US Open - Robredo ends run of British qualifier Evans

US Open - Robredo ends run of British qualifier Evans

The Cinderella run of British qualifier Dan Evans at the US Open came to a shuddering halt on Saturday when he was knocked out in the third round.

 

The 23-year-old fell 7-6 (6) 6-1 4-6 7-5 to Spain's Tommy Robredo after a tense three and a quarter hour battle at Flushing Meadows.

Evans, ranked 179th in the world, had captured the imagination of New York after his unlikely run to the third round but faltered just when it seemed he was on the verge of claiming another big scalp.

"I'm not disappointed, to be honest, it was a great experience," Evans said.

He had already pulled off the biggest upset of the opening round when beat Japan's Kei Nishikori, ranked 11th in the world, and followed that up by beating Bernard Tomic in the second round.

His win over Tomic was all the sweeter because the Australian's father had once prevented Evans from practising with his son, telling him he was not good enough.

Evans said he used that as motivation and now wants to use his success in New York to improve his ranking.

"It was a good stepping stone but not I'm not where I want to be, in the top 100," he said. "So I've still got a bit of work to do."

Robredo, an experienced campaigner who has been on the Grand Slam circuit for more than a decade, was always going to be a tough opponent for Evans and the Spaniard looked to be cruising to victory after winning the first two sets.

But the 19th seed began to struggle in the third set because of a leg injury that required medical treatment and had to be iced at each change of ends.

Evans won the third set and had two set points on his own serve in the fourth and the crowd on his side at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Then the wheels suddenly came off. He served two double faults and Robredo reeled off the last four games in a row to seal victory.

"You just have to learn from these experiences," said Evans. "I dont know what happened. I didn't feel tight, I just missed some easy hits."

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US Open - Wozniacki upset by Italian qualifier Giorgi

US Open - Wozniacki upset by Italian qualifier Giorgi

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki's lack of firepower was exposed yet again when she was stunned 4-6 6-4 6-3 by Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi in the third round of the US Open.

 

Giorgi struck 46 winners to Wozniacki's 13 to ensure the Dane's long, and to date fruitless, quest for a maiden Grand Slam title would go into another season.

The 23-year-old sixth seed fought until the very end, saving four match points before the ultra-aggressive Giorgi hit one final winner to finish proceedings in two hours and 32 minutes.

"All of a sudden she came into the rhythm and just started hitting everything and it was starting to go in," Wozniacki said.

"She put me under pressure and I started to play a little short. And then all of a sudden she was all over the ball.

"I felt like I needed to push her back but she took very high-risk shots and things were going in for her. She was going for the lines and hitting them when she wanted to."

Wozniacki reached the US Open final in 2009 but seven years after playing her first Grand Slam, at Wimbledon, the girlfriend of golf Major champion Rory McIlroy has yet to crack the code to winning one of her own.

Her defensive style rarely keeps her in the contest against the likes of the Williams sisters or Maria Sharapova and Giorgi took a leaf from their manuals. Wozniacki's best result at the Slams this year was reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open.

"I think it's normal to be disappointed," she said. "We were playing two-and-a-half hours out there, I lost the match and I would obviously have loved to be in the next round.

"It's tough to be really aggressive when someone is just going for every shot. It wasn't the best year for me at the majors, but there is a next year."

Giorgi, who received a code violation for illegal coaching from her animated father, Sergio, said it was a dream come true to simply play inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I wanted that," said the 21-year-old, who next faces 10th seed and compatriot Roberta Vinci for a place in the quarter-finals. "It was my goal to be there. It was amazing to play there. I was focused for every point. I think I played better tactically, maybe.

"When the ball came, I just tried to hit it in the corners."

Despite her aggressive ball striking, the diminutive world number 136 made little noise on the court.

"I don't like to be too loud," she said softly.

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US Open - Israel's Glushko pained by Hantuchova defeat

US Open - Israel's Glushko pained by Hantuchova defeat

It was a tournament of firsts for Israeli Julia Glushko but in the end there was only the sting of disappointment after she was ousted in the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.

 

The 23-year-old qualifier had four chances to reach the round of 16 but the dream run fell short against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who advanced with a 3-6 7-5 7-6 (4) victory.

Glushko first won three matches to qualify. She beat 20th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-3 6-4 in the opening round of the main draw for the first tour-level win of her career and followed that by beating wildcard Sachia Vickery 7-5 6-3.

