Federer stays on course
Roger Federer remained on course for a third consecutive US Open title despite dropping the opening set of his fourth round tie against Feliciano Lopez last night.
The Spaniard broke the world number one on his second service game and had five aces as he took the first set in stunning fashion in only 25 minutes.
But Lopez couldn’t maintain the momentum and Federer broke his opponent to take the second set.
The Swiss ace rolled from there, winning 32 consecutive service points at one stage, taking 10 service games at love and finishing with 11 aces as he won 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-4, setting up a quarter-final meeting with Andy Roddick.
The fifth seed advanced when number nine Tomas Berdych retired due to illness.
Roddick, who won this event in 2003 and was the runner-up to Federer last year, held a 7-6 (8-6) 2-0 lead when Berdych called it quits because of a stomach ailment.
“You don’t want to advance because someone isn’t feeling well,” Roddick said on court following the abbreviated match.
It was the second time in four rounds that the American had not had to win three sets to advance.
Roddick held a 4-6 6-1 6-2 lead when Argentinian Jose Acasuso pulled out in the second round with a left quadriceps strain.
In a first set that featured two breaks of serve by each player, Berdych earned a set point by smacking a forehand winner in the 11th point of the tie-break.
But the 21-year-old Czech followed by sending a forehand into the net, a backhand long and a forehand into the net from the service box to lose the set. Two games later, he pulled out.
“I don’t know exactly what was wrong,” Berdych said. “I’m not feeling really well. I’ve just been in the doctor’s. Just after this, I’m going to come back there again just to take blood test and get some results.
“I don’t know. But I was feeling really bad. I mean, it was since we started the match. I was just trying and hoping (that) maybe it’s going to change or something. But I didn’t feel well.”
Sixth seed James Blake went down to a five-set defeat against German Tommy Haas after failing to convert three match points.
Haas, the 10th seed, claimed a 4-6 6-4 3-6 6-0 7-6 (7-4) victory days after his American opponent won his first five-set match.
A local favourite, Blake had expressed relief at removing a psychological weight after outlasting Frenchman Fabrice Santoro last Thursday night to snap an 0-9 lifetime mark in five-setters.
But in a late-afternoon thriller at Arthur Ashe Stadium four days later, Blake was not quite able to produce a repeat performance.
After the American took a two-sets-to-one lead, Haas attacked more frequently and reeled off eight straight games and 10 of the next 12.
But Blake broke back to level the fifth set at four games apiece when Haas netted a backhand volley.
Haas saved three match points in the 10th game, each with an exceptional serve, and the match went into a decisive tie-break two games later.
At 3-3 in the tie-break, Haas hit a backhand lob that Blake was able to track down. The American was able to rush the net but was beaten by another backhand lob.
Blake then lost his two points on serve, double-faulting on the first and sending a forehand approach shot wide.
Blake stayed alive for one point with a mishit backhand that clipped the baseline – a shot Haas unsuccessfully challenged – but Haas ended matters with an ace on the sideline. Blake challenged the call but the replay proved the ball nicked the line.
“I wish I had a chance to maybe look at a second serve on one of those three match points that I had,” Blake said. “(He) certainly came up really big with those serves.”
“It’s gonna sting for a little while,” Blake continued. “Hopefully in a day or two I’ll look back and say it’s still not a terrible summer.”
Haas admitted he had delivered at the right time, saying: “I really couldn’t find too many first serves, I think, at the end of the match that I wanted to.
“(But) every time he had match point – what was it, three? – I came up with a good first serve. That saved me.”
Haas will face Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter final after the fourth-seeded Russian crushed Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-1 6-3 6-4.
Davydenko, who improved to 3-0 against Lee, has yet to drop a set in the tournament.
