Tennis isn’t dead, remember that.

At the peak of the tournament season, in just a few short days Wimbledon 2009 will draw to a close with a new champion hoisting the coveted trophy — and it won’t be Rafael Nadal.

Former No. 1 Roger Federer has been dominating throughout the tournament. As I looked at my favorite sports page on the Internet, I learned he beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3), to earn a spot at the semifinals.

It is an exciting tournament to be able to keep up with online when I can, since the main matches take place when I am at work.

One player, other than No. 2 Federer, who has been good to see come out of his own bag is Andy Roddick.

As I have said before in this space, Roddick has the potential to win more championships now because he has lost 15 pounds and has worked on his fundamentals.

Just the other day, I noticed a new backhand stroke that he employed to help him defeat his previous opponents at this tournament — Tomas Berdych, Jurgen Melzer and Igor Kunitsyn.

And, as I was writing this column, Roddick was up 3-1 over Lleyton Hewitt in the first set. Then, when I went o lunch, I was biting my knuckles wanting to see Roddick defeat Hewitt.

The irony is that at work, I monitored the IBM SLAMTRACKER and was relieved when Roddick defeated Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4.

Of course, Novak Djokovic’s defeat to Tommy Haas earlier in the championship can only help the American.

For Haas has Federer to face in the men’s semifinals on Friday.

Roddick has a pretty good chance to make it to the finals if he keeps doing what he does best — backhands, volleys and clutch forehands against Great Britain’s Andy Murray.

Back to Federer though, if he wins Wimbledon this year, he will pass tennis great Pete Sampras with 15 Grand Slam titles. The Swiss star is currently tied with Sampras at 14.

Federer seems to be well on his way to No. 15. It’s an incredible feat, coming off a loss against Nadal last year at the finals.

But, will this finals be as big as last year’s?

I hope so because when I’m watching tennis on Sunday, it had better be a good match.

If both Federer and Roddick make it to the finals — and I think they will — then I don’t really know who I will go for to win.

Obviously I’ll be cheering for my fellow countryman, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Federer crying tears of joy this year, either.