Rafael Nadal continues to break down opponents at U.S. Open

NEW YORK — This time last year, Rafael Nadal watched the U.S. Open on television, exiled from the tournament he won in 2010 by a flare-up of tendinitis in his knees.

The timetable for Nadal’s return was unclear, as was the weightier question of whether the former No. 1 would recover to the point of being able to contest major titles in the future.

But since his return to competition in February following a seven-month hiatus, Nadal has won nine titles (more than any player on tour); compiled a 58-3 match record that includes a 20-0 mark on hard courts; and stormed into Saturday’s U.S. Open semifinals with scarcely a hiccup, yet to lose his serve through five matches.

While Richard Gasquet, the opponent who awaits, is widely regarded as one of the more naturally gifted players on tour, the 27-year-old Frenchman is 0-10 against the Spaniard.

The two last met in a 2011 Davis Cup match, with Nadal delivering a straight-sets rout on clay. Gasquet last won a single set against Nadal in 2008, and even that was a squeaker, with Gasquet eking out a 14-12 tiebreak.

Few men have had much chance against Nadal, who holds a winning record against every seeded player at this year’s U.S. Open.

His advantage isn’t the result of freakish gifts; rather, exceptional attention to detail in his quest to become a better, more complete player. Nadal is highly self-critical without being self-defeating, reviewing each performance, victories included, for any weakness that needs shoring up.

And he takes nothing for granted, refusing to be lulled into thinking that past-performance guarantees anything despite his 12 Grand Slam titles.

Nadal approaches each opponent as if dangerous, regardless of their ranking, typically using the opening set of a match to feel out his adversary’s strengths and potential vulnerabilities. Only then, a few games into the contest, does he raise the stakes in a carefully calibrated manner — stepping in closer to return serve, increasing the pace and spin of his groundstrokes and seizing opportunities to charge the net.

In most cases, opponents who might have felt they had a chance against him at the outset find themselves mentally spent and physically depleted as the match grinds on.

“Nothing to say,” a stunned Tommy Robredo offered after getting pummeled by Nadal, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, in their quarterfinal Wednesday.

Robredo, 31, was clearly uncomfortable in the cavernous surroundings on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the wind swirls with maddening unpredictability.

“He was hitting the ball all the time very good, and I wasn’t able to get into the rhythm,” said Robredo, whose record against Nadal dropped to 0-7. “I wanted to start a little bit close in the score, and then we’ll see if I could play my best. But very soon he was up a break and he was hitting very, very fast and with a lot of confidence.

“Sometimes there is nothing to say. It’s just, congratulate the other, and hopefully next time we will have a chance.”

Gasquet, a Former Child Prodigy, Grows Into His Talent

Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet are first-time United States Open semifinalists this year. Both are in their late 20s; both have glorious one-handed backhands that have been making tennis aesthetes go weak in the knees for years.

But in the expectation game that is professional tennis, Wawrinka has had it easier.

Williams Turns Match Into Latest Mismatch

Victoria Azarenka’s ride to the final of the United States Open looked routine enough on paper. She avoided any serious threat of an upset, and her workmanlike effort resulted in a predictable trip to the final for the second consecutive year.

But the look on her face in her 6-4, 6-2 semifinal victory over Flavia Pennetta on Friday in the first women’s semifinal, or in her fourth-round, three-set victory over Ana Ivanovic, provided a different portrait. She spent most of those contests looking exasperated, unable to establish control on her serve or to grab command of the matches.

Djokovic Easily Reaches Semifinals

Mikhail Youzhny became the first player of this United States Open to take a set from Novak Djokovic, but Djokovic still rolled to a victory in their quarterfinal match.

The deeper Novak Djokovic advances in this United States Open, the more his path to the final seems to open up.

It happened again Thursday. Instead of sixth-seeded Juan Martín del Potro, Djokovic in the quarterfinals faced Mikhail Youzhny, a Russian seeded 21st who became the first player of the tournament to take a set from Djokovic. Still, while Djokovic fought his way to the semifinals, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, his much-anticipated showdown with Andy Murray failed to materialize.

Nadal Rolls to Semifinals by Thrashing Robredo

A year’s absence from the United States Open has made Rafael Nadal hungrier to win another championship and even more prepared for the challenge.

Nadal, who has played as well as anyone on hardcourts this summer, continued to exert his dominance at the Open, serving notice Wednesday night with another near-perfect win. He cruised into the semifinals by thrashing his fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, in 1 hour 40 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The dream quarterfinal matchup between Nadal and Roger Federer was replaced by a mismatch between the second-seeded Nadal and the No. 19 seed Robredo. With the way Nadal has stormed through the draw, there is little reason to think Federer, who lost to Robredo in straight sets in the fourth round, would have offered stiffer resistance.

“It’s going to be tough for the others,” Robredo said.

Nadal required only 22 minutes to take the first set, winning 24 of the 29 points, and he improved to 7-0 against Robredo, with five of those victories coming on hardcourts.

Nadal’s hard-to-replicate combination of speed and athleticism, and the vicious topspin he produces when he hits tennis balls from the baseline, have made him perhaps the greatest clay-court player. But he has also excelled on grass, winning Wimbledon twice, and on hard surfaces, winning the Australian Open in 2009 and the United States Open in 2010.

Nadal was out for 222 days, from the summer of 2012 until his return Feb. 5. When he returned, he eased his way back on clay and won his eighth French Open title in May. Then, after a stunning first-round loss at Wimbledon, he zeroed in on the hardcourt with a laser focus.

