Federer breezes to quarter-finals in bid for 6th U.S. Open title
Women's No. 2 seed Ash Barty ousted in straight sets by Wang Qiang in New York
Roger Federer rolled into his 13th U.S. Open quarter-final on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 victory over David Goffin in New York.
"In a fourth round like this, if you can keep it nice, short, simple, you have to take them," Federer said.
Federer tied Andre Agassi for the second-most quarter-final appearances at the U.S. Open, trailing only Jimmy Connors' 17. He had been surprisingly stopped a round short in 2018 by John Millman, preventing what would have been a matchup with eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
WATCH | Federer Express rolls into quarter-finals:
Federer lost the opening set in each of his first two matches for the first time in his 19 U.S. Open appearances, but the No. 3 seed has been pretty perfect since while playing the first match of the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 15th-seeded Goffin broke for a 2-1 lead but that was about his last highlight, as Federer amassed a 35-8 advantage in winners and converted nine of his 10 break-point chances.
"I feel like I've had many good finals or moments where I just, like, I'm just not going to lose this match, I feel too good today," Federer said.
Federer will face Grigor Dimitrov, who swept past Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first U.S. Open quarter-final.
Women's field loses another high seed
Earlier Sunday, Ash Barty was knocked out by Wang Qiang, leaving only one of this year's major champions in the women's tournament.
The No. 2 seed and French Open champion was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Wang, who became the first Chinese woman to reach a U.S. Open quarter-final since Peng Shuai reached the semis at Flushing Meadows in 2014.
WATCH | Wang bounces Barty out of U.S. Open:
With Wimbledon champion Simona Halep already out in the second round, only top-ranked Naomi Osaka remains among the women who won a Grand Slam tournament this year. The defending U.S. Open champion also won the Australian Open in January.
No. 3 Karolina Pliskova is out, too, beaten by 16th-seeded Johanna Konta in three sets.
Osaka, who recently regained the No. 1 ranking that Barty held earlier this summer, was off Sunday after beating 15-year-old American Coco Gauff on Saturday night to reach the round of 16.
Barty won her first Grand Slam in Paris in June and reached the round of 16 in all four majors this season.
"Just because we've had a tough hour and a half on the court, it doesn't reflect on the year that I've had or the couple of weeks I've had here in New York," Barty said.
Wang, meanwhile, is into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her 21st try.
Serena Williams pulls out win after twisting ankle
Serena Williams seemingly was cruising along to a straightforward victory in the U.S. Open's fourth round when she took an awkward step while up at the net for a volley and twisted her right ankle.
She tumbled to the ground and sat there, cross-legged, right in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium for a few moments. Williams has dealt with various health issues all season, including one that ended her stay at the Australian Open.
Might that sort of thing be happening again? Williams immediately asked for a trainer, who added tape to her lower right leg and foot during a medical timeout at the ensuing changeover midway through the second set Sunday. Soon enough, Williams was back on course, beating No. 22 seed Petra Martic 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for her 11th appearance in a row.
WATCH | Williams fends off injury and Martic to advance:
"I just rolled it. I don't know why," said Williams, who will face No. 18 Wang Qiang of China next. "I was volleying and it just went over, so that was a little frustrating."
Never really slowed her down, though. A couple of points after falling, she got the last service break she would need with a drop volley winner that made it 3-2.
She ended this match by raising both arms after smacking an ace at 118 mph, her fastest of the afternoon, punctuating an overpowering performance that included 38 winners to Martic's 11.
"It's been a rough year with injuries," said the 37-year-old Williams, who owns six U.S. Open titles and 23 Grand Slam singles trophies in all, "so I thought, 'Oh, no, not again!'"
Medvedev salutes jeering crowd
Daniil Medvedev has a message for the U.S. Open fans who boo him: Just keep it coming.
Medvedev stood in the middle of Louis Armstrong Stadium after his 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (2) fourth-round victory over Dominik Koepfer and, arms outstretched, drank in the boos that rained down on him from fans who apparently still hold a grudge over his previous match, when he angrily snatched a towel from a ballperson and flashed his middle finger by the side of his face.
The fifth-seeded Russian once again threw it back at the crowd WrestleMania style, explaining that he had an aching shoulder before the match but was motivated to go out and play by those in the crowd who came out to boo him.
"You give me so much energy to win — thank you!" he said. "You are the best!"
The near-capacity crowd was clearly behind Koepfer, a German qualifier and former standout at Tulane who made Medvedev work with deep, lefty forehand drives and sharply angled winners. Several times, the fans broke out in spontaneous chants of "Let's go Koepfer! Let's go Koepfer!"