TENNIS IS SUSTAINED TENSION

Riveted right now by the Federer-Davydenko quarterfinal roller coaster. It's 4-4 in the 4th. Davydenko had the greatest player ever in deep, deep trouble after taking the first set 6-2 and the storming to a 3-1 lead in the second. But after blowing a backhand to go up two breaks, Davydenko cracked and then faded into oblivion, losing 13 games in a row to the might Fed. Down a break in the fourth and looking even more gaunt than usual, Davydenko suddely re-entered the building. He broke Federer to get back on serve and seemed to find the legs and the game that went missing for over an hour. Just when it looked like we could have another five-setter, Roger finds the next gear and breaks Nikolai again. Federer is now serving for the match at 40-30. Huge return off the first serve by the Russian to stave off elimination! And another one! Break point number 19 for Davydenko... He got it! Killer Cahill thinks this might be the craziest match ever. Insanity! Deuce on Davy's serve. The level of tennis is back at a fever pitch. Break point Fed. Looks like he's got it, but Davydenko challenges... and it's just out! Back to deuce. A miss by D-Denko gives Fed another break chance. A miss by Fed gets it back to deuce. Big Federer forehand gives him another shot at the break, but Davydenko fights it off, gets back even, then earns a game point. Of course, he hits it long. Deuce again. Long rally ends with Denko dumping one into the net. Let second serve on break point... Davydenko comes in behind a forehand, it clips the tape, and goes long. Fed breaks back! One more opportunity for to serve out the match. 40-love. And Fed finally does it, punctuating the win with a yell. The house announcer declares "The Master is in the house."

23 straight Grand Slam semifinals. That statistic astounds me. For 6 years running, not only has the guy never missed a major, he's never been upset in one either. The streak began when Roger won his second Wimbledon in 2004. Since that time, in every single Grand Slam, Roger has either won the tournament or lost to the player who did. Like Joltin' Joe DiMaggio's 56 straight games with a hit, Federer's Slam semifinal streak feels like a record that will never be broken.