Although Glushko held four match points on Hantuchova's serve in the 10th game of the third set, she failed to convert any and eventually lost in a climactic tiebreaker 7-4 after saving two match points herself in the decider.

"It was a good experience. It was my first time playing third round in a slam," Glushko told Reuters before the pain of losing took over her emotions.

"I'm just so disappointed from today that I can't be happy yet for it. I'm a happy person, just so sad."

Glushko was born in Ukraine to tennis coaching parents and moved to Israel when she was nine years old.

"I grew up in Israel and I totally have the mentality of an Israeli person," she said with a laugh.

The second-lowest ranked player left in the draw at 128, Glushko felt bad about not quite matching the battling example of her mentor, veteran Israeli player Shahar Pe'er.

Israeli Fed Cup team mate Pe'er has won six tour titles and been as high as 11th in the rankings with quarter-final showings at both the U.S. Open and Australian Open.

"Me and Shahar are really good friends, which is great to have because she inspires me so much," Glushko said.

"She is the biggest fighter I know. She would do anything to win, do anything on court to win. I'm on the Fed Cup team since I was 17, so it's been six years.

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US Open - Canadian sleeper Raonic stirs in New York

US Open - Canadian sleeper Raonic stirs in New York

Touted as a leading member of 'Generation Next', Milos Raonic beat Feliciano Lopez 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3 6-4 at the US Open.

 

The powerful 22-year-old Canadian roared into the fourth round thanks to his thunderous serve, which has landed him a chart-topping 65 aces for the tournament. His heaviest delivery of 145 miles per hour is the quickest of the event.

His relatively seamless progression through the draw comes on the back of his recent appearance in the final of the Montreal Masters against Rafa Nadal and a move up to number 11 in the world rankings.

While the American tennis fraternity sweats on the arrival of a men's player to match the deeds of retired superstars Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, the relaxed and quietly-spoken Raonic admitted he benefited from lower expectations in Canada.

"There's a lot more pressure on the Americans," he said.

"One advantage they have growing up is that maybe there are more wildcard opportunities as an American.

"I'm doing a lot of stuff in uncharted territories, so people are very supportive of it. Whereas I feel it's a little bit unfair to the American players, everybody expecting another Pete and Agassi to be there on the top.

"Everybody is always asking, why isn't their playing doing this? This is an American. I think that's the big difference."

Ranoic, though, denied he was flying completely under the radar compared to his US counterparts.

"I think the attention is the same," he said. "I don't know how to say it, but one is more negative than the other because they (Americans) are expecting a lot more. In Canada, it's a lot more positive to be in the situation I am right now."

Lopez was unable to break the serve of his 1.96 m tall opponent in their two hours and 37 minutes on Court 17.

"I was really struggling with getting anywhere on his service games, but I found my own a little bit," Raonic said.

"I was getting confidence and calming down. I wasn't feeling as nervous about the whole situation. I was a little sloppy at the net at times, but I started cleaning things up from the baseline."

Montenegro-born, Toronto-raised and now resident in Monaco, Raonic's biggest concern appeared to be his sunburned face.

"I didn't have any (sun tan lotion) on, so I will probably pay for that tonight," he said.

Raonic has yet to reach the quarter-finals at a major.

His next assignment will be against eight-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who reached the fourth round when 32nd-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov retired.

The winner of the Raonic-Gasquet clash will have a winnable quarter-final against Spain's David Ferrer or Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

In his only previous meeting against Gasquet, on hard courts at Cincinnati last year, Raonic won in straight sets.

"I'm going to have to focus a lot on myself and not let him get into a rhythm," he said.

"I thought I did that pretty well today. Always when I had a short ball, I would go for it, even on the backhand side. I have to let them never get into a rhythm."

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US Open - Day seven order of play: Murray on court

US Open - Day seven order of play: Murray on court

Order of play for day seven of the US Open, with Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Agnieszka Radwanska on court.

