New Delhi: World No.1 and top Seed Roger Federer booked his place in men’s singles quarter-finals of the US Open at the Flushing Meadows on Monday but not before he was given a scare by Spain's Feliciano Lopez.
Lopez gave the top seed a big scare by winning the first set of their fourth round match 6-3. Federer barely won the second and then trailed 0-40 at the start of the third. But the world No. 1 dominated the match after that to eventually win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Next up for Federer in the quarter-finals will be American Andy Roddick.
Federer already holds a 14-1 winning record against Roddick and had beaten him in the final at the US Open last year as well.
Roddick did not have to sweat much against Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych. Though the first set went to the tie-breaker but Berdych could not play further due to breathing problems. Roddick, the 2003 champion, was leading the second set 2-0 when Berdych retired.
However, another American failed to enter the quarter-finals. James Blake could not make it to the last eight for the fourth consecutive year though he did put up a tough fight.
Playing Tommy Haas, sixth seed Blake started well winning the first set. But from then on the momentum kept shifting with the match going right down to the fifth set.
Haas fought off the match points that Blake had and took the decider to the tie-breaker which he won 7-4 in three and a half hour. He will meet Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals
"I kind of kept in the back of my mind to stay calm here, even against James here today. But in general, he started off pretty well. I thought it was a little bit windy out there. It was my first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. He played every match on it. It's a little different for the guys that come and play there for the first time," Haas later said.
On the other hand, Russia's Nikolay Davydenko had no trouble against Hyung Taik Lee in the fourth round.
The fourth seed put aside his Korean opponent with ease. Davydenko took a little more than two hours to defeat Lee.
With the win Davydenko is just one round away from putting in his best performance at the Flushing Meadows in New York.
"That was great for me winning in three sets. I think that for the rest of the major I'm not so tired physically and mentally and that's very good for me. I play against (Tommy) Haas in the quarter final. And I'll try my best to win then also," Nicolay Davydenko said.
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In the women's event Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova took just a little over an hour to get the better of Victoria Azarenka.
Kuznetsova, seeded fourth, was in good form against Azarenka who had beaten Martina Hingis in the previous round.
The 2004 women's champion, Kuznetsova, beat her Belarus opponent in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 and will play Agnes Szavay in the quarter-finals.
Anna Chakvetadze, too, continued her impressive run at the US Open with a comprehensive win over Tamira Paszek
The sixth seed was in control of the match winning the first set 6-1 in just 28 minutes.
Paszek, who seemed to be in some trouble, took a time out and came back stronger in the third set but it was not enough and Chakvetadze reached the quarter-finals at the US Open for the first time.
Chakvetadze will meet Shahar Peer in the next round who made it to the last eight beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
Peer was in command of the game from the start. Radwanska who had beaten Maria Sharapova in the previous round lost the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
US Open results:
Men's fourth round: Andy Roddick (5), United States, def. Tomas Berdych (9), Czech Republic, 7-6 (6), 2-0, retired. Tommy Haas (10), Germany, def. James Blake (6), United States, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4). Nikolay Davydenko (4), Russia, def. Lee Hyung-taik, South Korea, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Women's fourth round: Svetlana Kuznetsova (4), Russia, def. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 6-2, 6-3. Agnes Szavay, Hungary, def. Julia Vakulenko, Ukraine, 6-4, 7-6 (1). Shahar Peer (18), Israel, def. Agnieszka Radwanska (30), Poland, 6-4, 6-1. Anna Chakvetadze (6), Russia, def. Tamira Paszek, Austria, 6-1, 7-5.
Men's doubles quarter-finals: Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, France, def. Robert Kendrick and Sam Querrey, United States, 6-3, 6-4. Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Julian Knowle (10), Austria, def. Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, 7-5, 6-4.
Women's doubles third round: Bethanie Mattek, United States, and Sania Mirza (16), India, def. Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur (2), Australia, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. Nathalie Dechy, France, and Dinara Safina (7), Russia, def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, and Shahar Peer (12), Israel, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
Mixed doubles quarter-finals Meghann Shaughnessy, United States, and Leander Paes, India, def. Ashley Harkleroad and Justin Gimelstob, United States, 6-3, 6-4. Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi, Belarus, def. Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi, India, 6-4, 6-1. Liezel Huber, United States, and Jamie Murray, Britain, def. Agnieszka Radwanska and Mariusz Fyrstenberg, Poland, 6-1, 6-2. Yan Zi, China, and Mark Knowles (3), Bahamas, def. Nathalie Dechy, France, and Andy Ram, Israel, 6-4, 6-4.
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