| content |
Contents |
Preparations
The International Tennis Federation and United States Tennis Association offered audiences a number of new ways to access the Open in 2008. A YouTube channel was set up to broadcast highlights, and the official US Open website featured hourly updates of what was happening at the tournament. Multiple matches could be accessed at any one time, on handheld video devices courtesy of American Express. In celebration of the 40th anniversary since the US National Championships became "open" to professionals, a special opening ceremony was held, showcasing all the singles champions of the previous 40 years, with over two dozen of them in attendance. The ceremony was hosted by actor Forest Whitaker and included musical performances from funk band Earth, Wind & Fire. In addition to this, fans were shown nightly video tributes, and a commemorative book was published.3 On August 23, the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day was held; Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Serena Williams led the player participation. Musical acts including the Jonas Brothers and Sean Kingston performed on this day as well.4
Day by day
Day by day summaries of the men's and women's singles events, with men's, women's, and mixed doubles exits also listed. Both the men's and women's singles draw are composed of 128 players, with 32 of these players seeded.
Day 1
Seeds progressing on the first day of play included David Ferrer, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, Stanislas Wawrinka, Gilles Simon, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Gael Monfils. Recent Olympic gold medalist, and new World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who acknowledged that he was suffering from fatigue post-match, advanced after being tested by qualifier Bjorn Phau;5 and Juan Martin del Potro, who entered the Open on a run of nineteen consecutive wins, and who, over the course of this run, had become the first player in ATP history to win his first four titles in as many tournaments, beat fellow Argentine Guillermo Canas. Together Nadal and del Potro had completed the longest winning streaks on the tour in 2008, with Nadal's run having extended to 32 matches.6 Americans James Blake (seeded ninth) and Donald Young treated the home crowd to a match spanning five sets, in one of the scheduled night matches, with Blake emerging as the victor.7 Juan Monaco and Feliciano Lopez were the only seeds who failed to progress.89
In the women's competition, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka, Patty Schnyder, Caroline Wozniacki, Francesca Schiavone, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Katarina Srebotnik, and Sybille Bammer all made safe passage in to the second round.10 Nadal's Olympic counterpart, Elena Dementieva, made hard work of her win against Akgul Amanmuradova,11 and former champion Lindsay Davenport, playing the US Open for the first time since her return to the sport from a break due to motherhood,12 beat recent Bank of the West Classic winner Aleksandra Wozniak13 in a comfortable two sets. Seeded losers included 2007 semifinalist Anna Chakvetadze, who lost to Ekaterina Makarova, making this her worst Slam finish in three years;11 Maria Kirilenko, who lost to Tamira Paszek; and Shahar Peer, who lost to Na Li 2–6, 6–0, 6–1.8
- Seeded players out: Juan Monaco, Feliciano Lopez; Shahar Peer, Anna Chakvetadze, Maria Kirilenko
Day 2
Day 2 saw the first round matches from the bottom half of the draw begin; Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco, Ivo Karlovic, Tommy Robredo, Igor Andreev, and Paul-Henri Mathieu all progressed.14 Defending champion and number two seed Roger Federer, playing his first Grand Slam since the 2004 Australian Open at a seeding lower than number one, beat Maximo Gonzalez 6–3, 6–0, 6–3,15 and Andreas Seppi, the thirty-first seed, triumphed in five sets (6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6, 6–3) over Hyung-taik Lee. Four seeds exited the tournament: Richard Gasquet, who lost in five sets to former world number two Tommy Haas; Tomas Berdych, who lost to home favorite Sam Querrey in a humbling 6–3, 6–1, 6–2 scoreline;16 Canada Masters runner-up Nicolas Kiefer, who retired at two sets to one and 4–1 down in his match against Ivo Minar; and Mikhail Youzhny, who withdrew due to a viral illness.141517
