Federer given free pass to last eight

Updated September 04, 2012 12:09:34

World number one Roger Federer advanced into his 34th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final without touching a racquet when American Mardy Fish withdrew from their US Open match for health reasons.

The 31-year-old Swiss star, seeking his 18th Grand Slam title and sixth US Open crown, reached a last-eight matchup with Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1.

"It will be a tough match against Tomas," Federer said.

"We have played many times in the past and he has always been a tough opponent. I will have to continue to serve well and dictate the points."

Berdych has lost 11 of 15 career meetings to top seed Federer.

"I probably need to have something more than 100 per cent," Berdych said.

The walkover stretched Federer's record for career quarter-final Grand Slam appearances in the Open era to 38, three shy of the record 41 achieved by American Jimmy Connors.

"I am really sorry for Mardy," Federer said.

"I just want to wish him a speedy recovery. We all want to see him back on tour soon."

Fish, 30, missed two months earlier this year with a heart problem after his heart rate increased to three times its normal resting pace. He underwent a cardiac catheter ablation in Los Angeles on May 23 to treat his condition.

But he did not say in a statement that a heart issue is what forced him out.

"I regret that I have to withdraw from the US Open for precautionary measures," Fish said. "I was reluctant to do so, but am following medical advisement.

"I had a good summer and look forward to resuming my tournament schedule in the fall."

Federer, who won his 17th Grand Slam title in July at Wimbledon, has not dropped a set in the Flushing Meadows fortnight.

"Maybe if I would be in his situation I would rather play a match and win it and keep the rhythm of one day a match, one day off," Berdych said. "But probably he's going to be fine with that."

Berdych, who took only two hours to reach his first US Open quarter-final, has won three of his past six meetings with Federer, including a US Open tuneup last year at Cincinnati and a 2010 Wimbledon quarter-final.

Berdych finally reached the last eight after 10 tries with his 200th career hard court triumph.

He joined Petr Korda and Ivan Lendl as the only Czech men in the Open era to have reached the quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam events.

"I'm very happy that I can compete in all Grand Slams at least in quarter-finals. It helps my confidence," Berdych said.

At last January's Australian Open, Berdych was fuming at Almagro, accusing the Spaniard of hitting a ball at him on purpose. The struck him in the arm while at the net during a rally in a fourth-round match.

Spectators booed Berdych for refusing to shake hands with the Spaniard after the match, but the Czech said Almagro's apology was not enough to satisfy him.

Berdych dismissed the acrimonious incident this week as "nothing at all" and they clasped hands after the match, Almagro flashing a quick smile as they met.

The Czech star, whose best Grand Slam result was a 2010 Wimbledon final loss to Nadal, improved to 7-3 lifetime against Almagro and snapped a five-game losing streak to top-20 rivals dating to a Rome victory over Almagro last May.

Berdych took three of the last four points to win the first-set tie-breaker, a forehand volley winner claiming the set after 48 minutes. He broke Almagro in the seventh game of the second set and at love to start the third as well in the final game.

"It was really close, especially in the first set," Berdych said. "It was a fight for every point. It was a tough match."

Meanwhile, British third seed Andy Murray advanced after beating Canadian 15th seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Olympic champion Murray, seeking his first Grand Slam title, will play for a berth in the semi-finals against Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic.

The 25-year-old Scotsman reached his eighth Grand Slam quarter-final in a row.

Murray broke Raonic with a drop volley winner for a 5-4 lead and held to take the first set after 36 minutes.

In the second set, Murray broke for a 3-2 edge when Raonic netted a forehand and held serve from there to seize command.

Raonic, trying to become the first Canadian man in a Grand Slam last eight in the Open era, surrendered breaks in the third and fifth games of the final set and Murray, who never faced a break point, held serve to end matters after two hours with a service winner.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, united-states

First posted September 04, 2012 05:30:30

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Ferrer advances to last eight

Updated June 04, 2012 22:04:49

David Ferrer reached the French Open quarter-finals on Monday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers.

The sixth seed's opponent in the last eight will be the winner of the match between fourth seed Andy Murray of Britain and Richard Gasquet of France.

Played in weather conditions more suited to late November than early June, and in front of a paltry set of fans on the Philippe Chatrier centre court, Ferrer made it four straight sets wins out of four against his younger countryman.

The sixth seed simply had too much power and experience for his opponent, accelerating smoothly away from him after grabbing the first break of serve in the match in the sixth game of the first set.

He stormed through the second set for the loss of just two games and with Granollers looking increasingly deflated, Ferrer had no difficulty in closing out what had been a lop-sided contest.

The 30-year-old Ferrer, who is in the last eight at Roland Garros for the third time, was one of four Spaniards to reach the last 16 in the bottom half of the draw.

Second seed, and defending champion, Rafael Nadal was playing later against Juan Monaco of Argentina, while Nicolas Almagro was taking on Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.

Two matches held over from Sunday due to darkness were to be completed.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the fifth seed, was 4-2 up in the fifth set against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, while Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina was two sets to one up against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, france

First posted June 04, 2012 22:04:49

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Nadal, Murray through to last eight

Updated June 05, 2012 08:27:52

Defending champion Rafael Nadal stormed into the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday (AEST) as three Spaniards plus Andy Murray made it through to the last eight in the bottom half of the draw.