Hitting the ball flatter and harder while seeking breathtaking angles and using his gift of touch at the net, a fresher Nadal looks as prepared as ever to win the United States Open.

Nadal is 20-0 on hardcourts this year and has not lost his serve in 67 games in five Open matches, and in 82 straight over all this summer. He has dropped only one set here, against Phillipp Kohlschreiber in the fourth round.

Nadal said that the way he played against Robredo, changing direction and hitting precision inside-out forehands was a blueprint for him.

“That is the way I have to play to be successful on every surface, but especially this one,” he said. “I was able to do it today. I hope I will be able to do it in two days.”

In the next round Nadal will face his old friend Richard Gasquet of France, the No. 8 seed, who made the second Grand Slam semifinal of his career — six years after the first.

Gasquet’s triumph came with considerable effort. His 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 victory over No. 4 David Ferrer required 3 hours 23 minutes to complete, just two days after Gasquet needed five sets and 4:40 to win a fourth-round match over Milos Raonic.

“Right now for sure, I am a little bit tired,” Gasquet said, laughing. “This was difficult because Raonic, we played a big match. But today was the same. I managed to fight in the fifth. It was a big victory for me.”

Gasquet carried hopes of a signature moment in an up-and-down career, one marred by injuries and a brief drug ban in 2009. In fact, it was Nadal who came to Gasquet’s defense at the time, a gesture Gasquet has never forgotten.

“Rafa supported me more than anyone in the last few months, and if he ever needs me to help him, I will do what I can,” Gasquet said. “I’ll never forget what he’s done for me. Now I just want to get out and play.”

But he will not be given much of a chance against Nadal, who has beaten Gasquet all 10 times they have played on tour. Gasquet had to point to an ancient victory he earned over Nadal in France when they were 13.

Asked after his victory Wednesday night if he could beat Novak Djokovic in a potential final, Nadal insisted he was not looking past Gasquet.

“If I don’t play a great match against Richard, I will see the final on TV,” he said.

Nadal was the second No. 2 seed to advance to the semifinals Wednesday night. Earlier on a crisp, blustery evening, Victoria Azarenka pounded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-3, in 1:16. By beating the 30-year-old Hantuchova, who was playing in her first Open quarterfinal since 2002, the 24-year-old Azarenka eliminated the possibility of an all-30s final four. Flavia Pennetta, 31, joined No. 1 Serena Williams and fifth-seeded Li Na as an over-30 semifinalist.

Pennetta had to feel the same nerves as her friend Roberta Vinci across the net in Ashe Stadium. Each player was fighting for her first semifinal berth in a Grand Slam tournament, and each considered the Open her favorite event. They had played each other for almost their whole lives, and they carried the same burden: lifting Italian tennis to a new level.

But as the occasion turned into an actual tennis match, anticipation replaced by serves, ground strokes and strategy, Pennetta shed those nerves for something altogether different in a 6-4, 6-1 victory: joy.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m really happy. I cannot believe it. It was really tough today, playing against Roberta. I was trying to play my tennis, trying to be aggressive, and it worked out perfectly.”

Pennetta’s joy stemmed from her long, frustrating comeback from a wrist surgery last year, which cost her the chance to play in the Open last year. Pennetta said the pain and its accompanying cloud of doubt had finally parted.

“I didn’t play my best tennis the last six months, and I just try to keep working and working the same way,” she said. “I am starting to feel more my forehand, my backhand. Everything is starting to feel more normal in the way it was before the injury. I play really good tennis here, I think.”

Victoria Azarenka eliminates Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to U.S. Open semifinals

She has competed in 50 Grand Slam singles tournaments in this millennium, and won 510 matches. Thirty-year-old Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia has been a professional tennis player for almost half of her life, and still was hoping she’d break new ground at Arthur Ashe Stadium Wednesday night, and make it to her first U.S. Open semifinal.

It was a hope, alas, that was summarily squashed by the backcourt steeliness of Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the No. 2 seed and the world’s premier hardcourt player this year.

A runnerup here to Serena Williams a year ago, the 24-year-old Azarenka, two-time defending Australian Open champion, won her 30th match in 31 tries on hardcourt, dispatching Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-3, moving into a semifinal meeting with Flavia Pennetta, who defeated No. 10 Roberta Vinci, her friend and Italian Fed Cup teammate, earlier in the day.

All three other semifinalists — Vinci, Williams and China’s Li Na — are 31 years old.

“I’m a baby. What can I say?” Azarenka said.

Said Hantuchova: “Definitely I felt like I didn’t play my best tennis at all. Very disappointed with the performance, because I know what I can do and how I can play.”

Azarenka had to struggle through three-set battles in her previous matches against France’s Alize Cornet and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, often spraying her vaunted backhand. She hasn’t shown the form here that she had in Cincinnati last month when she beat Williams to win the tournament, but she nonetheless stepped it up against Hantuchova, breaking her seven times and outlasting her in most every rally.

Hantuchova, making her first appearance in the Open quarters in 11 years, came in ranked No. 48, having lost in the first round of her five previous Slams. She got on a roll here, saving four match points against Israeli qualifier Julia Glushko in the third round and putting away U.S. wild card Alison Riske in the fourth, firing 15 aces in the process, but she seemed to be backpedaling from the start against Azarenka, who drilled returns and ran her around, and ended the first set with an impressive forehand get of a Hantuchova backhand drop shot.

