Murray Triumphs Over Del Potro in Marathon Battle

In a match that turned topsy-turvy just when it appeared to be over, and instead became a drawn-out battle, Andy Murray advanced to his first career Grand Slam semifinal by outlasting Juan Martín del Potro, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 7-5, ending the Argentine’s 23-match win streak in 3 hours, 58 minutes.

Murray appeared to be firmly in control of the contest after seizing two difficult tiebreak sets, yet he was unable to put away the Argentine teenager. Del Potro had received treatment twice for knee problems, but he capitalized on Murray errors and quite suddenly resurrected his power game to capture the third set and extend the match.

Del Potro immediately broke serve to begin the fourth set, tantalizing a crowd with thoughts of a five-setter as the lights came on in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Momentum changed hands repeatedly thoughout the encounter, as neither player could consolidate service breaks. There were 14 breaks of serve in the match.

“I’m very relieved,” said a clearly exhausted Murray. “I’d let it slip a bit.”

In the early going, Del Potro, 19, ran headlong into the Scot’s varied counterpuncher arsenal, and until midway through the third set, it appeared as though Murray’s offspeed balls, dozens of drop shots, deft lobs and persistent slices would produce a straight-sets victory.

Murray’s game plan was to move the lanky, 6-ft-6 righthander from side to side and often finished off long rallies with forehand dropshots, exposing Del Potro’s biggest weakness: his movement. Murray deliberately tried to avoid giving Del Potro any pace or rhythm to work with, because when Del Potro has time to line up – and wind up – for his shots, he is at his most lethal.

Del Potro showed that he could not only blast big groundstrokes, but that he could put up a real fight as well. Though his streak has come to an end, the Argentine has had the summer of his professional life, in which he captured four consecutive ATP titles and catapulted from No. 65 in the world to No. 17. On the strength of his US Open run, he is sure to rise to just outside the Top 10.

“I was feeling pain in all my body, but I just did my best. We played a good match. Andy [had] a very good performance and [was] in good shape. So he's the best winner. I'm happy.”

Murray, winner of three hard-court titles this year, is likely to rise to No. 4 when rankings come out after the conclusion of the US Open.

Although there was great interest in this quarterfinal matchup between two of the tour’s rising stars, intensified by pre-match buildup for two antagonists said to be less than friendly, there were no fireworks on court – other than the very real tennis drama of two foes trying to outlast one another.

For the second day in a row, a late-afternoon men’s match seeped into the evening, creating logistical challenges on the grounds as a massive crowd gathered on the South Plaza outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, unable to enter for the night match session.

Federer Being Challenged, And Loving It

Roger Federer battled No. 23-seed Igor Andreev for three hours and 32 minutes on Tuesday evening, winning 6-3 in the fifth set after dropping the first and having to take Andreev into a tie-break to avoid going down 2-set to love. It was a match that could have gone either way, could have easily stopped Federer’s streak of four US Open titles and would have put an exclamation point on the struggles Federer has had all year.

But for all the people in Arthur Ashe Stadium who found it far more interesting that the defending champion was in a dog fight, being tested to the limit, it may be a surprise to hear that in profound ways Roger Federer was one of them.

The sheer fun that Federer gets from being pressed to the brink of elimination is likely enhanced, maybe even predicated, on the fact that he came out on top in the match. But after the match, listening to Federer talk, observers had a peek into just how much Federer loves the game, and the battle, the latter perhaps the surest sign that he may well come to dominate the men’s game again.

“It was really entertaining, not only for the fans, but for both of us,” Federer said afterward, trying and failing to recall the last time he had played a five-setter that wasn’t interrupted by rain here at the Open. “I don’t usually get the chance to play five sets. It’s different, it’s fun for a change.’’

“[Five-setters] can be tough physically and mentally,’’ Federer went on. “But in five sets you go through different stages of feelings, of playing well, playing bad.”

Federer’s attitude toward his match with Andreev is also a good way of understanding how the former No. 1 is handling 2008, a year that is being framed by just about everyone as a disappointment. He failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the semis to Novak Djokovic, and lost to Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open and Wimbledon.

But again, while there are plenty who expect reams of words about how frustrated Federer is, how he can’t believe he hasn't won at least one Grand Slam so far this year, or a gold medal in singles at the Olympics, Federer sees his situation in a decidedly nuanced light.

Just his attitude about losing to Nadal at Wimbledon in an epic five-setter is illustrative of an attitude rare among top athletes today. Was he bummed about losing at Wimbledon, to his nemesis Nadal, and just barely missing out an a record 6th-straight Wimbledon?

“After Wimbledon, you know, maybe I was a little bit disappointed, but it's still ‑‑ the buzz was bigger about the great match we just played, so I couldn't really look at this match and be completely disappointed,’’ Federer said.

O.K., how about his dismal summer, where he lost in the second round of Cincinnati, the third round of Canada, and then the quarters of the Olympic games?

“I went through maybe the summer and didn't win a whole lot of matches, but I won the Olympic gold in doubles,'' Federer counters. "So I guess I always had sort of a good spirit.”

