Three Americans Advance on Day 11 at U.S. Open

In the fourth round of play on the men’s side at the 2011 U.S. Open, we saw Americans John Isner and Andy Roddick advance onto the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam tournament. Roddick who is the 21st-seed, defeated fifth-seed David Ferrer from Spain in four sets, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Ferrer did not have his best showing of the tournament against Roddick, however, Roddick did hold his own and played well throughout. Roddick demanded to have his match relocated after he proved water was still existent in Louis Armstrong Stadium after crews worked feverishly to dry up the rain of the past few days. Rather than wait it out even longer, both players requested to move the match to the smaller Court 13 which was granted. With this win, Roddick now goes on to face the number two seed, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, in the quarterfinals.

Also on the men’s side, 28th-seeded Isner defeated 12th-seeded Gilles Simon of France in four close sets with three tie-breakers, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). In the end, it was a close match delayed over two days by rain, however, Isner’s powerful serve played a part in giving him the edge in all of the tie-breakers which led him to a narrow victory. The match lasted three hours and 39 min., which is still a far cry from his endurance-testing bout at Wimbledon last year, a match that was a record 11 hours, five min, over the course of three days. Isner advances to the quarterfinals where he’ll face the number four seed, Great Britain’s Andy Murray. 

On the women’s side, 28th-seeded Serena Williams defeated the 17th-seed, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. The win gives Serena her sixth trip to the semifinals at the U.S. Open where she will face top-seeded and world number one-ranked Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark, a 6-1, 7-6(5) winner Thursday afternoon against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. Serena has shown no signs of weakness since her return to tennis after injuries prevented her from missing a good bulk of time over the past year.

Credit all photos to Kenneth B. Goldberg

John Isner during his Round 4 Match

Nadal Serving against Gilles Muller

Andy Murray returns a backhand from Donald Young

Donald Young serves in hopes of a comeback