Hantuchova went up a break for 2-0 in the second, but missed a forehand wide to get broken back, and fell behind two breaks when she launched a wide backhand for 5-2. Azarenka briefly hiccupped serving for the match, double-faulting for the break, but closed it out at 15 when Hantuchova netted a forehand.

“She doesn’t give you anything for free. She makes very few mistakes,” Hantuchova said.

In Wednesday night’s late match at Ashe, No. 2 Rafael Nadal annihilated his Spanish compatriot, Tommy Robredo, surprise conquerer of Roger Federer, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, to move into a semifinal against Richard Gasquet of France.

A first time Open semifinalist, the eighth-seeded Gasquet, 27, had lost eight of his nine previous meetings with No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain, before taking a 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 win.

Gasquet has never beaten Nadal in 10 tries, but did beat him at age 14.

“He was already fighting a lot already, already running so much,” Gasquet said. “It’s good to win under 14, but it is better to win on the pro, and I didn’t. But life is long, huh? We are only 27 years old. Even me. So why not?”

Murray Wobbles, but Regains Command in Win

Andy Murray’s first potential pitfall on his road to defending his United States Open title was clearly marked in fluorescent orange, a traffic cone next to a pothole. 

Denis Istomin, clad in a shade of radioactive pumpkin (which he eventually swapped for an equally bright-colored yellow shirt), played fearlessly from the baseline with flat power and was able to match Murray’s strength if not his foot speed and anticipation. But Istomin lost, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, in 3 hours 7 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Murray wobbled significantly as he tried to close out a first set. Leading by 5-4 in the tiebreaker, Murray double faulted and then hit consecutive unforced errors to give Istomin the set.

But Istomin’s focus faltered with the lead, and Murray, though often cursing the wind and his mistakes, never lost control.  

By the fourth set, an upset had been averted. Murray could seemingly do little wrong. On break point at 4-4, he framed a forehand that shot straight into the air but eventually carried in the wind and landed deep on the opposite side of the court, just inside the baseline. After Istomin was forced to hit an awkward overhead, Murray won the point several shots later, earning an appreciative high-five from Istomin during the changeover.

Murray will face ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who defeated No. 5 Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6), 6-2, at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Murray holds an 8-5 advantage against Wawrinka, but won only three games the last time the two met, in Monte Carlo in April, and lost to Wawrinka in their most recent meeting at this tournament, in 2010. 

Murray’s struggles were in sharp contrast to the domination of the top seeds earlier in the night.

Perhaps the one who had the easiest go of it was Serena Williams, who needed only 53 minutes amid swirling wind to dispatch of Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-0, 6-0, in a quarterfinal match at Ashe.

“Honestly, she’s a great player,” Williams said of Suárez Navarro, the No. 18 seed, who turned 25 on Tuesday night. “The conditions today were so tough, so it was obviously not her best tennis day.”

It was Suárez Navarro’s first match at the cavernous stadium, which paled in comparison with the experience Williams has accumulated in her career.

“Only because I’ve been playing here for like 50 years,” joked Williams, the defending champion, who played her first United States Open in 1998. “I’ve kind of gotten used to the conditions.”

Suárez Navarro earned her only two break points of the match in the 11th game, but Williams saved both with strong serves out wide to Suárez Navarro’s backhand that she followed forward to the net.

Williams hit 20 winners to just 3 by Suárez Navarro, and limited her unforced errors to 9 compared with the Spaniard’s 12.

The victory was the seventh double bagel of Williams’s career. The most recent was in the first round of the Australian Open in January against Edina Gallovits-Hall. Williams also won by the same score in the fourth round of last year’s United States Open against Andrea Hlavackova.

The increasingly consistent Williams has won four of her seven double bagels since 2011. She will face No. 5 Li Na in the semifinals. Li, a veteran from China, beat No. 24 Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 4, 2013

An earlier version of this article mischaracterized Andy Murray’s match against Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2010 United States Open. Because they previously faced one another at the 2008 U.S. Open, it is not the case that their 2010 match was “their only other meeting at this tournament.”

No. 7 Federer falls in straight sets as No. 19 Robredo shocks US Open

Spain's No. 19 Tommy Robredo landed the upset of the US Open on Monday night, defeating five-time Open champion Roger Federer in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Of the ten times that the two had met previously, Federer had won them all. In fact, Federer hadn't even dropped a set throughout the first three rounds of the Open, and only once did an opponent take more than three games from him.

But Robredo, despite an extremely partisan crowd, maintained his composure to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time in his career. He had failed in his seven previous fourth-round matches.

“I won. That's amazing, isn't it?” Robredo said following the stunning win. “I beat the best guy of all-time in a great stadium like this in the US Open. I'm delighted. It's unreal.”

Robredo was clinical in his first-ever defeat of Federer. The Spaniard landed 70 percent of his first serves in, minimized his errors and converted on 4-of-7 breakpoints. Federer, in stark contrast, didn't capitalize on his break-point opportunities (2-of-16). But more than breaking Robredo's serves, Federer was far from his typically precise self, amassing 43 unforced errors. Robredo also consistenly hit minimal angles even when Federer rushed the net.

Robredo's stunning upset also derails what would've likely been the most enticing match of the US Open: The first-ever Nadal-Federer showdown at the Open.

It wasn't meant to be, as Robredo broke Federer at 3-3 in the third, then refused to give-in to the 17-time major winner.