World No. 1 and top seed Ana Ivanovic, who had recently returned from injury, began her campaign with a hard fought win over Vera Dushevina, coming through 6–1, 4–6, 6–4. The Williams sisters Venus and Serena, both former champions, advanced with relative ease, as did in-form player and US Open Series winner Dinara Safina.1819 Agnieszka Radwanska, Agnes Szavay, Flavia Pennetta, Alize Cornet, Nadia Petrova, Nicole Vaidisova, Alona Bondarenko, Dominika Cibulkova, and former world number one Amelie Mauresmo all scored victories to enter the second round. However, eleventh seed Daniela Hantuchova suffered a heavy defeat to qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and thirty-first seed Virginie Razzano was also beaten.1418
- Seeded players out: Mikhail Youzhny (withdrawal), Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Nicolas Kiefer; Daniela Hantuchova, Virginie Razzano
- Seeded players out: Paul Hanley / Jordan Kerr20
Day 3
On Day 3, the remaining men's first round matches were completed.2122 Third-seeded Novak Djokovic, who had won the Australian Open earlier in the year, won in straight sets against Arnaud Clement, but was hampered by an ankle injury, for which he received courtside treatment. Andy Roddick produced a sterling performance to defeat Fabrice Santoro 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, and Nikolay Davydenko, who entered the tournament on a poor run of form was, by his own admission, surprisingly efficient in dispatching Dudi Sela 6–3, 6–3, 6–3.2324 Nicolas Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Radek Stepanek, and Marin Cilic won their matches to claim places in the second round, meaning that no seeds were knocked out on Day 3.21
In the women's second round matches, Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Lindsay Davenport,12 Katarina Srebotnik, and Sybille Bammer all recorded routine victories to reach the third round. Two players who faced greater resistance from their opponents were Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Jankovic, playing against Sofia Arvidsson, had match points in the second set, and eventually came through 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4. The match, which lasted two hours and forty-four minutes, left Jankovic unable to complete her warmdown. Kuznetsova meanwhile, had to come back from being 4–2 down to Sorana Cirstea in the first set, before winning in two. Fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, lost to Tatiana Perebiynis; Francesca Schiavone lost to Anne Keothavong, making Keothavong the first British woman to reach the third round of the US Open since Jo Durie's run at the 1991 Open;25 and Anabel Medina Garrigues lost to recent Wimbledon semifinalist Jie Zheng.26
- Seeded players out: Francesca Schiavone, Vera Zvonareva, Anabel Medina Garrigues
- Seeded players out: Jeff Coetzee / Rogier Wassen, Mariusz Fyrstenberg / Marcin Matkowski;20 Eva Hrdinova / Vladimira Uhlirova, Kveta Peschke / Rennae Stubbs, Maria Kirilenko / Flavia Pennetta, Yung-jan Chan / Chia-jung Chuang, Nathalie Dechy / Casey Dellacqua27
Day 4
The second round of the men's singles commenced, and David Nalbandian, Stanislas Wawrinka, Ivo Karlovic, Gilles Simon, and Juan Martin del Potro all reached the final sixty-four of the draw. Joining them was Rafael Nadal, who completed an imposing defeat over qualifier and world number 261 Ryler DeHeart, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4. Three seeds who faced sterner tests from their opponents were David Ferrer, who won a battling contest against Andreas Beck in four sets, Andy Murray, who was inconsistent in defeating Michael Llodra 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 7–6(7),28 and American James Blake, who was tied 4–6, 6–3, 1–0 with Steve Darcis before the Belgian's retirement. Two upsets occurred on Day 4: one involved Philipp Kohlschreiber, who retired against the Legg Mason Tennis Classic finalist of a fortnight previous, Viktor Troicki,6 at 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–0 down; the other saw Paul-Henri Mathieu beaten by American Mardy Fish 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.2930
