American fans had their hopes high at this US Open. For the first time in over a decade, 4 US Players qualified to the round of 16 at the last Grand Slam of the season. Considering how Mardy Fish had played this summer it was clear that the top-ranked American was expected to make it at least into the semifinals. If he was going to make it, this was going to be his best chance. The 29-year-old had a great run on the fast surfaces this summer, including one title and two appearances in tournament finals and perhaps the highlight of the season: a win over Rafa Nadal. But like he said in the press conference his body just didn’t check in, and he lost a grueling 6-4, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 battle to the 11th-seeded Jo Wilfred Tsonga. So it will be Tsonga who will play Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The Swiss maestro made it into the quarterfinals by defeating 36th-ranked Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. This win represents the 30th consecutive time that Roger Federer qualifies into a Grand Slam quarterfinal. There was little hope for the Argentinean Juan Monaco against Federer. From the start it became evident that this was all going to be about the FedExpress. Federer played brilliantly from the first serve on. He took the first five games -- and 20 of the first 25 points -- in only 12 minutes. He didn't miss a beat in the second set, hitting four aces in his opening service game and finishing with 14. On Monday, Djokovic extended his 2011 record to 61-2 by beating No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 7-6 (14), 6-4, 6-2. That first set tiebreak was really the first time in the tournament that the No. 1 ranked player in the world was really tested, and truth is he barely passed. All an all, Dolgopolov made him work as hard as we’ve ever seen him work for a grueling 30-point tiebreaker. Novak Djokovic is 61-2 for the season. This is certainly one of the greatest starts in history. Djokovic has been remarkably consistent this year; the last time he lost to a player ranked outside the top 20 (Dolgopolov is at No. 23) was 10 months ago, when he fell to Michael Llodra in Paris. But the big question is still out there. Will his body respond after such a demanding season when he needs it most? I mean, he is still expected to find Roger Federer in the semis before probably playing the defending champion Rafa Nadal for the Championship. Now, the playesr have had to deal with high winds and now rain. Yesterday, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray got in about 15 minutes of tennis Wednesday before the matches had to be postponed because of the rain. These delays are going to complicate the schedule and make winning her an even harder feat. To win, a man on the bottom half of the draw such as Nadal, Roddick or Murray, would need to win four matches in four days. That’s a very heavy burden. It doesn’t mean things are much easier for the other half. Truth is that the men on the top of the draw, including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, had their quarterfinal matches postponed and are in for a long haul.
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