Up next he'll likely take on his countryman Rafael Nadal (Robredo is 0-6 all-time), hoping for an even bigger upset than what transpired on Monday night.

Federer Still Can't Remember How to Be Federer

Roger Federer's worst enemy isn't his age. Or his balky back, at least at the moment. Or his small racket. Or the humidity. Or the fact that he was playing in Louis Armstrong Stadium for the first time since 2006.

His problem is simple, and it can be fixed, but it may take some time: Federer has, for a while now, forgotten how it feels to be Roger Federer.

At the U.S. Open on Monday, Federer, 32, turned in another distinctly un-Federer performance. He's making a habit of it, first with a quarterfinal defeat in Paris (hey, it happens, not a big deal); then a second-round loss at Wimbledon (that pretty much doesn't happen); then two upsets in Europe at small events to low-ranked players (worrisome); and now a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 fourth-round loss at the U.S. Open to Tommy Robredo, a man Federer had beaten all 10 times they had played (gulp).

Robredo's upset ensured that the U.S. Open will not see its first-ever meeting between Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have played 31 times in their careers but never in New York. (Nadal won his fourth-round match later in the evening and will play Robredo on Wednesday.)

Federer had plenty of chances, none more important—and potentially transformational—than a 0-40 advantage on Robredo's serve in the fourth game of the third set. Given a chance to rile up the crowd and make Robredo wonder if he really had it in him to pull off this upset, Federer steadied himself, pressed ahead…and missed on four consecutive points. For the match, he converted two of 16 break points.

"I missed so many opportunities," Federer said afterward. "I kind of self destructed, which is very disappointing."

Federer has missed more than his share of opportunities for a while now. He hasn't won more than 30% of his return games in a season since 2006 (this year, he was at 26% headed into the Open, the same as he finished with last year). Federer used to be deadly in such moments: He would miss, he would frame a few shots, but eventually, he'd unleash a barrage of winners for a few games in a row and end a set.

"It doesn't take much with him," Andre Agassi said after Federer beat him in the 2005 U.S. Open final. "He can break a match open, or he can get back into it right away."

Against Robredo, Federer flirted with a break out…and then he pressed. He missed forehands early in rallies. He came to the net too late, or too soon. He served and volleyed on second serves. His strategy was at best suspect, at worst incoherent. Just last month, he had won a set off Nadal in Cincinnati and seemed to be, finally, on the upswing. The defeat against Robredo was nothing less than a crash, and he seemed to know it.

"That's not how I want to play from here on," Federer said. "I want to play better. I know I can. I showed it the last few weeks, that there is that level. So today was pretty frustrating."

For the first time since 2002, Federer will go an entire season without playing in a major final. He's now ranked No. 7, and it might be tough to gain much ground this fall. He has said previously that he'll likely test a new racket after the Open, as he did this summer.

What Federer needs most, though, is a bit of luck. No pain in his back for a long stretch. A few generous bounces on break points. A good draw. A super-sized dose of confidence.

"It takes care of all the things you don't usually think about," Federer said. "It's been a difficult last three months."

Before Federer was Federer—back in 2002, when he was the most talented underachiever in all of tennis—he looked something like he does now. Beautiful one moment, and then astonishingly bad, or even worse, disinterested, the next. He remembers those days well.

"People thought, 'Did he even try? Does he care much?'" he said. "The story of my life: When I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way. If I win, it's the best thing."

People aren't as shocked as they once were, but it still doesn't feel right. It's too soon for that to be the real Roger Federer. Not yet.

Federer Still Can't Remember How to Be Federer

Roger Federer's worst enemy isn't his age. Or his balky back, at least at the moment. Or his small racket. Or the humidity. Or the fact that he was playing in Louis Armstrong Stadium for the first time since 2006.

His problem is simple, and it can be fixed, but it may take some time: Federer has, for a while now, forgotten how it feels to be Roger Federer.

At the U.S. Open on Monday, Federer, 32, turned in another distinctly un-Federer performance. He's making a habit of it, first with a quarterfinal defeat in Paris (hey, it happens, not a big deal); then a second-round loss at Wimbledon (that pretty much doesn't happen); then two upsets in Europe at small events to low-ranked players (worrisome); and now a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 fourth-round loss at the U.S. Open to Tommy Robredo, a man Federer had beaten all 10 times they had played (gulp).

Robredo's upset ensured that the U.S. Open will not see its first-ever meeting between Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have played 31 times in their careers but never in New York. (Nadal won his fourth-round match later in the evening and will play Robredo on Wednesday.)

Federer had plenty of chances, none more important—and potentially transformational—than a 0-40 advantage on Robredo's serve in the fourth game of the third set. Given a chance to rile up the crowd and make Robredo wonder if he really had it in him to pull off this upset, Federer steadied himself, pressed ahead…and missed on four consecutive points. For the match, he converted two of 16 break points.

"I missed so many opportunities," Federer said afterward. "I kind of self destructed, which is very disappointing."

Federer has missed more than his share of opportunities for a while now. He hasn't won more than 30% of his return games in a season since 2006 (this year, he was at 26% headed into the Open, the same as he finished with last year). Federer used to be deadly in such moments: He would miss, he would frame a few shots, but eventually, he'd unleash a barrage of winners for a few games in a row and end a set.

"It doesn't take much with him," Andre Agassi said after Federer beat him in the 2005 U.S. Open final. "He can break a match open, or he can get back into it right away."

