KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Spain's David Ferrer put in an inspired performance to upset second-seeded compatriot Rafael Nadal 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in an epic fourth-round encounter yesterday.
Ferrer's stunning victory over the French Open champion earned him a quarter-final showdown against 20th seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.
Relying on a devastating forehand that produced 22 winners, Ferrer won the third-set tiebreaker 7-4 and roared to victory in the final set to end the three-hour, 28-minute slugfest at 1.50am local time on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Ferrer, 25, who had lost his past four matches against Nadal, clinched victory on his second match point when the world No 2's backhand lob sailed past the baseline.
Nadal, who has been hampered by a knee injury and was treated on court for a finger problem, battled gamely, but the 21-year-old had no answer for Ferrer's heavy forehand and crisp all-round play in the tension-packed match.
"Tomorrow, I don't want to run more," Ferrer said. "Now I am very tired. To beat Rafa, I have to run a lot. I'm sorry for that, for my friend, for my partner, Rafa."
Ferrer, who beat Argentine David Nalbandian in five sets in the third round, blasted 48 winners in all as he matched his best previous grand slam result - a quarter-finals appearance at the 2005 French Open.
"He's a very good player," Nadal said after making his earliest exit from a Grand Slam this year. "He's having an unbelievable season. He's one of the best players in the world right now."
The three-times French Open champion preferred to credit Ferrer, who won in Auckland and Bastad this year, rather than detail how his physical condition might have affected him.
"I don't want to speak about my body right now. It's an excuse. I don't want any excuse. He played well and he beat me."
Nadal hit 33 winners himself in the pulsating match but found Ferrer able to retrieve his fierce groundstrokes.
"He's very fast," Nadal said. "For me it's not a surprise. Sure it's disappointing for me but that's tennis. That's the sport. I'm having a very good season," added the Spaniard, who reached the quarters at the Australian Open, the Wimbledon final and who has won six singles titles.
"It's disappointing for me because I can't play 100 per cent because of the problem with the knees."
Third seed Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 triumph over Argentine Juan Monaco.
Other fourth-round winners included former world No 1 Carlos Moya of Spain and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.
Djokovic, 20, needed three hours and 53 minutes to subdue Monaco, a 23-year-old who had never won a match at Flushing Meadows before this year.
Monaco, seeded 23, played some inspired tennis, saving a match point in the third set before winning it 8-6 on a tiebreak.
Djokovic, however, played an aggressive 34-minute fourth set to gain a spot in the last eight.
The hard-hitting Serb had 14 aces but 59 unforced errors in the winning effort. "For me it was a bit surprising that he was stepping it up," said Djokovic. "He was staying close to the line and he was being aggressive. He tried to take control.
Moya, 31, gained a spot in the last eight by surviving a courageous challenge from 19-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis to win 7-5, 6-2 6-7, 6-4 in two-and-a-half hours. "These kind of matches, they're the ones that keep me very motivated," said Moya, who will face Djokovic in the quarters.
Chela outlasted unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 to reach his first Open quarter-final.
- REUTERS