In the second set of women's second round matches, world number 188 Julie Coin provided one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, as she defeated Ana Ivanovic, the World No. 1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3.313233 It was the earliest exit made by a top seed at the tournament since Maria Bueno's second round loss at the 1967 U.S. National Championships (Bueno received a first round bye), before the beginning of the Open Era.32 Ivanovic, who made a similarly unexpected exit at the Wimbledon Championships,34 conceded that she was not playing to the standard of a world number one. Coin set up a clash with Amelie Mauresmo, who bypassed the threat of Kaia Kanepi 2–6, 6–4, 6–0. Venus Williams eased to victory over Rossana de los Rios 6–0, 6–3, and sister Serena won in similar fashion versus Elena Vesnina, 6–1, 6–1. A top ten seed who had greater problems progressing was Dinara Safina, who was troubled by her own unpredictable manner of play in defeating Roberta Vinci 6–4, 6–3; Agnieszka Radwanska, Nadia Petrova, Flavia Pennetta, Alize Cornet, and Dominika Cibulkova also came through. Two seeded players who fell were Agnes Szavay, who lost to Tathiana Garbin 5–7, 6–2, 6–3, and Nicole Vaidisova, who lost to Severine Bremond.3035
- Seeded players out: Nicole Vaidisova, Agnes Szavay, Ana Ivanovic; Paul-Henri Mathieu, Philipp Kohlschreiber
- Seeded players out: Arnaud Clement / Michael Llodra (retirement), Max Mirnyi / Jamie Murray;20 Victoria Azarenka / Shahar Peer;27 Yung-jan Chan / Julian Knowle36
Day 5
Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko completed easy wins, over Thiago Alves and Augustin Calleri respectively, to reach the third round on the fifth day of play at Flushing Meadows. Novak Djokovic was forced into a first set tiebreak against American qualifier Robert Kendrick, and, after having been 6–2 up, faced two sets points in Kendrick's favor, before winning it 10–8; Djokovic then took the next two sets, 6–4, 6–4. Afterwards, Djokovic credited the first set win to his improved mental strength. Another top ten seed who faced problems in the early stages of his match was Andy Roddick, who eventually secured a 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 7–5 win over Ernests Gulbis. Fernando Gonzalez won in straight sets against Bobby Reynolds, despite sustaining an ankle injury; Tommy Robredo ended 2000 champion Marat Safin's participation in four; and Gilles Muller and Jarkko Nieminen, two unseeded players, won their matches after each having been two sets down. Other seeds to make progress were Fernando Verdasco, Nicolas Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov, Radek Stepanek, Marin Cilic, and Andreas Seppi.37
In the women's singles, Svetlana Kuznetsova became the second top five seed to be knocked out in the space of two days, as she succumbed to number twenty-eight seed Katarina Srebotnik, 6–3, 6–7(1), 6–3. Kuznetsova praised Srebotnik in defeat, saying that she had no qualms over her own performance. Jelena Jankovic, who was playing Jie Zheng, found herself in a similar predicament to Kuznetsova, in that she was facing a second difficult match-up in three days. Jankovic, however, prevailed, 7–5, 7–5, after a steadfast Zheng saved four match points in a final game that witnessed 11 deuces. Marion Bartoli reached the fourth round, beating veteran Lindsay Davenport, who would neither confirm nor deny whether she was on the brink of retirement. Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, and Sybille Bammer all continued their progress through the early rounds, and Caroline Wozniacki, the twenty-first seed and winner of titles in Stockholm and New Haven in the month leading up to the Open,38 upset fourteenth seeded Victoria Azarenka.3940
- Seeded players out: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka, Lindsay Davenport
- Seeded players out: Jonas Bjorkman / Kevin Ullyett, Pablo Cuevas / Luis Horna;20 Nuria Llagostera Vives / Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez;27 Chia-jung Chang / Daniel Nestor, Ai Sugiyama / Kevin Ullyett, Nathalie Dechy / Andy Ram, Zi Yan / Mark Knowles36
Day 6
Day 6 featured several upsets and lengthy contests, as four of the eight men's matches went to five sets, and five seeded players were knocked out. The win that the New York Times lauded as the greatest upset of the men's competition thus far, was Kei Nishikori's victory over 2007 semifinalist and fourth seed David Ferrer. Nishikori, ranked world number 126, won after Ferrer had staged a comeback from two sets down, and then saved five match points of his, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5. Aged 18, he was the youngest man to reach the fourth round at the US Open since Marat Safin in 1998, and the first Japanese man since Shuzo Matsuoka at the 1995 Wimbledon Championships to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.41 Nishikori set up a tie with Juan Martin del Potro, who stretched his winning run to 22 matches with a 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 triumph over Gilles Simon, who was seeded one place higher than him at sixteenth. Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka both came through in five sets, and both had to forge comebacks after having been 2–0 down in sets. Murray, who at one point was two points away from losing the match,42 defeated Jurgen Melzer 6–7(5), 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–1, 6–3; whilst Wawrinka beat lucky loser Flavio Cipolla 5–7, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–0, 6–4. Thirty-second seed Gael Monfils, who had reached the semi-finals of his last Grand Slam, the French Open, knocked out number seven David Nalbandian; unseeded Mardy Fish beat number nine seed and good friend James Blake;43 and the also unseeded Sam Querrey beat number fourteen Ivo Karlovic (all straight sets). Rafael Nadal also reached the fourth round.44
Milestones were also being set in the women's competition, as Anna-Lena Groenefeld (who beat number seventeen seed Alize Cornet) became the first qualifier to reach the fourth round of the US Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996. The Williams sisters continued their progression untroubled, as each won on the scoreline of 6–2, 6–1 (Venus against number twenty-seven seed Alona Bondarenko, Serena against number thirty Ai Sugiyama). Dinara Safina was again forced into a tough match, eventually beating teenager Timea Bacsinszky 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, after being two points away from losing the match in the second set.45 In the other matches, ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska eased to victory over eighteenth seed and recent Rogers Cup finalist Dominika Cibulkova, 6–0, 6–3; sixteenth seed Flavia Pennetta beat Nadia Petrova, seeded three places lower; Amelie Mauresmo ended the run of Julie Coin; and wild card Severine Bremond knocked Tathiana Garbin out of the tournament.46
- Seeded players out: Dominika Cibulkova, Alona Bondarenko, Ai Sugiyama, Nadia Petrova, Alize Cornet; Ivo Karlovic, David Nalbandian, Gilles Simon, David Ferrer, James Blake
- Seeded players out: Jonathan Erlich / Andy Ram, Julien Benneteau / Nicolas Mahut, Simon Aspelin / Julian Knowle;20 Elena Vesnina / Vera Zvonareva;27 Kveta Peschke / Pavel Vizner36
Day 7
On the day that marked the half-way point of the tournament, the men's third round matches were finished. Novak Djokovic, facing the number thirty seed and recent Pilot Pen Tennis champion Marin Cilic,38 was severely tested by the 19-year-old, but won through 6–7(7), 7–5, 6–4, 7–6(0) in four hours. Cilic continued to claw his way back into the match, as early breaks of serve by Djokovic in the final three sets were all nullified, and two match points were missed before he won. Roger Federer's win was in contrast to this, as he completed a comprehensive victory over number twenty-eight seed Radek Stepanek, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2; and Andy Roddick also made easier passage to the fourth round, defeating number thirty Andreas Seppi 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(4). Both of these players were particularly successful on their serves. Nikolay Davydenko also put in a consummate performance to beat twenty-sixth seed Dmitry Tursunov, 6–2, 7–6, 6–3. Fifteenth seed Tommy Robredo knocked out the nineteenth seed and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who was playing his first tournament since having knee surgery in May);2447 eleventh seed Fernando Gonzalez defeated Jarkko Nieminen in four sets; and number twenty-three seed Igor Andreev defeated his higher-ranked opponent, number thirteen Fernando Verdasco, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. Finally, qualifier Gilles Muller, who had not won three successive Tour level matches since July 2005 coming into the event, beat a second opponent after being two sets to love down (this time number eighteen Nicolas Almagro) in consecutive rounds, 6–7(3), 3–6, 7–6(5), 7–6,(6) 7–5.48