 

Arthur Ashe Stadium

Not before 1 pm (6pm UK)

3-Andy Murray (Britain) v Florian Mayer (Germany)

1-Serena Williams (U.S.) v 15-Sloane Stephens (USA)

7 pm (midnight UK)

1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v Joao Sousa (Portugal) 5-Li Na (China) v 9-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)

Louis Armstrong Stadium

11 am (4pm UK)

9-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) v Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)

8-Angelique Kerber (Germany) v 18-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)

12-Tommy Haas (Germany) v 21-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)

3-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) v 24-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia)

Grandstand

12 pm (5pm UK)

31-Julien Benneteau (France) v 5-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)

Evgeny Donskoy (Russia) v Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)

Tim Smyczek (USA) v Marcel Granollers (ESP)

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US Open - Nadal roars into fourth round as Fed clash looms

US Open - Nadal roars into fourth round as Fed clash looms

Rafa Nadal, growing in confidence with each match, blasted his way into the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday with an ominous display as the upsets continued at the last Grand Slam of the year.

 

The world number two turned on a masterclass of power and precision as he brushed aside Croatia's Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-3 6-3 to lead a trio of Spanish men into the fourth round.

French Open runner-up David Ferrer also moved through, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4, while a third Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, ended the Cinderella run of British qualifier Dan Evans, winning 7-6 (6) 6-1 4-6 7-5.

Nadal has been in great form in the past month, winning warm-up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. He has not dropped a single set in getting to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows and believes he is still improving.

"I played better today than in the previous matches. (That's) always a positive thing," he said.

"I started the match with a high intensity. I lost to Ivan the last time we played in Montreal and he won two hard matches here against Fernando Verdasco, a lefty like me, and Nikolay Davydenko.

"I think I played my best match of the week so far today."

Nadal's next opponent is Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat towering American John Isner 6-4 3-6 7-5 7-6 (5), with Roger Federer looming as a possible quarter-final opponent.

The two great rivals have never played each other at the year's final Grand Slam, but could meet next week.

Federer, playing the feature night match at an buzzing Arthur Ashe Stadium, doled out a 6-3 6-0 6-2 hammering to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino but knows the focus is already on the possible meeting with Nadal.

"I have gone through that my entire career, people talking about our matches even before the tournament started," the Swiss said.

"We're used to it. We know how to handle it. Clearly I think we both hope it's going to happen this time for the first time in New York."

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US Open - Ill Kvitova falls to Riske

US Open - Ill Kvitova falls to Riske

Petra Kvitova required blood tests for another mystery virus before being eliminated from the US Open on Saturday by an American who travels the world with her childhood security blanket.

 

Kvitova, the former Wimbledon champion, was on the verge of becoming world number one last year. But her decline in results continued with a lacklustre 6-3 6-0 loss to world number 81 Alison Riske in the third round at Flushing Meadows.

Kvitova, currently ranked 10th in the world, had her blood pressure taken during a medical time out in the second set of a defeat that took one hour and five minutes.

"Unfortunately I was lying in the bed yesterday and I had a fever, so I didn't come to the site yesterday," she said.

"My body didn't help me today. I tried to play, tried to fight. But my body wouldn't let me fight.

"That's life. It's not only in the tennis. It's something I hope can help me and make me a little stronger."

Kvitova's early departure replicated unexpected losses at the three other Majors this year.

She was beaten by Britain's Laura Robson in round two at the Australian Open, American Jamie Hampton in round three of the French Open and upset by Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

She was also hampered by a virus at The All England Club.

"I think it's the same," she said. "I had a blood test to see if it was bacteria and virus, and it was virus. I mean, I didn't have any sore throat or anything like that. I had just a very high fever.

"It's unlucky at a Grand Slam. I will take it for this year and next year will be better."

Kvitova was a heavy favourite against the 23-year-old American after beating her recently in New Haven. But it quickly became apparent that Kvitova was ill.

"I couldn't play really long rallies, like more than three shots in the rallies," she said.

"So I try to play my aggressive game. First or second shots, to have a winner. I am disappointed."

She was scheduled to have more blood tests before leaving New York.

Riske was in tears during her on-court interview.

"I believe I belong here," she said.

Riske revealed the faith she placed in a small blanket given to her on the day she was born.

"The blankie story is out," she said after her first victory against a top-10 player.

"I'm used to it now. I can't deny it now. It's getting smaller by the week. It can fit in the palm of my hand.

"My siblings always used to hide it. Used to make me so mad."

The American wildcard said her good luck charm would stay in her hotel room in Manhattan during her fourth round appearance on Monday.

"It's been with me since the second I was born," she said. "It's been around the world. It started out forest green and now it's like mint green. I don't know if it's a colour now."

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