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9/6/09 2:46 AM | Cheryl Murray
Fernando Verdasco and world No. 4 Novak Djokovic were forced to work hard for their third round match wins on Saturday.
Fernando Verdasco (10) def. Tommy Haas (20) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(8), 1-6, 6-4
Tommy Haas of Germany had plenty of chances to win this third round match. The German served for the second set at 5-4, then dropped serve twice in a row to hand the set to Fernando Verdasco of Spain. The World No. 10 did well to hold together mentally, something he has struggled with over the course of his career. Haas secured another early break in the third, and once again served for the set. The opportunity to take the 2 sets to 1 head slipped away when he played a loose service game to go back on serve. Verdasco took the third set as well, in a hard-fought tiebreaker.
The Spaniard went away completely in the fourth set and Haas carried the momentum into the fifth set. Verdasco got in a 0-3 whole, but he played absolutely inspired tennis for the rest of the match. He was able to break Haas twice more to win in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Verdasco awaits the winner of Andy Roddick and John Isner in the next round.
Novak Djokovic def. Jesse Witten 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-4
In perhaps the biggest surprise of Saturday’s play, American qualifier Jesse Witten, who is ranked 276 in the world, pushed world No. 4 Novak Djokovic to the limit. Witten is something of a ball basher. He has a big first serve and a big forehand. His low ranking is due largely to the fact that his low-percentage style tennis does not translate well to the professional circuit. Except on Saturday. It was Djokovic’s misfortune that Witten found all the lines. The American totally outhit Djokovic in the first set tiebreak. The crowd, who had been firmly behind Witten from the start, really got fired up.
The only set that was dominated by Djokovic was the second set, and Witten even managed to get a service break in there. Through the third and fourth sets, Witten continued to paste the lines with huge forehands. Djokovic’s big-match experience came to his aid. He was just able to clip the American in the fourth set. Djokovic will take on No. 15 seed Radek Stepanek in the round of 16.
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yea i did stu. its really really sweet of him. if the fans still dont like him, then nole really shouldnt care anymore.
so roddick out, sharapova out..wow! this us open just got a lot more interesting
mriiidula , 9/6/09 7:22 AM
No stu what is this big brother thingy about? Any links?
jean , 9/6/09 7:37 AM
jean, its on the USopen homepage. here's the link:
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2009-09-05/2009090512 52200442375.html
stu , 9/6/09 7:42 AM
Thanks stu. I'm going to have a look now.
jean , 9/6/09 8:32 AM
Awwww, so sweet from him, indeed. :)
Ajde, Nole! :) With no Roddick in draw semifinal is inevitable. :)
OllyK , 9/6/09 8:56 AM
So sweet of Novak. What a wonderful gesture, the kids will be thrilled.
jean , 9/6/09 8:57 AM
for nole's fans, lessons in tennis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0dldQUtRbo
posmatrac , 9/6/09 7:37 PM
"drop shot is one of my favorite shots"... Oh, yes Nole, we know... :D
He will be a great coach one day for sure.. :) Ajde, Nole! :)
OllyK , 9/6/09 8:21 PM
..and his impersonation of John McEnroe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FMyzkSD8DE&feature=channel
:D
OllyK , 9/6/09 8:25 PM
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Did anyone read about Nole and the Big Brother program? Now that's a really sweet (and creative!) way to win over NY :).
stu , 9/6/09 5:01 AM