Number two seed Jelena Jankovic faced a third successive match in which she struggled to reach the next round, but came through against teenager Caroline Wozniacki 3–6, 6–2, 6–1. Jankovic, who faced a similarly stern test versus Wozniacki at Wimbledon,49 was sluggish in the opening set, but proved dangerous on the rebound, as she took the next two losing only three games, and played in a more aggressive manner. Elena Dementieva cruised to victory against Na Li, and fifteenth seed Patty Schnyder beat Katarina Srebotnik to reach her second US Open quarterfinal, her first having come ten years earlier. Notably, the other fourth round match played, between twenty-ninth seed Sybille Bammer and number twelve Marion Bartoli, matched the longest women's singles match on record at the Open, clocking in at three hours and three minutes—with Bammer prevailing, 7–6(3), 0–6, 6–4. Bartoli called the trainer twice during the match, and said afterwards that she had been ailed by a stomach bug and low blood pressure.50
- Seeded players out: Caroline Wozniacki, Marion Bartoli, Katarina Srebotnik; Dmitry Tursunov, Radek Stepanek, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Verdasco, Andreas Seppi, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic.
- Seeded players out: Martin Damm / Pavel Vizner;20 Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko27
Day 8
Rafael Nadal faced the first opponent, home favorite Sam Querrey, to cause him a palpable threat, as he came through 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(2), 6–3. Nadal struggled in the latter stages of the second set (which was the first one he dropped in the tournament), and up until the tiebreak of the third, putting in a subdued performance in which the quality of his serve wavered.51 An American who did progress to the quarterfinals was Mardy Fish, who beat number thirty-two seed Gael Monfils 7–5, 6–2, 6–2. Fish played an attack-minded match, hitting 49 winners and regularly utilizing serve and volley tactics. Meanwhile, in the men's night match between number six seed Andy Murray and number ten Stanislas Wawrinka, Murray secured an accomplished win (6–1, 6–3, 6–3), in what BBC journalist Piers Newbery called "one of the best performances of his career".52 Murray set up a clash with Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3.53
In the women's singles, fourth seed Serena Williams continued to make serene progress, as she defeated Severine Bremond 6–2, 6–2. Williams was highly successful on her first serve, with a conversion rate of 69%, and a points-won rate of 90%. Sister Venus, the number seven seed, set up a quarter-final clash with her, as she also completed an easy victory, over ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6–1, 6–3. Serena and Venus, who had recently played each other in the Wimbledon final (with Venus emerging the victor), expressed dismay at their seedings, which meant that they met at an earlier round than the final. The pair had previously faced each other in the Open final, with Venus winning in 2001 and Serena the following year.54 Also progressing was sixth seed Dinara Safina, who faced a difficult first set against Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7–5, 6–0. Safina, who had encountered several difficult opponents before this round, revealed afterwards that she was in tears directly before the match, due to the physical exertion she had endured thus far. However, coach Zeljko Krajan had persuaded her to play, and she told reporters of her relief at having done so. Flavia Pennetta also navigated her way into the quarterfinals (the first time that she had reached this stage of a Grand Slam), defeating Amelie Mauresmo 6–3, 6–0. Mauresmo, a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion, played an error-strewn match, in which she served 14 double faults and hit 40 unforced errors.55
- Seeded players out: Gael Monfils, Stanislas Wawrinka; Amelie Mauresmo, Agnieszka Radwanska
- Seeded players out: Mahesh Bhupathi / Mark Knowles, Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjic;20 Katarina Srebotnik / Nenad Zimonjic36
Day 9
