World number two Rafael Nadal crashed out of the United States Open on Wednesday losing to unseeded Mikhail Youzhny, who has made a habit of ousting Spanish top seeds at the $18,5-million event.
The Russian defeated the two-time French Open champion and Wimbledon finalist Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in a quarterfinal match.
”He did the little things better,” Nadal said. ”I was not playing with my best calm on the important points. Mentally I need a little more confidence.”
Youzhny will play American Andy Roddick, who fired off 17 aces en route to a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, for a place in the final.
A bruising encounter between Nadal and Youzhny turned on the third set tie-break, which the world 54th-ranked Youzhny won 7/5 after a series of gruelling rallies.
Playing inspired tennis, Youzhny ran away into a 5-0 lead in the fourth set leaving Nadal shaking his head in disbelief and with a mountain to climb.
The 20-year-old Spaniard managed to win one game and had a break point in the next, but Youzhny held firm and he converted his first match point when Nadal hit a forehand inches wide.
”It was a very tough match. I can’t believe I beat Rafa in four sets,” the 24-year-old Muscovite said.
”When we started all the crowd was for Rafa because he was the favourite, but I hope I have managed to change their opinion,” he said.
Youzhny was facing his third-straight Spaniard in New York. He upset sixth seed Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16 and 11th seed David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the third round.
Nadal had been seeded to meet top seed and defending champion Roger Federer in Sunday’s final.
The two met in both the French Open and Wimbledon finals, which they shared with one win each.
Federer extended his Flushing Meadows’ winning streak to 17 matches by easily beating 29-year-old Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in a fourth round match.
The world number one moves to the quarters where he will meet fifth seeded American James Blake who ousted Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.
Russian Nikolay Davydenko meets Germany’s Tommy Haas in another quarterfinal.
Roddick has put an end to a miserable run of form this year by winning five straight matches in New York.
”The losses have been a little too frequent for my liking this year. I’m the new Andy Roddick. I spent too much time this year looking back. I feel like it is a new chapter,” Roddick said.
The 24-year-old Roddick ousted Hewitt in almost two hours in the night match to reach the semifinals, where he will face Youzhny.
”I am not going to give him as many balls to hit as Nadal did,” Roddick said of Youzhny.
This was the ninth career meeting between the two former world number ones with Hewitt still holding a 7-2 lead overall.
”He came out serving so well didn’t give me too many looks at second serves,” Hewitt said. ”When Andy is serving that well you have got to clean up your own service games and I didn’t do that.”
Roddick posted an 80% success rate on his first serve points and survived a key set point to win the second set in front of a crowd of about 21 000 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The American won seven straight points on serve late in the first set then broke Hewitt in the last game of the first to clinch it.
He broke Hewitt again in the third game of the second set but the Australian returned the favour in the next game. They stayed on serve until Roddick broke the Aussie again in the 11th game to go ahead 6-5.
Roddick finished off Hewitt in just 38 minutes in the final set as he stepped up his game on big points and on service breaks.
The 14th seeded Haas advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the second time in three years, rallying to beat former champ Marat Safin of Russia and win his second five-set match in a row.
The 26-year-old Haas beat Safin 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), equalling his best performance when he reached the round of eight in 2004.
Davydenko needed just 36 minutes on Wednesday to end Andy Murray’s hopes of a first US Open quarterfinal berth. — AFP
