And Wimbledon champ Roger Federer ends run of Tampa's James Blake.
By Associated Press
Published September 1, 2003
NEW YORK - Andy Roddick unfurled his body and unleashed a 140 mph ace that forced a line judge to duck as the ball slammed against the wall with a thud.
It was the loudest display Roddick produced Sunday in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Flavio Saretta to reach the U.S. Open's fourth round. Roddick was the picture of calm, without a trace of the antics he used to pull - and which his previous opponent, Ivan Ljubicic, derided.
Instead, it was Saretta who clowned around, staring at a line when he thought a call was incorrect, kicking the ball, flipping his racket in the air or cracking it on the ground. The No.4-seeded Roddick was all business.
"I've been playing like that the past three months," Roddick said. "I just kind of realized I didn't need to fight a mental battle every day."
Andre Agassi does not engage in antics these days, too concerned with saving every bit of energy and keeping track of each detail. So Agassi was not pleased about not being consulted when his third-round match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov was suspended almost 24 hours early in the second set.
Not that it mattered in the end: The top-ranked Agassi wrapped up a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory Sunday to set up an Old vs. Young meeting with fellow American Taylor Dent in the round of 16 today.
"For the match to get called, and to be the only match that didn't finish yesterday, I think was a mistake, an oversight in judgment," the 33-year-old Agassi said.
Everything seems to come effortlessly for Roger Federer, who moved closer to becoming the first man since Pete Sampras in 1995 to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year. The No.2-seeded Federer defeated Tampa's James Blake 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
The second set was memorable, with a 13-minute third game that featured eight break points and 10 deuces before Blake held serve. Federer had 20 break points total in the set but converted one when Blake dropped behind 3-2 with consecutive double faults. Blake drew even at 5-5, but the Swiss star was cooler in the tiebreaker.
Federer next faces No.13 David Nalbandian, who has won all four of their matches. Blake, meanwhile, leaves the National Tennis Center after another defeat against a top player. He was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt here each of the previous two years.
"It's getting a little frustrating. I've had some tough draws," Blake said. "I am getting tired of coming to the U.S. Open and playing great tennis and being known more for my losses than my wins."
Roddick, the only man to reach two major semis in 2003, lost three of 35 points during his service games over the first two sets Sunday. He avoided a break point until the match's last game. And he kept after Saretta's backhand - the unseeded Brazilian made more than 20 unforced errors on that side.
Nalbandian beat No.20 Mark Philippoussis 7-5, 6-7 (10-12), 6-3, 6-2 in a match between the last two runners-up at Wimbledon. Philippoussis out-aced Nalbandian 34-5, but had 74 unforced errors to the Argentine's 22.
The only past champion in the women's field, third-seeded Lindsay Davenport, defeated hard-serving Russian Nadia Petrova 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
Davenport spent 1 hour, 52 minutes on the court in the fourth-round match. She had won her first three matches in less than three hours. But in typical Davenport fashion, she smiled and gave a friendly wave to the energetic crowd when she was done.
It was a thoughtful show of appreciation for a crowd that stuck by her through the struggles. A tiny group of fans in the upper deck hollered "Let's go, Lindsay," and almost everyone in Arthur Ashe Stadium participated in the ensuing clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.
"The first set is how I wanted to play," she said. "I played real aggressive, was in control of the points, then slowly through the middle of the second set until the end I stopped being in control of points. I was making a lot of careless errors. Then she started serving a lot better. But, you know, the first set gives me a lot of encouragement."
World No.1 Kim Clijsters lost five points on serve in the second set and 13 total on the way to a 6-2, 6-4 win against 17th-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy. The four games Clijsters allowed in the second set were the most any opponent has taken from her. She has lost 18 games in all.