Against Robredo, Federer flirted with a break out…and then he pressed. He missed forehands early in rallies. He came to the net too late, or too soon. He served and volleyed on second serves. His strategy was at best suspect, at worst incoherent. Just last month, he had won a set off Nadal in Cincinnati and seemed to be, finally, on the upswing. The defeat against Robredo was nothing less than a crash, and he seemed to know it.

"That's not how I want to play from here on," Federer said. "I want to play better. I know I can. I showed it the last few weeks, that there is that level. So today was pretty frustrating."

For the first time since 2002, Federer will go an entire season without playing in a major final. He's now ranked No. 7, and it might be tough to gain much ground this fall. He has said previously that he'll likely test a new racket after the Open, as he did this summer.

What Federer needs most, though, is a bit of luck. No pain in his back for a long stretch. A few generous bounces on break points. A good draw. A super-sized dose of confidence.

"It takes care of all the things you don't usually think about," Federer said. "It's been a difficult last three months."

Before Federer was Federer—back in 2002, when he was the most talented underachiever in all of tennis—he looked something like he does now. Beautiful one moment, and then astonishingly bad, or even worse, disinterested, the next. He remembers those days well.

"People thought, 'Did he even try? Does he care much?'" he said. "The story of my life: When I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way. If I win, it's the best thing."

People aren't as shocked as they once were, but it still doesn't feel right. It's too soon for that to be the real Roger Federer. Not yet.

Home fans did Isner few favors

NEW YORK -- One is a sucker for drama, and the other is one of the most weirdly appealing characters in the game.

So you knew something unconventional was in the air when American John Isner and Frenchman Gael Monfils took the court late Thursday night. With Isner up two sets, the New York crowd inexplicably turned on its own. It was a bizarre scene, eerie actually, like one of those WWE matches, when everything is going according to plan (er, script) until one tag-team member suddenly gives his partner a boot to the groin and then pounds on him for about 20 minutes for no apparent reason.

The fans began to cheer for Monfils, and it wasn't of the pity nature. If you weren't paying attention, you might have thought this was a Davis Cup tussle -- in Paris -- by the raucous noise from the crowd. Yes, the Americans were vociferously rooting for the bad guy.

Isner was noticeably affected. He dropped the third set without much fight and left the court, annoyed, sluggish and understandably confused. But when he returned, he pulled himself together, finally beating the Frenchman 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) to reach the third round of the US Open.

After Monfils dumped a forehand into the net on match point, Isner curled over, celebrated, almost defiantly, clenching his fists and spastically pumping his arms. He had showed that rogue crowd. The consensus was that they simply wanted more tennis. The night session had featured Caroline Wozniacki and Rafael Nadal, who dropped a combined six games in five sets. The fans were likely feeling flat from all the stodgy tennis over the past three or four hours.

They just needed an excuse to let loose.

"I noticed it," Isner said. "You know, [Monfils] is a fun-loving guy and an exciting guy to watch no matter where he is playing, but honestly it was a little bit surprising. I know the New York fans, they like to see long matches and fifth sets and whatnot, but it's not like there was no one cheering for me.

"I was a little bit disappointed in that, actually. Not going to sugarcoat it. It was certainly, if I was playing him in France, it certainly wouldn't be like that."

All this hoopla comes at a curious time. The U.S. men have been marred by disappointment for quite a while. This Open represents the 10-year anniversary since any American male (Andy Roddick) has won a Slam. And just three weeks ago, for the first time since computer rankings began in 1973, there was not one single American man in the top 20.

It didn't last long. Isner played some remarkable tennis leading up to the final major of the year, winning in Atlanta and finishing runner-up in Washington and Cincinnati. He entered the US Open ranked No. 17. In the opening round here, he took all that momentum and crushed Filippo Volandri 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 .

For the better part of two sets, Monfils played the kind of uninspired tennis that's kept him lingering in no-man's land for most of his career. He went through the motions, but his head seemed miles away. It looked as though this encounter was going to end with little buzz, if any.

But this is a guy who has a long history of histrionics. He has a beguiling game, one in which he can lethargically roam the court and then pull off stunning winners. He played well leading up to the US Open, winning 10 of his final 14 matches. He reached the Winston-Salem final just two days before this tournament began.

And with the crowd on his side, Monfils began to move with a little more zeal and made Isner work for every point.

"He enjoys atmospheres more than anyone else in the world," Isner said. "He wants to soak it up and play to the crowd more than anyone, really. That's just how he is.

"Like I said, he's a fun-loving guy and enjoys playing matches like that. For me, I didn't want to get involved in a little hit-and-giggle thing with him and try and get going back and forth, where I just wanted to stay focused."

In the end, it was Isner who played more aggressively than his opponent, swatting 60 winners and 23 aces in the match. He next plays Philipp Kohlschreiber, who, you guessed it, beat Isner right here in the same round one year ago.

 "That match last year was very disappointing for me how it went about," Isner said. "I sort of lost it in the fifth set there, but he's extremely solid. He's been so solid for so long now."

Clearly, Isner is going to need a little something extra to get through that match. The crowd, perhaps?

U.S. Open: Roger Federer rolls over Carlos Berlocq in straight sets in second-round action

The 32-year-old Federer, whose early exit from Wimbledon helped drop his world rank to 7 – his worst seeding position in a decade – is a five-time U.S. Open champion but hasn't won the tournament since 2008.