Nadal demolished Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 in an awesome display of claycourt tennis that must have sent shivers through his rivals for the title here.

Countrymen David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro had earlier gone through comfortably.

Sixth-seeded Ferrer cruised past countryman Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2, 6-0, and 12th seed Almagro pushed aside Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Murray then joined them with a disjointed 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

The Scot will play Ferrer, while Nadal will go for his 50th win at Roland Garros against Almagro.

Joining them in the last eight, in matches held over from Sunday in the opposing top half of the draw, were Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.

Tsonga, seeking to provide a first French win in the men's singles since Yannick Noah in 1983, returned to action against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 4-2 ahead in the fifth set.

And despite dropping his serve in the opening game, he held steady to pull off a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 win that saw him into the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time.

Next up will be a meeting with top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who has history-making on his mind too as he bids to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

"It was tough yesterday as it was dark at the end. I don't know if was great for me or not," Tsonga said.

"But I came on the court this morning with a good spirit. I had a good night's sleep and I was ready to play again."

Del Potro was two sets to one up against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic when darkness fell on their fourth round tie late Sunday and he wasted little time on their return Monday to complete a 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win.

His reward will be another crack at third seed Roger Federer, against whom he lost a thrilling five-setter in the 2009 semi-finals.

Second seed Nadal won 17 games in succession to destroy Monaco and afterwards said he had to feel sorry for his close friend for suffering such a heavy defeat.

The Spaniard, bidding to become the first man to capture seven Roland Garros singles titles, celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday while title rivals Djokovic and Federer were struggling into the last eight.

Monaco, the 13th seed, went into Monday's match with solid claycourt form under his belt having captured titles in Vina del Mar and Houston this year.

But he had lost all three previous clay meetings against Nadal, claiming just 10 games in the process, and the 28-year-old was swept aside again by the champion in just one hour and 46 minutes on Suzanne Lenglen court.

Fourth seed Murray looked all at sea for a set and a half before his fourth round clash with Gasquet turned dramatically late in the second set as the Scot found his touch and Gasquet totally lost his.

The win means that Murray has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final for the sixth straight time, with Ferrer, who he has never beaten on clay, waiting for him as his opponent.

For Gasquet there was the disappointment of failing to join countryman Tsonga in the last eight. The last time two Frenchman made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros was in 1990.

"He started very, very well, went for his shots, high risk and was playing unbelievable," Murray said of his opponent.

"I was lucky to turn it around at the end of the second set and then I started to play a lot better."

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, france

First posted June 05, 2012 08:22:26

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Federer and Nadal breeze into last eight

Updated January 05, 2012 09:07:34

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal kept on course for a meeting in the opening ATP final of the season as both eased into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.

Federer, the grand slam record-holder from Switzerland, delivered a smooth and graceful performance for the second successive day in beating Grega Zemlja, a qualifier from Slovenia, 6-2, 6-3 in only an hour.

Nadal, the French Open champion from Spain, produced a higher level than during his opening day struggle, overcoming German and fellow left-hander Denis Gremelmayr by 6-2, 6-2.

In a contest of well-contested rallies though he needed half an hour longer than Federer.

Nevertheless Nadal did seem to be achieving some of his new year objectives - in particular playing more aggressively, and getting used to a heavier headed racket.

"I am also trying to return (serve) a little bit better," he said.

"The worst things I did last year was with my return. I was happy with the way my return worked today (Wednesday).

"A few things worked well. With the weight of the racket I started to have a good feeling, which is very important.

"I also want to have enough shots not to be predictable. I want to attack the ball faster and hit with more power and spin."

That sounds like particularly bad news for Nadal's rivals, many of whom consider he hits with more than enough power and spin already.

Gremelmayr seven times achieved deuce games with Nadal but was only able to win two of them.

Key to winning the important points was Nadal's exceptional ability to adjust late with his footwork in a continuing troublesome wind.

Federer started and finished like a train.

He was soon 3-1 up, and after saving two break back points in the seventh game, began to accelerate again, ripping trademark forehand drives from near the backhand tramlines and winning the last 14 points in a row.

His ability to produce such an elegant performance in the variable breeze was something of a mystery. He was asked how he managed it.

"Not getting frustrated," he replied.

"I used to be very emotional when I was younger, after growing up in Switzerland where we didn't have wind that much, and where we also played indoors (a lot).

"It was difficult learning how to play in the wind. But I have had a lot of practice playing in windy places, and it doesn't bother me any more."

Federer next plays Italian eighth seed Andreas Seppi, the eighth-seeded Italian, who overcame another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5, 6-3.

Nadal plays Mikhail Youzhny, and the seventh seeded Russian may have the ability to make Nadal raise his standard again.

Nadal has only once before made the final here, two years ago, when he was runner-up. To get there again he may have to get through a semi-final with Gael Monfils, the fourth-seeded Frenchman.

However, Monfils had to survive two-and-a-half hours and some twinges in a knee before winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 against Benjamin Becker, the former top 40 German.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, united-arab-emirates

First posted January 05, 2012 09:07:34

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