US Open - Gasquet blunts Raonic serve to reach quarters

US Open - Gasquet blunts Raonic serve to reach quarters

Frenchman Richard Gasquet survived a barrage of heavy shots from Canada's Milos Raonic before booking a spot in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

 

Raonic thumped 39 aces past Gasquet but the eighth-seed waited patiently before seizing his opportunities, winning 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(9) 7-5 after an exhausting slugfest that lasted four hours and 40 minutes.

Raonic also hit a staggering total of 102 winners but paid the price for coughing up unforced errors, more than twice as many as Gasquet.
The 27-year-old Frenchman has been a consistent performer on the professional circuit since 2002 but this was just the second time he made it to a grand slam quarter-final.
The only other occasion was when he made the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007.
His opponent in the next round is Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer, who advanced after a hard-fought 7-6(2) 3-6 7-5 7-6(3) win over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.
For Raonic, a 22-year-old moving quickly up the rankings, it was a bitter loss as he was on the verge of becoming the first Canadian man to reach the singles quarter-finals of a grand slam since Mike Belkin at the Australian Open in 1968.
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US Open - Robredo sensed an upset against doubtful Federer

US Open - Robredo sensed an upset against doubtful Federer

Tommy Robredo suspected he could stun Roger Federer at the US Open because the Swiss master had developed self-doubts, the Spaniard said after the extraordinary upset on Monday.

 

World number 22 Robredo routed Federer 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4 at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the 17-times grand slam champion failing to convert 14 of 16 break points in his first loss to the Spaniard after 10 successive wins.

"You never know what's going to happen," the gritty 31-year-old Robredo told reporters.
"But obviously Roger when he was number one to the Roger right now, he's not maybe with the same confidence.
"Obviously he's the same player and he plays unbelievable. But I knew if right now I had a little bit more chances, maybe he will have a little bit of doubt."
Robredo, who has played his best grand slam tennis on the clay courts at Roland Garros, agreed with Federer's evaluation that he had "self-destructed."
"I always play the same," Robredo said. "So yes, I'm really with him. I think the difference was the break points conversion.
"It's amazing ... For me, Roger for the moment is the best player of all time. And to beat him in the huge stadium like the U.S. Open and in a grand slam, a match of five sets, it's like a dream. I am so happy."
A capacity crowd filled Louis Armstrong Stadium in the expectation that Federer would reach the quarter-finals against great rival Rafa Nadal.
But Robredo dominated the first set tiebreak to subdue the spectators who were never to find full voice thereafter as Federer cracked under pressure.
"I wasn't thinking i was going to win," Robredo said.
"I was just going onto the court trying to give my best, and we will see.
"The ball from Roger, it comes like fire. All the time, it's so fast."
Ranked fifth in the world in 2006, Robredo's triumph booked his first quarter-final appearance at Flushing Meadows and marks the crowning moment in a long recovery from a serious hamstring that sent his ranking plummeting to 471 last year.
"I was trying to come back," he said. "I wasn't sure if my leg would be perfect or not. You have your doubts if you're body's going to respond. And ... if you're going to get the confidence back.
"I don't know next week which ranking I'm going to be, but for sure it will be top 20 ... It's an amazing year for me."
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US Open - Nadal safely through after brief scare

US Open - Nadal safely through after brief scare

Spain's Rafael Nadal lost a set for the first time at this year's U.S. Open on Monday but recovered quickly to safely book his place in the quarter-finals, albeit against an unexpected opponent.

 

Nadal gave his supporters at Flushing Meadows a brief heart flutter when he lost the opening set to Philipp Kohlschreiber but rebounded to beat the German 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3 6-1.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion, Nadal's next match is against his countryman Tommy Robredo, who pulled off a shock straight-sets win over Roger Federer that ended the prospect of a first U.S. Open showdown between the two greatest players of their generation.
Nadal was in great form in the lead-up to the last major of the year, winning Masters titles in Montreal and Cincinnati, and has continued his red-hot streak at Flushing Meadows.
After struggling with knee problems for years, the world number two has made some slight alterations to his game to help him cope with the demanding hardcourts in North America.
The lefthander has taken some of the speed off his serve to focus more on his accuracy. Against Kohlschreiber, Nadal hit just three aces, but faced only one break point on his serve, which he successfully fought off.
"It was very, very tough conditions," Nadal said courtside.
"Very humid, I sweat too much. The opponent was great and I am lucky to go through.
"Physically it was a very tough match but with my serve, I felt comfortable."
Nadal said Robredo would be in a dangerous mood after beating Federer 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4.
"To beat Roger at the U.S. Open is amazing for him," Nadal said. "He will be confident and I hope to be ready for that."
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US Open - Ferrer beats Tipsarevic to reach quarters