On Day 9, two of the top three seeds, and the two finalists from the previous year, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, were severely tested. Federer, aiming for his fifth consecutive Open title, was playing twenty-sixth seed Igor Andreev in one of the scheduled night matches on the Arthur Ashe Stadium;56 he was victorious in five sets, 6–7(5), 7–6(5), 6–3, 3–6, 6–3. Federer struggled to break Andreev's serve in the opening two sets, whereas Andreev broke Federer in the first game of the first, and had seven break points in the early games of the second (Andreev had a low success rate overall, only taking advantage of two out of fifteen break points in the whole match). In the final set Andreev, at 4–2 down, had five further break point opportunities, but failed to convert any as Federer served out the match. Djokovic was also pushed to five sets, defeating fifteenth seed Tommy Robredo 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 in nearly four hours. Robredo broke Djokovic's serve at 4–4 the first set, before Djokovic won sets two and three with some ease. However, after having broken serve in the fourth, Robredo levelled the match at 3–3, prompting the number three seed to smash his racket, and be the subject of booing from sections of the crowd. Djokovic failed to convert break points at 5–5, allowing Robredo to forge a break of his own and take it to a fifth set. Djokovic was able to close out the match after breaking at 2–2 in the final set. Djokovic was beset by problems related to both a hip injury (for which he required two time-outs) and exhaustion, having been unable to sleep until 4.30 am (UTC-5) on Day 8 after his match with Marin Cilic. Robredo responded by saying, "I think that if you're not fit enough, then don't play." Djokovic set up a tie with sixth seed Andy Roddick, who easily beat eleventh seed and Olympic silver medalist Fernando Gonzalez 6–2, 6–4, 6–1; 2003 champion Roddick acknowledged that he would have to complete an upset to defeat Djokovic, despite Djokovic's admission that whomever he faced in the next round would be a fitter opponent.575859 Gilles Muller continued his unexpected run, as he defeated fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko in a demanding match that finished 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(10). Muller, who served twenty aces, became the lowest-ranked player, at world number 130, to reach the quarterfinals of the Open since Nicolas Escude (rank 136) in 1999, and the lowest-ranked at a Grand Slam tournament since Alexander Popp (rank 198) at Wimbledon 2003. He was also the first Luxembourgian to reach the quarterfinal stage of a Grand Slam.60
The latter stages of the women's tournament began, as the quarterfinal matches in the bottom half of the draw were played. Fifth seed and 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva progressed first, defeating the fifteenth seed Patty Schnyder with a competent display, 6–2, 6–3. Dementieva won the first set with two breaks, and although Schnyder broke back to level at 3–3 in the second, Dementieva won the next three games. Jelena Jankovic, a semifinalist in 2006, joined her, completing an easy 6–1, 6–4 win over twenty-ninth seed Sybille Bammer, who was playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Jankovic, whose match was relocated to the Louis Armstrong Stadium after the Federer-Andreev match overran, was one of four players, along with Dementieva, Serena Williams,61 and Dinara Safina46 who stood a chance of claiming the World No. 1 spot at the end of the tournament.62
- Seeded players out: Tommy Robredo, Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Fernando Gonzalez; Patty Schnyder, Sybille Bammer
Day 10
The first two quarterfinal matches of the men's singles were played; top seed Rafael Nadal and sixth seed Andy Murray advanced to set up a match versus each other. Murray, who played first, defeated seventeenth seed Juan Martin del Potro, and ended del Potro's 23-match winning streak in the process. Murray endeavored to victory in nearly four hours,63 with the final scoreline at 7–6(2) 7–6(1), 4–6, 7–5. There was a history of antagonism between the pair, despite having only played once before, at the 2008 Rome Masters;64 in this match, del Potro had allegedly hit a ball straight at Murray, and not apologized, and later insulted Murray's mother.65 In the first set, Murray raced ahead, and led 4–1 before del Potro went on to win the next four games. Murray then broke back, and dominated the tiebreak that took place shortly afterwards. In the second set, it was Murray who broke late in the set, at 5–5, and he had an opportunity to serve for the set. Although del Potro broke back, Murray again eased through the tiebreak. Murray accelerated to a 3–1 lead in the third set, but del Potro fought back, and won the set, affording Murray only one more game. The players exchanged two breaks of serve in the final set, before Murray gained a decisive break at 6–5 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. Murray said the history of ill feeling