Not much has tested Federer, not yet at least

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. - Roger Federer has breezed through the first four rounds of the U.S. Open without losing a set. Even the let cords seem to have agreed to fall Federer's way as the Swiss seeks to reclaim the major title he owned for five years running.

But Federer's charmed ride could come to an end Wednesday night, when he faces the hard-slugging Robin Soderling for a spot in the semifinals.

The 6-foot-4 Soderling, the tournament's fifth seed, has reveled in the role of spoiler these last two years, particularly when it comes to top-seeded Rafael Nadal and Federer.

It was Soderling who denied Nadal a fifth consecutive French Open in 2009, toppling the Spaniard in the fourth round.

This year, Soderling squelched Federer's hope of defending his 2009 title at Roland Garros, defeating the Swiss in the quarterfinals. Nadal exacted his revenge two rounds later, stomping the Swede in straight sets to take back his French crown.

Though Federer holds a 12-1 advantage in previous meetings with Soderling-and a staggering 55-5 record on the hard courts of the U.S. Open - he's not taking Wednesday's meeting lightly.

"I expect it to be really tough, especially now that he's gotten a taste of how to beat me," Federer said. He noted, however, that his lone defeat came on wet clay.

"No excuses there," Federer added. "But it's just tough conditions to play in."

Turning to Wednesday's quarterfinal, scheduled on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Federer defeated Soderling in the same round one year ago, the Swiss said: "It's up to me to clean up my game and put in a good performance."

The keys, he added, would be reading Soderling's powerful serve, moving him around the court and holding his own serve, which is deceptively difficult to handle because of its variety and placement.

Soderling, 26, is the latest in a long line of Swedish tennis greats that include Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander. By most accounts, he is also the least well liked by his peers.

Asked if he agreed with Wilander's assessment that Soderling had made progress with his mental approach, Federer said: "Maybe he's more calm on the court now. Maybe he doesn't see all the other opponents as enemies, you know. Maybe he realizes that the tour is not that bad as it once was. I don't think he was enjoying as much, you know, a few years ago. Who knows? Maybe his girlfriend also calmed him down, the whole deal.

"Little things can have a huge impact. Just growing up, too. Took me a long time to figure out that staying calm was going to be better for my game than not. I only realized that at about 20 years old. A long time coming, sometimes."

Notes: Despite spending two weeks of his life for the last 11 years in Flushing Meadows, essentially next door to Shea Stadium, Federer has never been to a baseball game. Any game.

The topic arose after Federer spent a few minutes with Alex Rodriguez, who attended his fourth-round victory over Jurgen Melzer on Monday.

"It's nice to meet another great athlete," said Federer, 29. "Never been to a baseball game, so that's something on the to-do list for me. Surprising enough, he invited me." . . .

Two local teens advanced Tuesday to the third round of the boys' tournament. Arlington's Denis Kudla, 18, rallied to defeat Kevin Krawietz of Germany, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. And Mitchell Frank, 17, of Annandale dismissed Oliver Golding of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-2.