Federer hits cruise mode; Wozniacki rallies

 

IWorld No.1 Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic set up an all-Serbian quarterfinal at the U.S. Open on Monday while Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced to a Grand Slam rematch.

Women's No.1 Caroline Wozniacki came back from a set and 4-1 down to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova and reach the last eight while Serena Williams topped Ana Ivanovic in a battle of former No.1s. Tenth seed Andrea Petkovic also advanced to the quarterfinals with an unfussy win over Carla Suarez Navarro.

Djokovic defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6(14), 6-4, 6-2, to advance to a last-eight meeting with friend and Davis Cup teammate Janko Tipsarevic.

Third-seeded Federer dismantled unseeded Argentinian Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to line up a clash with Tsonga, the man who rallied from two sets down to beat him in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Tsonga, the 11th seed, doused the hopes of eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Imperious form

Federer and Monaco also had to wait out the protracted battle between women's World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Once they had, a focused Federer appeared determined not to stay up any later than he had to. He won the first set in 18 minutes and by the time it was all over he had blasted 42 winners — including 14 aces — past the hapless Monaco.

After breaking Monaco in the opening game of the second set, Federer won the next game with four straight aces.

“It's only a game, only a few points, but it's nice to win it that way,” Federer said. “It's tough for Juan. I've been in his position before. I thought he fought bravely. Sometimes it's not your time — tonight it was mine.”

Tsonga and Fish, in contrast, battled for almost four hours, both finding the going tough in the swirling afternoon winds.

“Today was just really difficult because of Mardy, of course, because of the wind, because of all the conditions,” said Tsonga, who also beat Federer in Montreal in August.

“It's good to have some wins against Roger, because now he knows I'm able to beat him,” Tsonga said. “But every day it's another day.

“The third time will be difficult, maybe more than the others ... because Roger knows I can beat him and he will do everything to win this time.”

Tricky opponent

Djokovic, playing out on the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium, also struggled with the wind and with the unpredictable Dolgopolov in the early going, needing six set points — and saving four — to claim the marathon first-set tiebreaker.

“I was confused on the court in the first set,” admitted Djokovic, who nevertheless notched up his 61st match victory of the year with relative ease. “I think it was exciting for the crowd to watch because it was very close,” he said. “But I think it was game-wise an ugly first set because I wasn't happy with the way I played.”

Ugly or not, the packed house loved it, and Djokovic said he was happy to play a match on the more intimate Armstrong court.

“Sometimes it's really nice to be on the smaller court where the crowd is closer to the court where you can feel them,” he said.

s-vbs