NEW YORK – Still living his dream, qualifier Gilles Muller on Tuesday turned Nikolay Davydenko’s US Open into a nightmare.
In yet another shocker, Muller continued his remarkable run by upsetting the fifth-seeded Russian 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6 (10) and becoming only the second qualifier to reach the quarterfinals of America’s premier tennis tournament. Nicolas Escude did it in 1999.
With the victory, the left-hander from Luxembourg moves into the semifinals where he will take on defending champion Roger Federer, who struggled before outlasting hard-hitting Igor Andreev 6-7 (5) 7-6 (5) 6-3 3-6 6-3.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic also was pushed to the limit before surviving Tommy Robredo 4-6 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-3. His quarterfinal opponent will be eighth-seeded Andy Roddick, who had an easy time beating Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 6-4 6-1.
“It’s true I have nothing to lose, but on the other hand I have a lot to win,” said Muller, who came into the US Open ranked 130th in the world. “There’s still some pressure, but it’s easier to deal with the pressure to win something than to lose something.”
Playing serve and volley, the first player, man or woman, from Luxembourg to reach this deep into a Grand Slam tournament, controlled the tempo as he outplayed Davydenko. He won the opening set when Davydenko, struggling to find his rhythm, sprayed the ball around the court, committing several unforced errors.
Whenever the Russian appeared to be close to taking control, Muller found an answer. He hammered 20 aces, changed pace constantly and kept the pressure on with his many trips to the net for crisp volleys.
“I don’t know if I can say now if Nikolay played bad or good today, but what I can say is I think I played one of my smartest matches today,” Muller said. “I just kept changing the pace. I played a lot of slices, which he doesn’t like, and then I went with the high ball.
“I changed my serve all the time. I changed spin, then slice.”
In the fourth-set tiebreak, the two battled to 10-10 before Davydenko double-faulted, taking Muller to match point. With Muller at the net, the Russian rifled a passing shot down the line, but it caught the top of the net, bounced high and fell on Davydenko’s side of the court.
Muller threw up his arms in triumph as Davydenko tossed his racquet to the court in disgust.
“I can beat everyone, and I can lose to everyone,” Davydenko said. “Today, he was playing good, and normally I have a chance to win, but I didn’t. What can I say?”
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Both Federer and Djokovic, ranked second and third in the world, respectively, struggled mightily to survive and gain quarterfinal berths.
Federer appeared to be the player who has yet to win a major tournament this year, not the one who dominated the sport for most of the past four years. He repeatedly missed his backhand and drove his forehand into the net over and over.
A lot of that was because of how well Andreev played.
“It definitely was a great match,” said Andreev. “I really enjoyed playing. When you play five sets against Roger, good tennis. For me, it was a great experience.”
The two traded tiebreak sets. And when Federer won the third set, it appeared he was back to being the player who has won the last four US Opens.
The crowd, solidly behind Federer, failed to take into account the fire in Andreev’s makeup and the firepower in his racquet. Pounding his ground strokes deep into the recesses of the court, Andreev refused to fold.
“He’s a risky player from the baseline,” Federer said of his foe. “He takes incredible chances, especially with his forehand. … I think he played a good match from beginning to end.”
But with the match on the line, Federer picked up his game and sealed a spot in the quarters.
“I didn’t think I was playing that bad in the first set,” said Federer. “He just got off to a great start and I was always running behind. Actually I felt I was hitting the ball OK, serving well, and just needed a little bit of luck here or there, and maybe an error him.”
Djokovic was hampered throughout his match with physical problems, including injuries to his left hip and ankle, as well as Robredo, a hard-hitting Spaniard. And at times the Serb right-hander seemed to be out of shape and trying to catch his breath.
“Physically he was fitter than me,” Djokovic admitted. “And winning that fourth set, he gained confidence. So he was really going for his shots.
“But somehow I managed to really stay focused and play the right shots at the right time.”
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