New York: Ekaterina Makarova pulled off another upset of the tournament when she thrashed two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka during a quarter final match of the US Open, on Wednesday.
The 17th seed Russian beat 16th seed Belarusian 6-4, 6-2.
Earlier, Roger Federer rolled into the quarter finals of the tournament for the 10th time in 11 years on Tuesday, while experience finally got the better of youth at the year’s final Grand Slam.
Five-time champion Federer powered his way past Spain’s Roberto Bautista 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, the 33-year-old raising his record on Arthur Ashe Stadium court to a dazzling 25-1.
Facing Federer for the first time, the 26-year-old Spaniard quickly found himself 5-1 down in the opening set to the 17-time Grand Slam winner, who then eased off the gas and coasted to an unflustered straight sets win in just under two hours.
Caroline Wozniacki used her aggressive groundstroke game to near perfection and pummelled Italy’s Sara Errani 6-0, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals. The 10th seed reached the last four at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2011 by beating Errani at her own strategy, engaging in long baseline rallies but using superior power to open the court and find lanes for winners.
Dane Wozniacki walloped winners of all varieties, belting 26 of them to just 12 for her Italian opponent, who looked dazed and confused at times on court.
The match ended when an Errani forehand hit the net tape and flopped back on her own side of the net and the strains of “Sweet Caroline” began to serenade Wozniacki over the loudspeaker.
“It’s been a pretty up and down year for me,” said Wozniacki, whose two-year relationship with world No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy ended this year just days after their wedding invitations were sent out.
“To be here in the semi-finals of the US Open once again is an incredible feeling. Definitely, hard work pays off. I’m here and I’m so happy.”
On another sweltering day at the US National Tennis Center, three emerging talents and potential Grand Slam winners of the future were finally ushered to the Flushing Meadows exit.
Chinese doubles specialist Peng Shuai routed 17-year-old Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1, Tomas Berdych thrashed 20-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, and Frenchman Gael Monfils schooled 23-year Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (6), 7-5.
Monfils put aside his showman antics for a more workmanlike approach to his fourth round match and it resulted in victory over the player dubbed “Baby Fed” for his all-around game that resembles Swiss maestro Federer’s.
Frenchman Monfils, seeded 20th, returns to the quarter finals for the first time since 2010 for a date with Federer.
“He’s got easy top 10 potential,” said Federer of Monfils, who has yet to drop a set. “He’s a great mover. He’s got a wonderful serve, really, which nobody really talks about because of his athletic movement, which stands out so much.
“His issues have really been just his fitness and his setbacks he’s had because of injury. Then sometimes maybe not wanting to play sometimes because of reasons only he can explain.
“I think I can speak on behalf of so many players: We love watching him play.”
It was not all joy for the French contingent on Tuesday with Gilles Simon losing to big-serving Croat Marin Cilic.
Cilic and Simon have played a combined 49 five-setters in their careers so it was no surprise that Tuesday’s meeting between the two went the distance.
Cilic had won a five-set marathon over Simon earlier this year at the Australian Open and it was the 14th seeded Croatian coming out on top again 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
While Cilic and Simon battled it out for over four hours in the heat, Federer, Monfils, Berdych, Peng and 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki conserved energy by registering straight-sets wins.
Peng, 28, delivered a 64-minute master class to 2013 junior world No. 1 Bencic in an unlikely quarter final between unseeded players.
