FOUR-TIME champion Roger Federer is rolling. Having spluttered - by his own incredibly high standards - through the first four rounds, the Swiss secured an astonishing eighth consecutive semi-final berth at the Australian Open with a clinical eclipse of compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka on Rod Laver Arena yesterday. It is a streak which began in 2004 when he went on to win the title for the first time.
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While everyone wants to ask him about the possible encounter with Rafael Nadal in the final, Federer made his point: ''I'm not quite there yet.''
His work yesterday took just 107 minutes - 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 - and was by far his best performance. ''The scoreline suggests maybe it was easier than it looked like,'' he said. ''I thought it was pretty tough. He really got into the match, especially in the second set. But I was able to mix it up well and just keep him on his toes.''
The 16-time grand slam champion was pleasantly surprised by his ability to read the big serve of Wawrinka, with whom he won a doubles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. He won a healthy 43 per cent of points on return of serve, and Wawrinka was clear about the meaning: ''He was just too good.''
Generally Federer has played well since switching to American coach Paul Annacone last year after his earlier exits at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, where Nadal triumphed. He and Annacone have resolved that he will play more aggressively. Specifically, this refers to the backhand return of serve which Federer is inclined to chip back into play.
''We didn't have that much time, to be quite honest,'' Federer said of the union. ''I was playing a lot of tournaments. I guess it was more talking about tactics, how to play in the matches. More also getting to know each other. Maybe down the road here we'll have more time to work in the off-season. I haven't really had an off-season, to be quite honest. So it was more just getting to know each other a bit more.''
It is a tinkering with perhaps the best all-court game tennis has seen, rather than a transformation. Like Tiger Woods in golf, Federer knows that the world changes, and better opponents materialise. Like everyone else, he needs to get better to compete. But he says it is about how he plays on big points and at big moments more than anything else.
''I think I was always aggressive,'' he said. ''People make it sound like I was just pushing the ball into play. I don't think that's how anybody ever saw me play. I think just at crucial times it haunted me to play a bit passive, instead of trying to take it to the opponent a bit more.
''You know, with success sometimes you get a bit comfortable. Because it's working, why change it? Sure, I was always trying to look for new ways. But there's times, you know, it didn't work against a few players.''
Upon bedding down the change, he acknowledged that it was more in his nature anyway. ''I don't overdo it either because that's not the point, just storming to the net, hitting clean winners on every shot. It's about building up the right plays and, you know, having the right game plan. That's what I seem like I'm having. Obviously with the many wins I've had in the last sort of four or five months, it's been much easier to play again, as well.''
The potential of a Federer-Nadal final will have the tournament organisers salivating. They manage to maintain a friendship of sorts. ''Obviously, he's younger than me, maybe looked up to me at the very beginning,'' Federer said. ''So I think he was always very respectful. I've always been the same to any opponent, really.
''From the start it was just mutual respect. [Nadal] didn't speak much at the very beginning, [he] was shy. As time went by, we had to spend more time together, and we played more against each other.
''It was always friendly and it was always very nice.''