between the pair did not transfer itself to the court, and that del Potro had apologized as the players shook hands at the end. The nineteen-year-old del Potro, who was playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, hailed Murray as one of "best players in the world" in his press conference; however, he was unable to finish the round of questioning, and left mid-way through in tears.666768 In the match between Nadal and the unseeded American Mardy Fish, Fish continued to play the attacking brand of tennis that he had done in the previous round, and, in front of a partisan home crowd, won the first set 6–3. However, Nadal improved his performance in the following three sets, and produced a number of passing shots to counter Fish's aggressive play, eventually coming through 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2.66 Due in part to the longevity of the Williams-Williams match,69 the players remained on court till after 2.11 am,70 meaning that the match was sixteen minutes shy of the latest match ever played at the Open.68
The late women's match was between the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, both of whom had won the Open title twice previously. Serena prevailed in two sets, 7–6(6), 7–6(7), but not without considerable difficulty. Venus took the initiative in the opening stages, breaking to lead 3–1, and had the advantage of serving for two sets points at 5–3, 40–15. However, Serena launched a comeback, and won the first set on a tiebreak score of 8–6. In a second set that mirrored the first in many ways, Venus broke at 3–2 up, and again served for the set at 5–3; Venus used an array of attacking shots, regularly approaching the net and playing a number of cross-court forehands. Venus then led Serena for a large portion of the second set tiebreak, but squandered eight sets points; Serena, meanwhile, won on her first match point to secure the tiebreak 9–7. Serena commented afterwards that the siblings were "definitely playing the best [tennis of the tournament] so far." Sixth seed Dinara Safina filled the other semifinal spot, defeating sixteenth seed Flavia Pennetta 6–2, 6–3. Safina, who had reached the final stage of six of her previous seven tournaments, said that she hoped to emulate her brother Marat, who won his maiden Grand Slam tournament at Flushing Meadows in 2000.71
- Seeded players out: Juan Martin del Potro; Flavia Pennetta, Venus Williams
- Seeded players out: Zi Yan / Jie Zheng27
Day 11
Day 11 featured a men's quarterfinal, between Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick, that, like the match between Murray and del Potro, was preceded, and in this case, followed by, a controversial incident somewhat extraneous to the match played. Roddick said, in a press conference held on Day 10, that Djokovic was "either quick to call a trainer or the most courageous guy of all time", insinuating that his opponent had a reputation for being injured (as he had been in his previous match) and, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, listed a series of esoteric conditions that Djokovic may have been afflicted with ("Back and a hip? And a cramp? Bird flu? Anthrax? SARS? Common cough and cold?").68 The American, renowned for his serve, struggled with this aspect of his game in the early stages of the match, and Djokovic broke three times in the first set, winning in 27 minutes; he then took the second, needing only one break of serve in that set. However, Roddick, who had the support of the home crowd to his advantage, broke to lead 3–1 in the third, and he eventually won the set. In the fourth set, Roddick appeared to have gained momentum after breaking Djokovic's serve to lead 4–3. Roddick was playing with increased exuberance at this point, and the crowd became more vocal, even making noise during Djokovic's service motions.72 Roddick's serve failed him again though when, at 5–4, 30–0 up, he doubled-faulted twice and allowed Djokovic to break back; the number three seed then went on to win the tiebreak and seal the win 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(5). Djokovic then vented his anger at Roddick's comments in a post-match, court-side interview, beginning by stating, sarcastically, "Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match; obviously I don't, right?" The crowd then began to boo Djokovic, to which he said, "Like it or not, it's like that." The interviewer, wanting to diffuse the situation, told Djokovic