Monfils had started superbly, but there is a reason the Frenchman has never managed to turn his outrageous skills into ones that will win him grand-slam titles.
He is too inconsistent, unable to scrap when the going gets tough. A debilitating ten double faults did not help his cause either. And so it proved in front of an enthralled New York crowd.
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It is the ninth time Federer has recovered from two sets down to win.
The first match point at 5-4 in the fourth was floated wide by Monfils. The next was saved thanks to a forehand from the Swiss.
“It was an incredible, unbelievable atmosphere and it was awesome for both us,” Federer said. “He put such a good performance in and played great tennis. The crowd helped me, for sure.
“I still thought the finish line was far for him. I served well, stayed in and somehow turned it around. I felt great in the fifth though.
“You have momentum, I started serving huge, you start feeling better, he was low. I thought the same at Wimbledon, but this worked out for me.
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“Marin has been playing some great tennis and has really improved since he has started working with Goran [Ivanisevic]. I was his No 1 fan when [Goran] won Wimbledon. I am looking forward to it.”
It took Monfils just 78 minutes to race two sets to the good, yet his history proves such a lead is no given.
The Swiss, though, then started to thrive, finally breaking for an advantage to gain a foothold, ensuring that Monfils had finally dropped a set in the tournament.
He was soon broken, for the first time in the match, yet proved that the pressure was building when he smacked the net with his racket at 2-2 shortly after. He became embroiled in a feisty exchange with Carlos Ramos, the umpire, but he managed to keep his calm.
The final set was a procession as Monfils crumbled totally. He is still waiting for his first grand-slam semi-final appearance; Federer will play in his 36th tomorrow.