The supposedly mortal Roger Federer rolled over his second-round opponent at the U.S. Open on Thursday, dispatching unranked Argentine Carlos Berlocq, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, as he inched closer to a potential quarterfinal showdown with Rafael Nadal.

The 32-year-old from Switzerland, whose early exit from Wimbledon in June helped drop his world ranking to No. 7 — his worst position in a decade — said he is gaining confidence by the match.

“(It) might take just a few matches, and next thing you know you’re playing really, really good tennis again,” Federer said. “I think that’s kind of where I am right now, and that’s where every match is really important to me now and that’s how I play every single point right now.”

But Federer admitted it was a “straightforward” win for him.

“I hit the ball better today than I hit it I thought in the first round,” he said. “But then again, I had different opponents you know. Today my opponent was spinning the ball more, so playing with more height over the net, whereas my first-round opponent, he was hitting it flat and hard on each shot, so we had very little rhythm.”

Federer has won a record 17 Grand Slams titles, but none since Wimbledon last summer.

Hampered by a back injury earlier this year, Federer looked strong and comfortable in the half-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium, sending Berlocq sprinting along his baseline and lunging after Federer’s merciless drop shots. Throughout the match Berlocq grunted loudly, while the only sound emerging from Federer’s side of the net was the screech of his sneakers.

“He was playing very well, but you’ll have to wait and see how he does against the top guys to know where he stands,” Berlocq said through an interpreter.

Federer said he is aware of the likelihood he’ll meet his old rival Nadal soon, but doesn’t want to focus on it and end up losing in the round of 16 next, where Federer will face unheralded Adrian Mannarino of France.

Murray’s Victory Is Easy, but It Doesn’t Come Quickly

It was 9:55 p.m. Wednesday when Andy Murray finally took his first steps toward defending his United States Open title, on a soggy court, in front of a weary crowd, at the end of a very long, very trying tournament day.

It was somewhat fitting, considering how patiently Murray waited to win his first major title a year ago, that Wednesday’s schedule would drip by as slowly as it did, interrupted by multiple rain delays, pushing the afternoon schedule well past nightfall.

At last, three full hours after he was expected to stroll into Arthur Ashe Stadium — and almost 59 hours after the tournament began — Murray took the court, looking slightly ruffled. He had minimal difficulty putting away the Frenchman Michael Llodra, though, winning, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

“When the weather’s like that, it’s distressing for everyone,” Murray said. “You just want to get on the court and play. Whether it’s on Arthur Ashe or Court 15, it doesn’t really matter. You just want to play.”

And Murray-Llodra was only the penultimate match of the night in Ashe. The matchup between the 20-year-old Sloane Stevens and Urszula Radwanska began at 11:53 p.m., the second-latest start to a match in United States Open history, after a midnight start to a match on Sept. 2, 1987.

Stevens, the 15th seed, made quick work of Radwanska, 6-1, 6-1, in only 58 minutes to move into the third round.

In Louis Armstrong Stadium, James Blake fell in a fifth-set tie break to Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (2), just after midnight. If it was indeed the final match of Blake’s career, he certainly ended it in dramatic fashion.

Still, Blake, who announced Monday that he would retire at the end of this tournament, bowed out earlier than expected. But the 6-foot-10 Karlovic, known for his bazooka serves, ultimately wore Blake, a 33-year-old Yonkers native, down.

“There’s no good way to go out,” Blake said. “I won’t sleep a whole lot tonight. I definitely had opportunities and didn’t take advantage.”

Blake added: “It’s been a long road. I’ve had a good journey since I was a kid sneaking in here to now, leaving as a grown man.”

As if on cue Wednesday, amid all the discussion about how quickly the United States Tennis Association can build its retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, rain scrambled the schedule, bringing more criticism to a first round that stretched over three days for the men.

A lengthy early-afternoon rain delay was followed less than 30 minutes later by another, making Day 3 a test of patience. There was more intermittent rain in the evening.

It was the second day that rain had interrupted the tournament. By late afternoon Wednesday, tournament officials, hoping to get the men’s first round completed, had postponed eight women’s singles matches for the day, including No. 1 Serena Williams’s second-round meeting with Galina Voskoboeva.

That made Li Na one of the happier participants of the day. She took full advantage of her first-up position at Arthur Ashe Stadium to polish off a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in an efficient 64 minutes.

Li, the fifth seed, was safely in the locker room before the first delay, through to the third round before some of the men, including Murray, had taken the court for a single match.

Arvidsson managed a break of Li’s serve, but not much more, as Li played with a smile and a bounce in her step. She has rounded out her game with an eagerness to go to the net, which helps her use her speed to an even greater advantage. Against Arvidsson, she won 12 of the 17 points in which she rushed the net, looking as if she had played that way her whole career.

“I was pretty happy because at least I do what I have planned before the match,” Li said. “I follow the game plan.”

Li will next face Laura Robson of Britain, who knocked her out of the Open last year in the third round. Robson defeated France’s Caroline Garcia, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Asked why she lost last year to Robson, Li said she was not yet ready to win this tournament. Now, she said, she would like to see how far she has come.

“I would really like this challenge,” she said. “I can show myself after one year what I can do on the court.”