The fact is, all the challenges to Federer’s stronghold on the game had to be hard to swallow for a guy who held the top ranking for a record 237 straight weeks until this past August 18, when he relinquished it to Nadal. But it has also, in some profound ways, and even in understandable ways, made the game more interesting.

“It hasn't been that frustrating, you know, to be quite honest,’’ he says about 2008. “I think I'm at a stage today where I just really enjoy playing, you know, much more again. Whereas maybe for a while it was quite, always the same for me ‑- go on court, you win all the time, so maybe you don't take it for granted that much anymore.”

Federer next takes on Gilles Muller, a qualifier, in the quarterfinals. Muller, will come out swinging, having less to lose against Federer than most other players. But Federer accepts the challenge, and sets his site on a title that would change everything for Federer. Because for all the talk of his love of competition, Federer is looking to regain not just the No. 1 ranking, and not just another Grand Slam, but, in what is also, no doubt, equally fun, perhaps the funnest thing of all, a prevailing, wide sense of invincibility.

“That’s the advantage I have,’’ Federer says. “If I were to win a big tournament, you know, again, one of those Slams, whatever, right away I have the invincibility factor again.’’

A Pumped Roddick Set to Meet Djokovic in the Quarters

No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2007 US Open finalist who Andy Roddick will face in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, all had huge struggles in their fourth-round matches.

But Roddick had an easy time in his fourth-round match, where he blew out Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets. The American appears to have rediscovered the form that led him to the Dubai title in March, where he knocked out both Nadal and Djokovic, and to his first win over Federer in nearly five years in Miami.

Injuries to his neck and shoulder set him back in the late spring and early summer, but despite a mediocre US Open Series, Roddick is looking all the part of an outside threat to win the title. Firing blinding serves and taking advantage of nearly every short ball, Roddick only dropped nine points on serve in his 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 wipeout of Gonzalez.

He looked much more comfortable and lethal on court than the chronically limping Djokovic, who had to go the wall and over it to defeat Tommy Robredo, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

But that does not mean that the Serbian will not recover in two days' time, as he has spent much of his Grand Slam year digging out long wins. Such is his style and perhaps that's the way he's mentally the most comfortable: physically put upon and thereby emotionally empty, yet fresher. Even though he didn't look like a No. 1-to-be in his marathon wins of Marin Cilic and Robredo, he was lethal in the clutch, and as steady as a Coast Guard boat in rough waves.

Robredo accused Djokovic of overplaying his injuries, which included an injured hip and ankle. Roddick has his doubts, too.

"Back and a hip?" asked Roddick. "And a cramp. Bird flu. Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold?

But the top American wouldn't say that the Serbian is faking.

“If it's there, it's there,” Roddick said. “There's just a lot. You know, he's either quick to call a trainer or he's the most courageous guy of all time.”

The 21-year-old Djokovic is nothing if not resourceful. He's also is master return of server, not because he puts so much heat on the ball, but because he can slap back nearly every kind of serve deep. He's extremely accurate off both wings from the baseline and can rip winners when called upon. Roddick knows that in order to grab the win, he's going to have to serve just as big as he did against Gonzalez, keep his approach shots deep and close quickly at net.

"He goes to work pretty much every point, and, my service game, he's going to put returns in, he puts guys in pressure," Roddick said. “It seems like a lot of times there'd be breaks back and forth with him. You know going in that you're going to have to go to work.”

Roddick and Djokovic have faced each other twice, a victory for the Serbian last year in Canada and a win for Roddick this year in Dubai. The American has to try as much as possible to keep the points shorts, as Djokovic is sure to try to exhaust him from the backcourt and entice him into zany net rushes.

“Couple of points, I probably played more aggressively in Dubai than I did in Canada,” Roddick said. “He kind of took it to me in the breakers in Canada, and might have been the other way around in Dubai. It's going to be close, because I think it's a pretty good match-up, and he returns pretty well. I serve pretty well. It will come down to momentum one way or the other.”

Djokovic says that he should be fresh by the time the first ball is tossed on Thursday night. He's a pretty good-natured guy who has respect for his foe. On Arthur Ashe Kid's Day, the two traded hilarious impersonations of the other.

“Roddick, he's former US Open champion, couple times Grand Slam finalist and No. 1," Djokovic said. "So he has all the things under his belt that he needs to have. He's playing in front of his crowd, on his favorite tournament. It's always a difficult one to play against Roddick wherever, but especially here."

Somewhat surprisingly, despite some tremendous runs in New York including his 2003 title sprint, Roddick said that the reigning Australian Open titlist is the favorite. He said it with a wry smile, but stuck to his point.

Bryan Brothers Storm into Final

American No. 2 seeds Bob and Mike Bryan are right on course to win their second US Open title this year, as they stormed into the championship round with a routine 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tommy Robredo and Sergio Roitman in Wednesday’s semifinal action.

This will be the third time the Bryans have reached the final at Flushing Meadows, after they won the title in 2005. Their only loss in the US Open final came in 2003 against Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman.

