previous - next - Back to Articles - News main - Home Source: www.atptour.com USOpen Sept. 04, 2001 Roddick Earns a Spot in the Quarterfinals Roddick, Kafelnikov, and Kuerten all advance on Tuesday. In a battle between New Balls, American Andy Roddick defeated Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 this evening to move into the quarterfinals at the US Open. With each of the 19-year-olds enjoying their best performance in a Grand Slam to date, Roddick was the one to advance, becoming the youngest quarterfinalist at the US Open since Andre Agassi in 1988. Entering tonight's meeting riding a nine-match win-streak, Roddick continued his impressive run utilizing his powerful serve and punishing ground strokes. "I'm feeling really good and the crowd's been great," said Roddick, who has received a lot of support from the New York fans. Roddick has only dropped one set in his last four matches, but will need to play well in order to advance to the semifinals. The young American will face either Tommy Haas or Lleyton Hewitt in the next round, both of whom he is yet to score a victory against. "I hope they run eachother a lot, hopefully I can get another win," said Roddick. Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov avoided another five-set battle and powered his way into the quarterfinals this afternoon with a straight sets victory over France's Arnaud Clement. "Arnaud is a tough competitor," said Kafelnikov. "Definitely it's a huge confidence boost." Kafelnikov, who is attempting to capture his third career Grand Slam title, defeated the 23-year-old Frenchman 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to earn a spot as one of the final eight men. Clement defeated Kafelnikov earlier this year at the Australian Open en route to his first Grand Slam final, but the Russian's game proved to be too strong today. "I feel like I'm going to be ready on Thursday," said Kafelnikov. "I'm just happy to be part of the second week of the tournament. I'm not going to look too far ahead, I am taking it each match at a time." The 27-year-old Russian will face Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, who eliminated Spain's Albert Costa 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) this evening. Kafelnikov may have been hoping Costa turned out to be the victor, since the Russian has had trouble with Kuerten in the past, losing seven out of the ten times the pair have met. "I was nervous, but I played with a lot of heart and gave it my all," said Kuerten referring to tonight's victory. "I was a little tired from the night before. Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion, will be attempting to make his first US Open semifinal appearance. The Brazilian has had a successful summer, reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles, the finals in the TMS Cincinnati, and capturing the TMS Montreal title, while proving that he is capable of winning on hard courts. "It's going well, hopefully I can steal a few more matches," said Kuerten. |