Venus Williams and Jie Zheng played only two points before they were ushered off the Armstrong court. After they returned, Williams, 33, staved off elimination from the tournament in singles as long as she possibly could. She lost, though, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Williams looked sluggish in her opening set but rallied back to even the match with a strong performance in the second. In the third set, Williams broke Zheng twice and held serve in a back-and-forth game to even the set at 5-5.

After a momentary rain stoppage, both players held serve to take it to a third-set tiebreaker, which Zheng went on to win. She committed 31 unforced errors to Williams’s 44.

“I just dug myself into so many holes the whole match,” Williams said. “I just fought as hard as I could to get out of them, but sometimes it wasn’t enough.”

Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska played the opener at Armstrong before the rain. But after taking the first set, 6-0, in 21 minutes, she found closing out the match against María Teresa Torró Flor of Spain a lot more difficult. The 7-5 second set took 66 minutes as Torró Flor got more of a feel for Radwanska’s first serve and her improved return caught Radwanska off guard.

Radwanska advanced to play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the next round. Pavlyuchenkova advanced with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over the qualifier Ashleigh Barty of Australia.

Radwanska and her sister, Urszula, have had enough turmoil just preparing for this tournament. Their grandfather died last week, so they traveled home to Krakow, Poland, for the funeral. They flew back to New York on Sunday.

“There are a couple of things in life more important than tennis,” Radwanska said. “Of course tennis is always a priority, but in this case, I just had to go home. It was easy decision because it was the moment I had to be back with my family.”

The men’s format, with a three-day first round, is almost certain to change as the tournament adjusts its schedule for the television contract’s move to ESPN in 2015. Sometime after that, Ashe Stadium should have a roof. For now, players are subject to the whims of the weather.

Marathon matches like the one between Juan Martín del Potro and Guillermo García-López do not help move things along, either. As their match stretched past four hours Wednesday, the fourth set went into a tiebreaker. Del Potro, the sixth seed, managed to win, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (7), but it was 9:15 p.m. by the time the match had ended.

The arena still needed to be emptied and refilled, and Murray and Llodra still needed to warm up after a three-hour wait. But finally, mercifully, Murray’s title defense could begin.

Only about here and now for Federer

NEW YORK -- The career arc of any elite athlete is unpredictable. There isn't a foolproof formula to accurately predict how a fledgling talent will fare in three, five or even 10 years.

Until 2003, Roger Federer's tennis existence was, let's say, tenuous. A former Wimbledon junior champion, he was blessed with exquisite talent but underwhelming results. His forehand flowed through the court with grace and violence, and he moved with unmistakable ease. But his Slam results belied the beauty of his game. In 14 appearances, Federer had lost in the opening round five times and failed to make a single quarterfinal. He was that guy. You know, the one who had no idea how to channel his art.

But then something extraordinary happened and he rose to kingly status at all-time rates. He won title after title … after title. Federer's Rolodex of records included 16 Grand Slam titles in eight years, while passing Pete Sampras as the all-time leader in major wins. When Federer wasn't collecting trophies, it was back-page news. His grip on the game was so strong, in fact, it looked like it would never end -- except for this: It did.

Slowly and painfully, it's become somewhat of a back-to-the-future journey for Federer this year. At Wimbledon, for the first time in 36 majors, he failed to make the quarterfinals when he fell to Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round, a result that marked the beginning of a pretty squirrelly summer. Perhaps it was an excuse to test out his new 98-inch-square frame, but Federer curiously played two ground-level tournaments after London, on clay no less, and lost to players ranked out of the top 100 in both.

But Federer, like most top-notch athletes, isn't consumed by any of these past plights. He's back here at the US Open and in front of his adoring fans. On Tuesday afternoon, a day after his opener was rained out, Federer drifted past Grega Zemlja 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 in a hasty 1 hour, 33 minutes.

"I decided also to play aggressive," Federer said. "By doing that, didn't have many rallies. It was more of a serving contest."

Federer finished his opener with 12 aces and hit more than twice as many winners as unforced errors (35-16). But it's early yet, and not until Federer wins a few more routine matches will he likely feel the worst is behind. For the first time in more than 10 years Federer has fallen out of the top five, and that means something to the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

"No. 7 I don't think is a huge drop from No. 4, but people are going to say what they like," Federer said before the tournament. "Important is that I concentrate on my game and, you know, that the passion is there, that I work the right way, that I'm prepared, and then that I feel like I can win a tournament.

"Then the ranking actually itself is secondary. But I have looked at the rankings my whole life. I used to be incredibly excited, you know, on Monday seeing how many spots my ranking went up or down."

Of course, looming in Federer's quarter of the draw is his biggest obstacle, the man from Mallorca who has trampled the field this summer. Rafael Nadal is 16-0 on hard courts in 2013, which includes back-to-back titles at Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. The two would meet in the quarterfinals.

"I think it's an exciting draw really, the section with Rafa being nearby," Federer said. "Plus we have never played here. I really hope, you know, from my side that I can make it. …

"But clearly when I come here I don't just look at trying to make quarters, you know. I'm clearly here trying to win the tournament."

Federer's next opponent is unseeded Carlos Berlocq, and should he get past Berlocq, the Swiss would, if things play out as expected, face American and 26th seed Sam Querrey in the third round.

After his win Tuesday, Federer appeared relaxed, unfazed by all the recent theater. He was asked about his diet and even weighed in on all the recent roof rhetoric: "I'm very happy for tennis in general. For you guys, for the fans, for the players who are going to be able to enjoy all of that," he said. And then, of course, Federer was (wink, wink) grilled with a few James Blake retirement queries, a set of questions cleverly designed to get him to talk about his own future.

