Roger Federer Makes 22nd Consecutive Slam Semifinal

Roger Federer made his 22nd consecutive grand slam semifinal by beating Robin Soderling in a quarterfinal that suddenly turned from a rout to a battle in seemingly no time flat.

Federer survived Soderling's late push to hold on for a 6-0, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(6) win, saving a set point in the fourth set tiebreak before closing out the win on his first match point.

It's tough to quantify just how absurdly dominant Federer's streak of 22 straight Grand Slam semifinals is, but here are a few nuggets to take away from it:

• Federer is now 110-0 in his last 110 matches in the first five rounds of grand slams.
• Roger Federer hasn't lost before the semifinals of a grand slam since the French Open in 2004, which was a long, long time ago.
  
• The previous record for consecutive grand slam semifinals? "Only" 10, by Ivan Lendl.

Federer doesn't conk out when he gets to the semifinals much, either.  He is an incredible 20-3 in his career grand slam semifinals, and a none-too-shabby 15-5 in finals.  In a year in which athletic counterpart Tiger Woods failed to win a single major and even missed the cut at the British Open, Federer's incredible consistency is even more awe-inspiring.