US Open Day 8: Men Follow Script, Women Still Unpredictable

The men's draw remained true to form and without any major surprises Monday, while the shambles that is the top half of the women's draw remained as stable as a a toothpick sculpture in a wind tunnel.

Here are some thoughts from each of Monday's eight fourth round singles matches, starting with the men:

Men's Top Half Fourth Round:

Roger Federer SUI (1) def. Tommy Robredo ESP (14) 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 -- What was supposed to be a routine victory for Roger Federer against an opponent he had never before lost to wound up being a routine victory for Roger Federer against an opponent he had never before lost to.  Funny how that works.  It took Federer some time to get his teeth into the match, but once he did he tore Robredo apart.  By the end Federer looked to be experimenting with some odd tactics, using the third set for practice as much as anything.  It's tough to know if or when Federer will be tested in this tournament more than Lleyton Hewitt tested him in the third round, but I for one would not be surprised if he hoisted the trophy without dropping another set.

Novak Djokovic SRB (4) def. Radek Stepanek CZE (15) 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 -- Stepanek had some trouble with a contact lens at 1-1 in the first set, and never seemed to recover.  Djokovic played decently well, but the story of this match was the disappointing effort from Stepanek, who was totally unable to.  The highlight of the match for Stepanek was that his girlfriend/fiancee/wife/whatever Nicole Vaidisova looked extremely content in her new role as a WAG cheering from the Stepanek, showing no visible signs of the meltdown her tennis has suffered for the past year or so.  The highlight of the match for everyone besides Stepanek was the post-match shenanigans between Djokovic and McEnroe, which you can read an account of here.

Fernando Verdasco ESP (10) def. John Isner USA 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 -- Isner got off to an incredible start in this match, winning 10 of the first 11 points.  But Verdasco found some inroads on Isner's serve, and was able to break four times, twice as many as Roddick could.  By the third set Isner looked exhausted from his previous five-setter, and was playing passive tennis from the baseline instead of coming in and attacking like he had to great effect in the first three rounds.  It was an underwhelming end to an extremely impressive tournament for Isner, one that will help him get into the top fifty for the first time.  Verdasco, for his part, makes only his second grand slam quarterfinal with the win.  He should have a decent shot against Djokovic, and could even be favored if their Wednesday afternoon match is played in hot conditions.

Robin Soderling (12) def. Nikolay Davydenko RUS (8) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, ret. -- The holiday weekend of retirements on the men's side continued into Monday, as Nikolay Davydenko threw in the towel down two sets to one against Robin Soderling.  Soderling had beaten Davydenko pretty handily at Roland Garros, so this "upset" in terms of seeding wasn't a surprise at all.  The surprise was the abrupt ending.  Davydenko had been moving well in the third set, and isn't known as someone who retires often in matches (save for that one time in Sopot...).  Soderling runs into Federer next in a match no one expects him to win.  It's a pity, because Soderling has been golden in the slams since his breakthrough in Paris, and has been in Federer's quarter both times since.

Women's Top Half Fourth Round:

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) def. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (6) 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) -- The two highest remaining seeds in the top half met in the fourth round in a classic WTA match-up of a counter-puncher who didn't have to do much but watch her more aggressive opponent make error after error.  Wozniacki had only 16 winners to Kuznetsova's 59, but Kuznetsova somehow made enough errors to stop herself from winning despite dictating play the entire time.  It's a big win for Wozniacki to be sure, since she has been knocking on the door of the late rounds of slams for a while without ever having anyone play as bad as Kuznetsova did to open the door and let her in.  Wozniacki is by far the highest ranked player in the top half and should theoretically have an easy road to the finals, but I have a feeling she won't make things easy for herself..

Melanie Oudin USA def. Nadia Petrova RUS (13) 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 -- At this point, the whole Oudin coming back from a set down to upset a big seeded Russian is hardly worth writing about, right? Oudin was solid again against another big, powerful Russian, outlasting Petrova after getting crushed in the opening set.  I was actually surprised at how well Petrova played, not expecting the oft-choking Russian to perform as well as she did out of the gate against the hot unknown American and her legions of fans.  Oudin faces a very different opponent in Wozniacki in her quarterfinal, switching from playing inconsistent attackers to a steadier counter-puncher.  Wozniacki was in a similar situation in Australia this year when she faced a streaking sentimental favorite in Jelena Dokic, a situation Wozniacki responded terribly to.  No verdict yet on whether that experience shows Wozniacki's weakness when facing an unsupportive crowd or that it may give her the learning experience she needs to persevere, but we'll know the answer by Wednesday.

Kateryna Bondarenko UKR def. Gisela Dulko ARG 6-0, 6-0 -- The top quarter of the women's draw has been difficult to predict, surely, but I don't think anybody saw this scoreline coming.  I actually thought Dulko would win this match because of her greater relative experience in high-pressure matches, but she rewarded my faith by winning exactly zero games. The younger, bigger Bondarenko has made a pretty stunning run through this tournament, starting by saving match points vs. Ana Ivanovic and now continuing with her cooking a pair of bagels in her first ever match in the second week of a grand slam.  Bondarenko has some experience making her way through the late stages of a big tournament from when she and her sister Alona won the Australian Open doubles in 2008, which should serve her well against the unexperienced opponents she could face on the way to the final.

Yanina Wickmayer BEL def. Petra Kvitova CZE 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 -- I was somewhat surprised at how close Kvitova was able to make this match, given how awful she played in her win over Safina.  Indeed Wickmayer had many opportunities to make this an easier win for herself, including leading 5-2 in the third set.  Bondarenko should have the edge against Wickmayer in their quarterfinal based on their head-to-head, but it's pretty evident that in this tournament you can throw any reason out the window.  One thing is for certain: Wickmayer's US Open can't possibly end as awkwardly as her post-Kvitova press conference did.