But Federer wouldn't take the bait. It's about only the US Open and right now.

"Clearly when you win everything, it's fun," Federer stoically said. "That doesn't necessarily mean you love the game more. You just like winning, being on the front page, lifting trophies, doing comfortable press conferences. It's nice."

Nice, especially after one of those rare wins lately.

U.S. teenager stuns Stosur

This is why we love the US Open: You never really know what's going to happen. When an under-the-radar teenager is going to come whistling out of nowhere and score a stunning upset.

Thus, when Victoria Duval, a 17-year-old from Bradenton, Fla., took the second set from 2011 Open champion Samantha Stosur, the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium slightly lost its collective mind.

Later, after Stosur saved three match points, Duval found the gumption to collect the fourth and, with a massive forehand cross-court winner, won 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

"This is the best I've played in my career so I'm really excited," she said afterward in an on-court interview.

Her voice was so young-sounding, it was almost hard to believe -- until you listened to the meaning of her composed words.

How did she do it in a 2-hour, 39-minute match?

"I just tried to stay in the moment," she said, voice breaking up. "I don't know … I'm really excited."

It was Duval's first win over a top-20 opponent and one of the great teenage wins here in recent years. Stosur had 56 unforced errors.

There have already been some freakish upsets here, but this was the biggest so far. The No. 11 seed and former champion is gone on the second day.

The match was 3-all in the second set when Stosur -- who historically is a nervy player in big moments -- cracked. At 15-40, she sent a horrific sliced backhand into the net to give Duval a 4-3 lead with a serve.

Duval collected only her third WTA-level victory of the year -- and her career. She is currently ranked No. 296 among WTA players. Last year she reached the semifinals of the junior tournament here.

Stosur has not lost before the quarterfinals in her past three US Open appearances.

Nick Bollettieri, Billie Jean King and former pro Kathy Rinaldi have all had a hand in Duval's development.

The return of The Donald

Six years ago, Donald Young was the 17-year-old junior champion at Wimbledon. And his future seemed limitless.

This year, he's not even in the ATP World Tour media guide.

But now, unlike some of the marquee seeds -- hello there, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Jerzy Janowicz -- Young is into the second round. And the way he got there is almost hard to grasp.

Young, who qualified his way into the main draw, then scalded Martin Klizan, a formidable Slovakian player, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 in a scant 80 minutes. The 24-year-old guy from Chicago who has never won an ATP-level title, who had won only two ATP-level matches this year, threw down the biggest, baddest victory in two days of play here.

"It's never happened," Young said, when asked if he had ever won a best-of-five match and dropped only two games. "It was exciting. I was in the right place at the right time."

Young, who was once ranked as high as No. 38, now finds himself as the 16th-ranked American man, at No. 157. He said he would let the rest of the tournament determine the rest of his season. If he can win another match or two and raise his ranking close to No. 100, he'll go play the Asian fall swing. If not, it's Challengers in the United States.

"I want to be in the conversation," he said, sounding like he meant it. "Right now, I have to work my way through."

The Jerzy boy goes down

Remember Jerzy Janowicz, the revelation of Wimbledon?

He got to the semifinals at Wimbledon, losing there to eventual champion Andy Murray. And then the 22-year-old from Poland came to the US Open … and got waxed by qualifier Maximo Gonzalez.

The score was 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and the hard-serving Janowicz had all of three aces. In the fifth game of the third set, he actually served one underhanded.

Turns out there was a reason: a lower back injury.

In a small news conference afterward, Janowicz said he sustained the injury Saturday in practice and underwent acupuncture treatment more than once. He had "strong" pain-killing injections before the match.

He called his serve, "my push, I wouldn't call it a serve," he said.

The pain, he said, felt "like a knife in my back."

Etc.

Jack Sock, a 20-year-old from Lincoln, Neb., advanced to the second round when Germany's Philipp Petzschner retired in the third set of their match. The score was 7-6 (2), 3-6, 5-2. "It was good," Sock said later. "It was a great feeling to be back playing here in New York at the Open. Always look forward to coming back. Was fortunate enough to get the win. Bad luck for him, but obviously happy to move on and advance in the draw." … Christina McHale was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Julia Goerges and Sachia Vickery handled Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4, 6-4. … No. 7 Petra Kvitova defeated Misaki Doi 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, an unremarkable result for the 2011 Wimbledon champion. Except that more than half of her matches have gone the distance this year. Indeed, 30 of her 59 matches have now gone three sets -- a high for WTA players and a remarkably large number for a top-10 player. … No. 4 seed Sara Errani defeated Olivia Rogowska 6-0, 6-0 in 51 minutes. Rogowska won all of 23 points. The diminutive Italian must have seen ESPN.com's Experts' Picks for this US Open. Seven of 11 prognosticators had her as the first of the top eight seeds to depart the tournament. … No. 25 seed Grigor Dimitrov lost in five sets to Joao Sousa, so, presumably, we won't be seeing his girlfriend, Maria Sharapova, much over the fortnight. She pulled out before the tournament, citing a sore right shoulder. … No. 10 seed Milos Raonic beat Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-3. … No. 6 seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Ying-Ying Duan 6-2, 7-5. … Bojana Jovanovski beat 2011 US Open quarterfinalist Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-4. …American Varvara Lepchenko lost 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5) to Alexandra Dulgheru.