New York – James Blake certainly had his chances to avoid another fifth-set disappointment.
Seven times, he was two points away from victory Monday at the U.S. Open.
Three times, he was a single point away.
Blake failed to convert any of those match points, then played about as poorly as he did all day in the final-set tiebreaker and lost 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4) to No. 10 Tommy Haas in the fourth round.
“I was a little indecisive at the end there,” said Blake, who was 0-9 in five-setters until finally winning one in the second round last week. “Did come down to one or two points there. It’s frustrating I didn’t win them this time.”
The match ended a tad oddly, with a raucous, pro-Blake crowd hushed during instant-replay challenges on each of the final two points. While waiting for the final replay – which showed that Haas’ 113 mph ace was, indeed, in – the players smiled sheepishly at each other and approached the net for a handshake they knew was coming.
“I’m not going to celebrate like crazy right in front of him,” Haas said.
Blake and Haas ripped winner after winner from all angles, remarkably on target. Blake finished with 75 winners to only 38 unforced errors, and Haas’ ratio was 69-39.
The No. 6-seeded Blake’s defeat means this is the first U.S. Open since 1998 that there won’t be at least two American men in the quarterfinals. Andy Roddick is the host country’s last representative, and he figures the easy part of his tournament is over.
And, boy, has it been easy so far.
The 2003 champion strolled into the quarterfinals when No. 9 Tomas Berdych stopped playing early in the second set because he was having trouble breathing, meaning two of Roddick’s four foes at Flushing Meadows have quit in matches against him.
And both of Roddick’s matches that were completed, against men ranked 475th and 68th, were over in three sets.
Next up for the No. 5-seeded American: No. 1 Roger Federer.
Roger Federer lost the first set to Spanish lefty Feliciano Lopez, barely won the second, then trailed love-40 to start the third.
And then Federer won the next 35 points he served. That allowed him to take control of the third set and the match, coming back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Federer is 13-1 against Roddick, including victories in last year’s U.S. Open final and, most recently, in January in the Australian Open semifinals.
“It’s a great record, but it doesn’t help me,” Federer said. “We’ll see how it goes. Andy’s always tough at the U.S. Open.”
Federer not only has won 11 Grand Slam titles – he has reached a record 14 consecutive major semifinals and nine straight major finals.
“You feel the extra weight of most big matches. That’s just the way it is. But I’m excited. I expect a lot of myself,” said Roddick, who was ahead 7-6 (6), 2-0 when Berdych packed it in. “I don’t think anybody else really expects much from me.”
Haas, meanwhile, will face No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. Davydenko, at the center of a gambling probe being conducted by the men’s professional tour, eliminated Lee Hyung-taik 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.
U.S. Open
Top players on court today:
Men – No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 15 David Ferrer, No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 23 Juan Monaco, No. 17 Carlos Moya vs. Ernests Gulbis, No. 20 Juan Ignacio Chela vs. Stanislas Wawrinka.
Women – No. 1 Justine Henin vs. No. 8 Serena Williams.
TV: KCNC-4, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (live); USA, 5-9 p.m. (live).
Results
AT THE USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER, New York
MEN’S SINGLES
Fourth round
Andy Roddick (5), United States, def. Tomas Berdych (9), Czech Republic, 7-6 (6), 2-0, retired.
Tommy Haas (10), Germany, def. James Blake (6), United States, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4).
Nikolay Davydenko (4), Russia, def. Lee Hyung-taik, South Korea, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.
Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Fourth round
Svetlana Kuznetsova (4), Russia, def. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 6-2, 6-3.
Agnes Szavay, Hungary, def. Julia Vakulenko, Ukraine, 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Shahar Peer (18), Israel, def. Agnieszka Radwanska (30), Poland, 6-4, 6-1.
Anna Chakvetadze (6), Russia, def. Tamira Paszek, Austria, 6-1, 7-5.
MEN’S DOUBLES
Quarterfinals
Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, France, def. Robert Kendrick and Sam Querrey, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Julian Knowle (10), Austria, def. Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, 7-5, 6-4.
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Third round
Bethanie Mattek, United States, and Sania Mirza (16), India, def. Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur (2), Australia, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Nathalie Dechy, France, and Dinara Safina (7), Russia, def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, and Shahar Peer (12), Israel, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
