Djokovic advances, Nadal upset at U.S. Open

Third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic survived his fourth-round match with Argentine Juan Monaco, while second- seeded Rafael Nadal fell to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.

Nadal, the reigning three-time French Open champ and two-time Wimbledon runner-up, won a first-set tiebreaker with Ferrer, seeded 15th, before dropping the next three and losing 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Nadal, who was hobbled by injuries, has not advanced past the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open. Ferrer advances to take on Argentine slugger Juan Ignacio Chela.

Although Ferrer/Nadal's match lasted three hours and 28 minutes, Djokovic's 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Monaco topped that at just under four hours.

Djokovic reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and captured Masters Series titles in Miami and Montreal this season. Up next for Djokovic is 17th-seeded Carlos Moya, who got past rising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.

The Spanish veteran moved on in 2 hours, 25 minutes with the help of five service breaks. The talented Gulbis, who turned 19 here last week, launched 13 aces, but also piled up 64 unforced errors on Day 9.

The 31-year-old Moya, the oldest player still standing here, will appear in his first U.S. Open quarterfinal in nine years. This also marks his second quarterfinal appearance of 2007, as the resurgent former world No. 1 reached the round of eight at Roland Garros, where he captured his lone major title back in 1998.

Chela landed in his first-ever U.S. Open quarterfinal by outlasting capable Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4 in the round of 16.

Chela advanced in 3 hours, 41 minutes by converting on his second match point on another beautiful day in New York. The sloppy match featured 15 service breaks, including eight by the Swiss, and 117 unforced errors, including 68 by the loser. Wawrinka piled up 36 more winners than Chela (65-29), but also misfired for 19 more errors.

The 20th-seeded Chela, who turned 28 here last week, has reached only one other Grand Slam quarterfinal, and that came at Roland Garros three years ago.

On Wednesday, American Andy Roddick will square off against world No. 1 Roger Federer. Federer is the reigning three-time U.S. Open champ and also holds the Wimbledon and Aussie Open titles. The 11-time major titlist Federer is 13-1 lifetime against Roddick, with Roddick's lone victory coming four years ago. Federer beat the 2003 titlist Roddick in last year's finale here.