And Then There Were None … Querrey’s Exit Marks the Last of American Men’s Hopefuls at 2010 U.S. Open
Five-set encounters and marathon matches ruled the courts on Day Nine at the 2010 U.S. Open. The first of the five-setters saw the end to any hope of an American winning the men’s singles title this year, as Stanislav Wawrinka defeated Sam Querrey, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that took 4 hours and 28 minutes. The loss for Querrey meant that no American men are left in the tournament heading in to the quarterfinals.
While Querrey enjoyed his experience on Arthur Ashe Stadium with the backing of a very pro-American crowd, two easy volleys that he missed in the late stages of the match will certainly haunt him for a bit. With the win, Wawrinka from Switzerland now moves on to face Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Youhzny was a four-set winner over Tommy Robredo in the day’s first match on Louis Armstrong Court.
The other men’s Quarterfinal matchup that was set yesterday will feature top-seeded Rafael Nadal taking on fellow Spainiard Fernando Verdasco. They each won their matches in very different ways though. Nadal was victorious in straight sets dispatching of friend and countryman Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Verdasco moved on to the Quarters the hard way, with a come from behind five set win. Verdasco dropped the first two sets to David Ferrer before rallying to win the next three. The match took four hours and 23 minutes and finally concluded with an epic last point that saw Verdasco chase down a drop volley to hit an improbable winner down the line, before falling to the ground in triumph. Verdasco won 5-7,6-7,6-3,6-3,7-6.
On the women’s side defending champion Kim Clijsters had her first tough match at this year’s Open, as Samantha Stosur took her to three sets. Clijsters survived, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the first match of the evening session. Clijsters now advances to the Quarterfinals where she will take on Venus Williams who defeated sixth-ranked Italian Francesca Schiavone in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. Last year, on her way to the championship, Clijsters defeated Williams in the round of 16.
Today, Caroline Wozniacki (who has lost just 10 games through four matches) will face off against the lone unseeded quarterfinalist in men’s or women’s play, Dominika Cibulkova.
In the other women’s singles match of the day, Kaia Kanepi and Vera Zvonareva will do battle, each in search of her first U.S. Open semifinal. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are looking to extend their impressive streaks of consecutive semifinals at the U.S. Open—and bidding to face each other in the U.S. Open for a fourth consecutive year overall, and a third straight year in the semifinals. But first, Federer will have to get past another familiar and formidable foe, the big-hitting Robin Soderling and Djokovic will have to defeat the popular Frenchman Gael Monfils.
All photos credited to Kenneth B. Goldberg
In a battle of Spaniards, the 10th-seeded David Ferrer lost to the eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Americans Julia Elbaba & Krista Hardebeck defeated Saska Gavrilovska & Danka Kovinic, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(8)
Feliciano Lopez in his loss to top-seeded Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco en route to his 5-7, 6-7(8,) 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over fellow countryman, the 10th-seeded David Ferrer
Second-seeded Kim Clijsters raises her hands in victory over Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Russian Mikhail Youzhny, the number 12 seed, in his win over Tommy Robredo of Spain, 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal ousted his fellow countryman Feliciano Lopez, the number 23 seed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Tuesday action at the 2010 U.S. Open
Spain’s Tommy Robredo in his 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 loss to the 12th-seed Mikhail Youzhny
American Venus Williams under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium in her match against Italian Francesca Schiavone
The 25th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka was victorious over American Sam Querrey, 7-6(9), 6-7(5), 7-5 4-6, 6-4
