Roddick, Federer reach U.S. Open third round
2008 U.S. Open
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Results:
- | Murray wins
- |
- | Men | |
- | Women | |
- | Men | | Men
- Day 4: Ivanovic ousted | 3: Men | Women
- Day 2: Men | Women | |
Analysis:
- Cronin: Federer's back in the mix
- Pierce: One thing missing for Federer
- Cronin: Serena's hard work pays off
Others:
- PHOTOS: Men's final | Women's final | Day 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
- PHOTOS: U.S. Open fashion
- Singles draws: Men's | Women's
- Results: Men Women | Ranks | Schedule
Partners:
Facing a big deficit, staring at what would have been a big upset, Roddick suddenly changed everything against a younger, less-experienced, less-accomplished version of himself at the U.S. Open.
Roddick, the 2003 champion, used a seven-game run after trailing by a set and a break to come back and beat unseeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 at the hard-court Grand Slam tournament in a second-round match that began Friday night and finished after 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Also a winner on Friday was four-time defending champion Roger Federer, who defeated Thiago Alves 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Like Roddick, Gulbis relies on a powerful serve and stinging forehand, two key strokes that allowed the 40th-ranked kid who never has won a tournament title — much less a major championship — appear on the verge of a breakthrough victory.
Also like Roddick, Gulbis is prone to mental lapses. As much talent as Gulbis has — he did, after all, reach the fourth round at last year's U.S. Open and the quarterfinals at this year's French Open — he has yet to show any consistency. That is why he entered this match with a 32-34 career record.
There's one other, coincidental, thing they have in common: Both players celebrated birthdays Saturday, Roddick turning 26, Gulbis 20. In truth, of course, only Roddick was able to celebrate fully.
"He was definitely outplaying me for the first two sets. I felt like a little kid out here playing against him," Roddick said. "And then the clock struck 12, and I started playing, well, as a 26-year-old."
As Roddick struck the ball better and better, the frequency of Gulbis' winners dipped while the frequency of his errors rose substantially.
Roddick gathered himself after taking out his anger on his racket when two groundstroke errors allowed Gulbis to break for a 4-3 lead in the second set. Soon after it was 5-3 for Gulbis, who then got to serve for a two-set lead at 5-4.
At 30-all, with Gulbis having gone 14-for-15 on points at the net until then, Roddick smacked a forehand passing shot on the run to earn a break point. The American might have had reason to doubt his chances there, given that he was 0-for-4 on break points so far. But Roddick finally came through when Gulbis sailed a forehand long.
"I was disappointed in the second set. I think I should have finished it," Gulbis said. "I wouldn't have won the match already. But it would have been a big step."
Instead, Roddick took seven straight games to take control.
Gulbis dictated play throughout and ended up with far more winners, 79 to 42, and unforced errors, 60 to 21. But the eighth-seeded Roddick never faced a break point in the third or fourth set.
"Tonight was probably one of those ones I won on effort," Roddick said.
He's had a tough season, having lost in the third round of the Australian Open, pulled out of the French Open because of a right shoulder injury, then bowed out at Wimbledon in the second round.
Roddick bypassed the Beijing Olympics, hoping to be better prepared for the U.S. Open by staying on this side of the world. His U.S. Open nearly ended quite early, but he credited the partisan crowd with helping.
"You guys kept me in there when I was losing my head," Roddick told the Arthur Ashe Stadium fans at match's end. "If this crowd comes with me the whole way, who knows?"
At the end of the Federer-Alves match, Federer flicked a final winner, trotted to the net and started to shake hands. Then, there was one last challenge.
Playfully, Alves called for a replay review.
So the man trying for his fifth straight U.S. Open title and an overmatched qualifier shared a laugh, watching together as the giant scoreboards above Arthur Ashe Stadium confirmed the call.
Federer swept a guy ranked 137th, someone who spent this year in the minors and was playing his first tour-level event of the season. Still, it was hardly a breeze.
"The depth in men's tennis is immense," Federer said.
Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko also advanced.
Federer is down to his last chance to win a Grand Slam this year, part of a tough season that saw him lose his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal.
Though they well could meet in this final, Federer has not tracked his nemesis through the tournament and didn't watch Nadal wrap up his match Thursday night in straight sets.
"I schedule my life around my life, not his," Federer said, smiling. "I was expecting five sets. I was there for four and five, but he wasn't there anymore."
To Alves, Federer remains on top.
"He is the biggest player for sure. Nadal is playing good tennis this year, but for me Federer is the best one," he said.
And did Federer seem vulnerable?
"No. I didn't feel that," Alves said.
Never a huge fan of replay, Federer hardly minded when Alves made that last challenge.
"I don't think it's affected a whole lot of matches. I don't know how many times it's saved a match, because that's what it's there for really. But at the big tournaments at the big courts, usually you have the best linespeople as well," Federer said.
"The worst linespeople are usually on the outside courts where you need it more. That's the problem with the system," he said.
Third-seeded Djokovic beat Robert Kendrick 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4 and fifth-seeded Davydenko beat Agustin Calleri 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Fifth-seeded Dementieva beat Anne Keothavong 6-3, 6-4.
Gilles Muller and Jarkko Nieminen each rallied from two sets down to win. Muller, who once beat Roddick at the U.S. Open and Nadal at Wimbledon, defeated Tommy Haas 2-6, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3, and Nieminen topped Ivo Minar 6-7 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
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