US Open - Ferrer beats Tipsarevic to reach quarters

David Ferrer battled his way into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open on Monday with a hard-fought 7-6(2) 3-6 7-5 7-6(3) win over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.

 

Ferrer, seeded fourth, retained his composure after dropping the second set to win a gruelling slugfest that took nearly four hours to complete after being moved to one of the smaller showcourts because of a lengthy rain delay.

The tenacious Ferrer became the second Spaniard to reach the men's quarter-finals on Monday, joining Tommy Robredo who had upset former world number one Roger Federer.
Another Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, was also playing Monday, in the night session.
Ferrer's next opponent will be either French eighth seed Richard Gasquet or Canada's Milos Raonic.
Although Ferrer has not won a grand slam, the 31-year-old baseliner has proven himself to be one of the most consistent players on tour.
He has reached the quarter-finals or better at each of the last eight majors and was a finalist at the French Open in June.
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US Open - Hantuchova's love of game keeps her going

US Open - Hantuchova's love of game keeps her going

The first time Daniela Hantuchova reached the US Open quarter-finals she was a teenager. The second time she is 30.

 

The unseeded Slovak defeated American wildcard Alison Riske 6-3 5-7 6-2 on Monday to end an extended absence from the last eight at Flushing Meadows since her loss to Serena Williams in 2002 as a 19-year-old.

In a commendable if not spectacular career, Hantuchova has since reached the world number five ranking, won the Fed Cup, secured the career grand slam in mixed doubles and made the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Open. And now, having fallen to number 48 in the world, Hantuchova is back where it all started.
"It means a lot to me because I love New York," she said. "I could live here in one second. I just love the city, it's got so much energy, atmosphere. It's the last grand slam of the year and obviously you always want to finish on a high.
"The tournament is only starting now for me. It just means the world to me to again be in the quarter-finals."
Hantuchova will meet either Belarus' second seeded Victoria Azarenka or 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia for a place in the semi-finals.
She said there was a simple reason why players over 30, including Serena Williams and Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt, were faring well in the men's and women's events at Flushing Meadows.
"Just the love for the game," she said.
"I love doing what I'm doing so much that I wouldn't change it for anything else in the world. That's the reason I'm here.
"I just appreciate everything a lot more. I appreciate being able to be a tennis player, to be healthy, doing what I'm doing. It's a big privilege to be in this position, to be so lucky in my life."
She saw the irony in being regarded as old in tennis but young in day-to-day life.
"We always feel so much older in the tennis world than we do in the normal life," she said. "I'm so happy there's so many girls of my age, and older, still around. I think we keep pushing each other. It's great for our generation.
"We've been through so much, we know exactly what to do. Sometimes we don't do it, but we know what we should be doing."
Hantuchova's claim to fame in the early stages of the US Open was partnering with Martina Hingis in the women's doubles.
They were beaten in the first round by top-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
"It's always great to have someone like that around," Hantuchova said. "She understands the game so much. Once you are a champion, you will always be a champion."
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US Open - Federer falls to Robredo in straight sets

US Open - Federer falls to Robredo in straight sets

A badly out-of-sorts Roger Federer spoke of a crisis of confidence after he "self-destructed" in a stunning fourth-round defeat to unfancied Spaniard Tommy Robredo at the U.S. Open on Monday.

 

The 17-times grand slam champion was eliminated 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4 in less than two-and-a-half hours to end hopes of a blockbuster showdown with great rival Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals.