that, "This crowd loves you, but you could turn them against you real fast"; Djokovic responded by saying "I know [the crowd] are already against me because they think I am faking everything." In a later interview, Roddick criticized Djokovic for being able to mock other players with his impressions, but being unable to receive mockery of himself in a gracious manner; Djokovic showed contrition, calling it a "mistake" and apologizing to Roddick. Djokovic had set up a match with the player he lost to in the 2007 final, Roger Federer, who had earlier beaten qualifier Gilles Muller 7–6(5), 6–4, 7–6(5). The former World No. 1 produced a measured performance, attacking Muller in the latter stages of the three sets. Muller fended off five set points in the first, before being broken in the tiebreak at 4–4. Federer broke serve at 4–4 (games) in the second set, and then served that set out; Muller put up stronger resistance in the third set tiebreak, leading 4–1 and 5–3, but after this allowed Federer to win the next four points. With this victory, Federer maintained his sequence of consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, with this being the eighteenth time he had done so.73
- Seeded players out: Andy Roddick
- Seeded players out: Katarina Srebotnik / Ai Sugiyama27
Day 12
On women's semifinal day it was the two former World No. 1s, Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams, who came through in blustery conditions. For Jankovic, it was the first time she had reached the final of a Grand Slam, having made the semi-finals on four previous occasions. She was also the third Serb to reach a Grand Slam final in 2008 (men's and women's singles),7475 making them the most successful nation in this regard. She progressed first, defeating Elena Dementieva 6–4, 6–4. Dementieva was in the ascendency in the early part of the match, as she broke serve to lead 4–2 and dictated the play from the baseline. However, Dementieva began to hit more unforced errors at this point, and Jankovic took advantage of this, winning the next four games to secure the first set. On set point, which was on Dementieva's serve, Jankovic caused a minor controversy when she asked the ballboy for a towel, thus exceeding the 25 second time limit between points; she received a code violation (warning) from the umpire as a result of this incident.76 Both players struggled to hold serve in the early stages of the second set, and they traded two breaks apiece from 1–1 to 3–3. Both players then held serve to 4–4, before Jankovic broke at 5–4 to win the match.77 Dementieva had problems throughout the match; she was broken on serve five times,78 and committed forty-two unforced errors in total. However, she said that her recent Olympic triumph provided more than mere consolation, as she assigned a higher worth to the Olympic tennis event. Jankovic, who was in tears at the end of the match, had suffered a spate of injuries in 2008, and claimed that this was the first tournament of the year that she was injury free.76 Williams also won in two sets, defeating Dinara Safina 6–3, 6–2. Safina broke Williams in the first game of the match, but Williams soon asserted herself, and after having broken back, broke again to lead 5–3. Although Williams faced break points in this game, she eventually came through to win the first set. Safina, who was troubled by the wind for the whole match, was then broken after being 40–0 up in the first game of the second set. Williams eased to a 5–1 lead before closing out the match with a big serve. Williams told afterwards of her excitement of having an American player back in the final (the last women's singles final to feature an American woman was 2002, when, as previously mentioned, she and her sister played each other). Safina meanwhile, chastised her own behavior on the court, saying that she acted like a "spoilt girl" and would in the future try to contain her emotions.79
- Seeded players out: Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina.
- Seeded players out: Lukas Dlouhy / Leander Paes20
Day 13
Fears had been raised on the days leading up to Day 13 that this would be the date on which the north-east coast of the US would be affected by the remnants of Hurricane Hanna, and they proved to be correct. A substantial part of "Super Saturday" as it often known (due to the fact that the men's semifinals and women's final are played on the same day, and this is unique amongst the Grand Slam events),