Federer outclasses Lopez, Haas ousts Blake

NEW YORK – Roger Federer responded to a stellar start by Feliciano Lopez with an even better finish to advance to the quarter-finals and a clash with old foe Andy Roddick at the US Open on Monday.

Three-times defending champion Federer earned a match-up with 2003 champion Roddick by defeating Lopez 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-4 in a two-hour slugfest on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 60th-ranked Lopez had Federer on his heels early, winning the first set with five aces and 11 winners.His dazzling display continued until Federer scored a break in the 10th game to win the second set and Lopez never recovered.Next up for Federer will be fifth-seeded Roddick, who was leading 7-6 2-0 when ninth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych retired with nausea and breathing problems in their fourth-round clash.The American said he felt sorry for Berdych but with a world number one Federer waiting in the wings, he added: “This is a lot better than being dead tired.”Also advancing were fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany.On the women’s side, winners included fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, sixth seed Russian Anna Chakvetadze and Israeli upstart Shahar Peer.The 25-year-old Lopez played as well as he could during the first two sets, causing the 23 000 in the cavernous stadium to squirm in anticipation of a monumental upset.But Federer won the second set and kept the pressure on his bewildered opponent.Federer committed just 12 errors during the 199 points played in the two-hour match.Lopez had 22 winners in the first two sets but only 12 thereafter.Kuznetsova needed only 74 minutes to dispose of awe-struck Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2 6-3 to reach the Open’s last eight for the first time since winning the title in 2004.She now faces unseeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who beat Ukraine’s Julia Vakulenko 6-4 7-6.Chakvetadze had 23 errors during a second-set wobble but defeated Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-1 7-5, and now faces Israel’s Shahar Peer for a place in the semi-finals.Peer, the 18th seed, reached her second grand slam quarter-final of the year when she brushed aside Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, third-round conqueror of 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, 6-4 6-1.Haas scored a mild upset when he defeated number six American James Blake 4-6 6-4 3-6 6-0 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-4, while Davydenko continued his march through the draw with a 6-1 6-3 6-4 triumph over South Korean Lee Hyung-taik.Davydenko, who will face Haas in the quarters, has not lost a set during his four Open matches.In a doubles upset, top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan were beaten 7-5 6-4 in the quarter-finals by 10th seeds Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Julian Knowle of Austria.Nampa-ReutersThe 60th-ranked Lopez had Federer on his heels early, winning the first set with five aces and 11 winners.His dazzling display continued until Federer scored a break in the 10th game to win the second set and Lopez never recovered.Next up for Federer will be fifth-seeded Roddick, who was leading 7-6 2-0 when ninth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych retired with nausea and breathing problems in their fourth-round clash.The American said he felt sorry for Berdych but with a world number one Federer waiting in the wings, he added: “This is a lot better than being dead tired.”Also advancing were fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany.On the women’s side, winners included fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, sixth seed Russian Anna Chakvetadze and Israeli upstart Shahar Peer.The 25-year-old Lopez played as well as he could during the first two sets, causing the 23 000 in the cavernous stadium to squirm in anticipation of a monumental upset.But Federer won the second set and kept the pressure on his bewildered opponent.Federer committed just 12 errors during the 199 points played in the two-hour match.Lopez had 22 winners in the first two sets but only 12 thereafter.Kuznetsova needed only 74 minutes to dispose of awe-struck Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2 6-3 to reach the Open’s last eight for the first time since winning the title in 2004.She now faces unseeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who beat Ukraine’s Julia Vakulenko 6-4 7-6.Chakvetadze had 23 errors during a second-set wobble but defeated Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-1 7-5, and now faces Israel’s Shahar Peer for a place in the semi-finals.Peer, the 18th seed, reached her second grand slam quarter-final of the year when she brushed aside Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, third-round conqueror of 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, 6-4 6-1.Haas scored a mild upset when he defeated number six American James Blake 4-6 6-4 3-6 6-0 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-4, while Davydenko continued his march through the draw with a 6-1 6-3 6-4 triumph over South Korean Lee Hyung-taik.Davydenko, who will face Haas in the quarters, has not lost a set during his four Open matches.In a doubles upset, top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan were beaten 7-5 6-4 in the quarter-finals by 10th seeds Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Julian Knowle of Austria.Nampa-Reuters