Roger Federer had to fight to maintain his flawless record over James Blake, struggling to beat the American crowd favorite for the fifth time with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-0, 6-7 (9-11), 6-4 win to advance into the final four of the US Open.
Federer, fighting 20,000-plus fans heavily in the corner of New York state-born Blake, was derailed on Thursday as he served for victory in the third-set tiebreaker as well as in the fourth set while up a double break.
Blake struggled to gain a modicum of satisfaction as he lifted his career first set off the Swiss.
PHOTO: EPA
But the Federer style and power came to the fore at the end to get the job done as the world number one moved into a semi-final against seventh seed Nikolay Davydenko.
unknown
The anonymous grinder called on all of his reserves to struggle through a comeback, becoming the second Russian into the final four with a 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over German Tommy Haas.
PHOTO: EPA
Federer flirted with a minor disaster in a tumultuous opening set that lasted more than an hour as Blake forced the Swiss to save three set points.
That mission accomplished, Federer put on a master class with a love second set and a break off Blake for 5-3 in the third.
But the American found a way to rally for a break-back and leveled at 5-all as the struggle for survival that characterized the encounter began to play out.
PHOTO: EPA
Blake fought like a wildcat to claw back, saving a Federer match point as the Swiss served for victory in the tiebreaker. Federer finally came through in four sets, thanks to seven breaks, 59 winners and a dose of courage.
The Swiss has now beaten 27-straight American opponents while Blake, a quarter-finalist last year, dropped to 1-8 against No. 1 players.
"It was tough from both sides," said Federer, who is 29-4 at the Open and last lost at the event in the 2003 round of 16. "We played good tennis and it was great, even if the crowd was tough on me."
"It was tough serving for the match," he added. "It took awhile today. There were some momentum shifts. It suddenly became a very difficult match. I expected a struggle, and that's what I got."
Blake admitted that the cheering masses were on his side: "Roger was playing against the whole crowd, and he did a great job."
"Against anyone else in the world, I like my chances here, but Roger stepped up his game at the right time. The second [love] set was a good old-fashioned beating. I'm proud that I stepped it up even when I was down a break in the third. I never felt out of the match," he said.
russian revival
Davydenko, who this year has taken off only one week in July from the nearly year-round tennis grind, joined compatriot and Davis Cup teammate Mikhail Youzhny in the final four.
"I could have lost in three sets," the winner said. "Haas played very well. He was serving great. I had no chance to break him early the match."
On Wednesday, Youzhny stunned second seed Rafael Nadal while Davydenko recovered from a two-set deficit after performing identical heroics in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Bidding for his third final four at a major, Haas paid the physical toll in a third-straight five-set test.
Haas had lost seven-straight five-set matches coming into New York, but the 28-year-old began reversing his luck as he put out Robby Ginepri and Safin by going the distance.
"In the fifth set, for me, it was probably more physical than anything," the German said. "My body didn't feel as good any more."
"I couldn't really do the small steps to get to the balls. I was making too many unforced errors, and I couldn't cover the court as well as I did the first three, four sets," he said.
"I started thinking a bit too much," he added.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was