While many other things get attention here, I could care less because this weekend, Roger Federer is chasing history. That assumes he gets the better of veteran German Tommy Haas, who gave him all he wanted in Paris before the Fed Express rallied from two sets down en route to finally completing the career grand slam with his straight set win over Robin Soderling. The same guy he straighted in a tighter Round of 16 Wimbledon match.

Watching Federer all these years dominate tennis a la Pistol Pete Sampras, who he’s currently tied with in slams (14), it always amazes how artistic the 27 year-old Swede looks. He can strike breathtaking shots turning them into a Picasso painting. No wonder he’s nicknamed The Maestro. Whether it’s that running forehand much like Sampras, the backhand up the line, one of those sneaky droppers or textbook volleys, the man does everything so smoothly. Kinda like the Gilette shaving commercial he promotes with close buddy Tiger Woods. Even the serve which has always been the most overlooked aspect of his game because he doesn’t hit as many aces as Pete did, Feds just knows when to come up with the goods, using great placement and saves the aces for the dramatic.

It’s just so easy to appreciate what Federer has been over these six years with it all starting on the fresh lawns of the All England Club in 2003. So many detractors had him dead and buried when Rafael Nadal dethroned the King last year in arguably the greatest match ever. And even after Federer rebounded to win a ridiculous fifth consecutive U.S. Open for No.13, the same people still denounced him after that meltdown in the fifth against Rafa down under. It wasn’t so much that they had crowned Nadal but the way they treated such a great champion was maddening.

It was almost like they’d forgotten everything Roger did. How remarkable he’d been. Few dominate any sport the way he has. Not even Tiger holds a candle. Look how long it took him to win 14. And now, here’s an athlete aiming for 15 slam titles in six years. Unheard of in a sport where players frequently burnout at tender ages. Not the Federer Express.

Might it have been different had Rafa not lost to Soderling last month and was healthy enough to defend his title? Possibly. But no matter what happens the next three days, it won’t lessen what Roger has done. If he does it, no one can ever take it away from him.

And wouldn’t it be fitting if he had to face old American rival Andy Roddick on Sunday? That’s if A-Rod can muster enough energy today versus adopted Brit Andy Murray following a great five set win over another former No.1 Lleyton Hewitt.

Today, we get the kind of tennis that will be remembered forever. Even minus Nadal, you have three of the four guys you’d want for such possible history. Tremendous credit goes out to Haas for being in top form to beat Novak Djokovic. The Andy versus Andy semi could be one to cherish. It has all the makings of something special. Roddick trying to get back to a Wimbledon final. Murray with all the pressure on him to take one giant step closer to becoming the first Great Britain player to win the big trophy since Fred Perry back in 1936.

Everyone expects Federer to get through against Haas but figure the German to push him. He’s always been such a great competitor. So, we could see plenty of long rallies from the baseline.

Of course, I’m rooting for Roger. But as John McEnroe has said many times over on NBC:

“The sport of tennis has won.“

No matter what, that’s the sentiment.

-Kudos to Serena Williams on her well fought three set semifinal win over Russian Elena Dementieva- taking the final set 8-6 after saving a match point at 4-5 and digging out of a 0-30 hole the next service game. She maybe cocky but has tremendous heart which always seems to show on the big points like that backhand volley that saved her against a quality opponent, who played as well as possible. This looked like a great match. Based on the final few games we caught on the ESPN Insta Classic replay, the ball striking was tremendous with each combatant going toe to toe like two boxers. Dementieva certainly didn’t have anything to be disappointed about as she gave as good as she got putting Serena on the ropes. The 10-time slam winner earned it in what amounted to the longest women’s semi in Wimbledon history, lasting two hours and 45 minutes. Great stuff.

-No surprise that it will once again be a repeat of last year- an all Williams final with older sis and two-time defending champion Venus dismantling overrated No.1 Russian Dinara Safina, dropping only one game. Yikes. I feel sorry for Safina and hope she can learn from what’s happened to her at the first three slams. As for Venus, she’s going for a third consecutive crown and aiming for No.6 in London. How impressive would that be. You’d have to start mentioning her in the same breath as all-time great Martina Navratilova, who only took home a record nine crowns. Venus is just unbelievable on grass. I know Serena’s the toughest opponent she could face but I really feel she’ll make it No.6 tomorrow. It should be worth waking up early for.

-Good on Venus defending poor Safina. When a journalist tried to say the women’s game is in a bad state, the elegant Williams didn’t mince words:

“Are you trying to be down on women’s tennis. You’re trying to be down, basically. I don’t deal with down at all. I’m just making sure you’re not trying to be down because I respect Dinara Safina immensely and I think you should too.”

Of course, she’s right. Sure. It’s extremely disappointing that Safina, who’s ranked No.1 didn’t offer any resistance. But that’s not Venus’ fault. Sometimes, it happens that way. Heck. Safina even admitted early in the tournament that this was her weakest surface. So, it was a little surprising she made the semis. She had to fight off former champ Amelie Mauresmo and surprising German teen Sabine Lisicki just to get there. In the same rounds, Venus dropped only five total games in wins over seeds Ana Ivanovic (ret.) and Agnieszka Radwanska. That might have had an affect.

-Is the women’s game lacking? Perhaps. But Maria Sharapova’s not ready yet to seriously challenge as was proven in her second round disappointment. There are some young talents like Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka, who could be heard from. And you have to like what we saw from Georgia teen Melanie Oudin. So, it’s not entirely accurate. Next month, Kim Clijsters returns for the U.S. Open. That should give it a boost. It might also help if 2008 runner-up Jelena Jankovic remembered the form that made her a serious threat. It was nice to see Dementieva have a nice run following her poor showing in Roland Garros. If only she knew how to win.

-Sometimes, things go in cycles. The men’s game used to just be Federer before Nadal challenged him. Then, Djokovic and Murray emerged and Roddick has gotten back in solid form. Soderling looks like he’s not going away. Aside from that, what makes the men’s game so compelling is that there are always upsets. Though I called Hewitt’s big second round win over rising Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, whose game is just not as polished on grass. Ditto young Croat Marin Cilic, who was edged by Haas 10-8 in the fifth earlier this tournament.

With grinders like Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko plus big hitters Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Gonzalez, the rest of the season should be entertaining.