Federer Fends Off Isner in 4 Sets at US Open; Blake, Roddick Win
Posted on September 2, 2007American tennis stalwarts Andy Roddick and James Blake advanced into the fourth round Saturday at the US Open, but the runs of young Americans John Isner and Donald Young were brought to an end.
World No. 1 Roger Federer withstood the shock of losing the first set in taming the giant-serving Isner, eventually getting a read on the University of Georgia college tennis product in a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win.
"He played great, actually I thought for the last few weeks," Federer said of Isner. "So obviously I knew it was going to get difficult today, especially with the crowd in the back. The more they screamed the harder and more precise he served. It was really tough, but he definitely hit his lines in the first set. There was nothing you could do...I was extremely happy with the my reaction on the second set because the crowd was getting into it...You know, losing the first set, it was a hard blow."
Isner won the first set before letting up in the second, when Federer put his foot down.
"I threw in some double faults for him to break me at 30-40 a couple times," Isner said. "I knew I had to go for my serves because I knew he was going hit one of those chip backhands at my feet. So I had to somehow hit a good serve. So I kind of went for a little bit more. That's what he does, forces you to go for a lot more."
Young lost 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5 to unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
No. 5 seed Andy Roddick was in stunning form, steamrolling former Aussie Open winner Thomas Johansson 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 to bring himself within a match of facing Federer.
"Felt good," Roddick said. "I wanted to go out and hit the ball and be aggressive, get ahold of my forehand, if I could. I felt like I did that today."
No. 6 seed James Blake advanced after 1 a.m. with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win over Austrian Stefan Koubek.
"I feel great," Blake said of all the court time he has been spending. "I've been doing a lot of hard work and I feel like it's paying off."
Other winners Saturday were (4) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Almagro), (9) Tomas Berdych (d. Verdasco), and (10) Tommy Haas (d. Grosjean in five).
A flat No. 19 seed Andy Murray fell to Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
"It maybe took me five or six games to get going," Murray said. "After that I was OK but maybe I gave myself a little bit too much to do. If I had got one of those chances in the first set and maybe got myself a set ahead, I might have loosened up and started to play better."
Scheduled for Sunday in Flushing Meadows are (2) Rafael Nadal vs. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, (3) Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin Del Potro, (15) David Ferrer vs. (24) David Nalbandian, Robby Ginepri vs. Stanislas Wawrinka, (20) Juan Ignacio Chela vs. (12) Ivan Ljubicic, (17) Carlos Moya vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber, (8) Tommy Robredo vs. Ernests Gulbis, and Agustin Calleri vs. (23) Juan Monaco.
World No. 1 Roger Federer withstood the shock of losing the first set in taming the giant-serving Isner, eventually getting a read on the University of Georgia college tennis product in a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win.
"He played great, actually I thought for the last few weeks," Federer said of Isner. "So obviously I knew it was going to get difficult today, especially with the crowd in the back. The more they screamed the harder and more precise he served. It was really tough, but he definitely hit his lines in the first set. There was nothing you could do...I was extremely happy with the my reaction on the second set because the crowd was getting into it...You know, losing the first set, it was a hard blow."
Isner won the first set before letting up in the second, when Federer put his foot down.
"I threw in some double faults for him to break me at 30-40 a couple times," Isner said. "I knew I had to go for my serves because I knew he was going hit one of those chip backhands at my feet. So I had to somehow hit a good serve. So I kind of went for a little bit more. That's what he does, forces you to go for a lot more."
Young lost 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5 to unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
No. 5 seed Andy Roddick was in stunning form, steamrolling former Aussie Open winner Thomas Johansson 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 to bring himself within a match of facing Federer.
"Felt good," Roddick said. "I wanted to go out and hit the ball and be aggressive, get ahold of my forehand, if I could. I felt like I did that today."
No. 6 seed James Blake advanced after 1 a.m. with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win over Austrian Stefan Koubek.
"I feel great," Blake said of all the court time he has been spending. "I've been doing a lot of hard work and I feel like it's paying off."
Other winners Saturday were (4) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Almagro), (9) Tomas Berdych (d. Verdasco), and (10) Tommy Haas (d. Grosjean in five).
A flat No. 19 seed Andy Murray fell to Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
"It maybe took me five or six games to get going," Murray said. "After that I was OK but maybe I gave myself a little bit too much to do. If I had got one of those chances in the first set and maybe got myself a set ahead, I might have loosened up and started to play better."
Scheduled for Sunday in Flushing Meadows are (2) Rafael Nadal vs. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, (3) Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin Del Potro, (15) David Ferrer vs. (24) David Nalbandian, Robby Ginepri vs. Stanislas Wawrinka, (20) Juan Ignacio Chela vs. (12) Ivan Ljubicic, (17) Carlos Moya vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber, (8) Tommy Robredo vs. Ernests Gulbis, and Agustin Calleri vs. (23) Juan Monaco.