Their opponents for the championship match were also determined on Wednesday. The Bryans are slated to face off against No. 7 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes, who also took care of business in their semifinal match pretty quickly with a 40-minute win.

Since all the seeded teams were eliminated in the Bryans' half of the draw, Dlouhy and Paes will be the only seeded duo the Americans will have to face in the tournament.

Dlouhy and Paes gave up only two games in their 6-2, 6-0 rout of Argentine team Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco. Dlouhy and Paes held a strong service game, winning 86 percent of first-serve points.

Top-seeded women’s doubles team Cara Black and Liezel Huber still have not dropped a set en route to the semifinals of the US Open tournament.

Black and Huber have partnered for the past three years, winning 19 titles together, including two Grand Slams. On Wednesday, they sailed through the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Chinese team of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng. Their win sets up a semifinal meeting with the Spanish No. 5 seeds, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

The Spanish tandem narrowly edged out the American women’s team of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, coming back from a set down to win it, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Joie de Jelena

The name Yankovic – no matter how you spell it – has become synonymous with humor. Whether it was Weird Al singing “My Bologna” and “Eat It” (parodying the hits “My Sharona” and “Beat It”) or Jelena cracking up the press corps during one of her post-match interviews, both have drawn fans for offering comic relief in what otherwise tend to be serious industries.

“She’s an actress,” said Jankovic’s former coach Nick Bollettieri. “She’s great for the tour because she’s a great personality. And she’s great for the game.”

In one of her first press conferences during this tournament, a reporter asked how she was coping with jet lag after competing at the Beijing Olympics:

JANKOVIC: I'm tired. I'm actually falling asleep now.

In another match, she was asked about a fall in the third set where she took her time getting up.

“I was just trying to come back to, you know, normal position where I can just stand up and regroup again and play the next point. That was it.”

Asked if the pavement was hot:

“No, but I thought I was going to get my dress really dirty, and then that was my biggest concern.”

Despite fatigue, dirty dresses, and all the other exigencies that the US Open presents, Jankovic advanced to the US Open semifinals on Tuesday night for the first time since 2006. The achievement also marked the third time the 23-year-old Serb reached a Grand Slam semifinal this year.

“She’s come a long way,” Bollettieri said, comparing her success to the day she arrived at his tennis academy. Coincidentally, it was the same day Tatiana Golovin (a 2006 US Open semifinalist) and Maria Sharapova (the 2007 US Open champion) appeared.

Back then, he said, Jankovic wasn’t such a character. “She didn’t have the confidence she does today," he said. "The reason was, she was playing in the shadow of Maria. Maria scared the crap out of them. Maria brutalized them, mentally.”

At 16, however, Jankovic won the 2001 Australian Open girls’ title and turned professional shortly thereafter. Six years later, she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Jamie Murray (Andy’s brother) – her only Slam victory (or final) to date.

During the 2007 post-match press conference in London, Jankovic flirted coyly with Murray, leading to speculation that they may be an item.

Q: Can you recall your thoughts after the winning point and as you went into the Royal Box?

MURRAY: I was just looking for that kiss from her, to be honest.

JANKOVIC: No, I was motivating him every time. When it was a breakpoint, I'd tell him, Jamie, let's go. This return, hit a good one because you gonna get many kisses, you know (laughter)…At the end, he did it. I was like, what I have to do to…pump him up a little bit so that he can play great tennis. But it was amazing. After I look back two weeks ago, we came at the same time with the van and he asked me to play. I was thinking, what are the odds…Maybe it was like destiny, it was meant to happen. So I'm really happy that… we won this tournament. It's amazing. Playing with Jamie, it was a great experience. Very nice guy. Very sweet, as well (smiling).

Q. Jamie, do you have a girlfriend?

MURRAY: No.

Q. Do you have a boyfriend?

JANKOVIC: I have lots (smiling).

Q. Are you going to go out for dinner to celebrate maybe?

JANKOVIC: We're going to the ball.

MURRAY: To the ball, yeah.

JANKOVIC: He was looking so forward to this ball. He was asking me the whole day what kind of dress I'm wearing, if it's going to be short or long. I had to disappoint him. It's very long.

The pair hasn't competed together at another Slam because Jankovic has prefered to focus on singles. Her decision paid off on August 11 when she became the 18th woman to achieve the world No. 1 ranking, but she relinquished the top spot to her countrywoman Ana Ivanovic one week later after Jankovic lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics.

“To win a Grand Slam or to be number one and stay there, you can’t wait for the other person to give you the match,” said the 77-year-old Bollettieri.

“She tends to wait for the victory and not force it. It’s happened several times here. It seems to be a theme.

“[Jelena] moves as well as anybody. Her forehand is solid. Her two-handed backhand is great. If she could be a little braver on her serve – even if she double faults – in time it will get better. She’s got to gamble a bit and be more assertive,” he said.

Until then, spectators seem to appreciate the drama of a Jankovic match – which leads to another theory.

“She’s had so many three setters because she wants to be in Hollywood,” Bollettieri joked.