The Swiss's erratic display included a most un Federer-like 43 unforced errors and left 14 of 16 break points going begging at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"Confidence takes care of all the things you don't usually think about," Federer told reporters, his stinging defeat reminiscent of his shock second-round exit at Wimbledon two months before.
"Maybe my consistency is just not quite there yet. Maybe on a daily basis, set-by-set or point-by-point basis, maybe that's something that has been difficult for me.
"Maybe that was one of the reasons why I lost today, playing up and down.
"I kind of self-destructed, which is very disappointing."
Another bout of foul weather took Federer away from his favoured center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, relegating the former world number one to the secondary show-court, where he had not appeared since 2006.
Although filled to capacity, Federer gave the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd precious few reasons to roar as he struggled against an opponent he had beaten in all 10 of their previous meetings.
"I kind of feel like I beat myself, without taking any credit away from Tommy," Federer said.
"Clearly he was making sure he was making many balls. It was up to me to make the difference and I couldn't.
"It was a frustrating performance today."
Federer appeared impatient on most of his break point chances, miscuing a stream of groundstrokes to let Robredo off the hook.
It was his earliest exit from the year's last grand slam since a fourth round loss in 2003.
"I think I explained it enough," Federer said.
"It just ended up being a bad combination of many things today. I've definitely got to go back to work and come back stronger.
"Get rid of this loss as quick as I can, forget about it, because that's not how I want to play from here on. I want to play better.
"I know I can. I showed it the last few weeks, that there is that level."
Federer said the much-hyped clash with Nadal was the last thing on his mind when he took to the court and defended his usual laidback appearance as the game slipped from his fingers.
"If I'm playing like this, I'm not going to beat Rafa, or Kohlschreiber for that matter," he said.
"For me, I didn't think of that. I've been too often in this situation. I was fighting with other things in my match today.
"But the story of my life: when I lose, people are shellshocked to see me play this way.
"If I win, it's the best thing. There's no doubt I'm trying hard out there to make it work. Sometimes it just doesn't happen."
Federer was bundled out of Wimbledon by then-116th ranked Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, and his loss to another unheralded, if willing, opponent will place further doubts on his motivation and hopes to rebound in the twilight of his career.
But the Swiss master was having none of it.
"Nothing goes past the hard work," he said.
"I'll make sure I put the work in. I'll believe in it and go after it. In some ways, as a player, you're always excited about that prospect because there's always something to look forward to, even in a big disappointment like the match today."
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US Open - Torrential rain plays havoc with schedule at US Open

US Open - Torrential rain plays havoc with schedule at US Open

Nearly five hours of play was lost to rain at the US Open, forcing tournament organisers to cancel dozens of matches and issue an revised playing schedule.

 

Only one of the eight singles matches scheduled for Monday was completed before thunderstorms arrived just after midday local time. Play did not resume until just before 5 p.m., by which time officials had to change the schedule to cope with the backlog of matches.

A total of 37 matches, mostly doubles and juniors, were postponed until Tuesday. The only main draw singles match that was held over was the highly-anticipated centre court clash between world number two Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic.
Roger Federer's fourth round match against Tommy Robredo was moved from the Arthur Ashe Stadium to Louis Armstrong Stadium, marking the first time he had played on the smaller court since 2006.
Before the rain arrived, Roberta Vinci managed to beat her opponent and the foul weather in the nick of time to charge into the quarter-finals.
Vinci needed just over an hour to defeat fellow Italian Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-2 and reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.
"Of course I was lucky," said Vinci after scampering off the courts before the clouds burst.
Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova was closing in on her first quarter-final appearance at the US Open in more than a decade, leading American wildcard Alison Riske 6-3 4-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Romania's Simona Halep, one of the hottest players on tour with four WTA titles since June, was just one point away from levelling her match with Flavia Pennetta at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Halep lost the opening set 6-2 and fell 4-2 behind in the second before reeling off three games in a row and reaching set point on her own serve.
Better known as a doubles player, Vinci made light work of her match with Giorgi, who had come through the qualifiers just to get into the main draw.
Giorgi upset former world number one Caroline Wozniacki to reach the fourth round but was outgunned by the more experienced Vinci, who is ranked number one in the world in doubles and is defending her US Open doubles title she won last year with Sara Errani.
"It wasn't my day," Giorgi said. "I didn't play good."
New York's fickle weather has been a major talking point at the US Open for years with each of the last five men's finals spilling into a third week because of rain delays.
For years, US Tennis Association officials balked at the idea of building a roof because of the enormous cost of covering Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world.
But they have finally relented, announcing two weeks ago that they would commence a massive renovation program, which would include a roof, by 2016 at the earliest.
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