Roger Federer Bounced From U.S. Open On Wednesday

The 2012 U.S. Open will continue Thursday with a pair of men’s quarterfinal matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic will headline as he takes on No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro to end the day on the main court.

Djokovic will be looking to advance to his sixth straight U.S. Open semifinal. Del Potro won the tournament in 2009, but has not reached this far since then. He ended the career of U.S. tennis star Andy Roddick in a rain-delayed four-set victory on Wednesday.

The women’s semifinals are set, with two spots left to fill on the men’s side after Wednesday at the 2012 U.S. Open. The day was one to remember, as Andy Roddick saw his career end, Serena Williams continued to roll, and Roger Federer met the earliest exit for a No. 1 in 11 years.

Roddick started the day with a rain-delayed fourth-round match against Juan Martin del Potro. The American star showed promise in the early going, winning the first set in a tiebreak. However, del Potro took control from there, capturing the match in four sets. Del Potro moves on to face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.

Men’s No.1 Roger Federer was knocked out of the 2012 U.S. Open by sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. Federer broke Berdych’s serve in the first set of the match, but Berdych took control from there.

Serena Williams continued her dominant stretch of tennis at the 2012 U.S. Open on Wednesday, taking down former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in a quarterfinal match. Willams, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, got off to a quick start, taking the first four games to extend her streak of 24 consecutive games won in the tournament.

No. 12 Ivanovic would finally get on the board after holding serve at 4-0, but she was never really in the match. Williams was dominant on her serve, often described as the best weapon in all of tennis, holding easily time and time again.

Andy Murray advanced to the semifinals of the 2012 U.S. Open on Wednesday, defeating No. 12 Marin Cilic of Croatia in four sets, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-0.

Murray, the No. 3 seed in Flushing Meadows, battled back after losing the first set, winning a crucial second-set tiebreaker to level the match at a set apiece. From that point on, it was all Murray, as he won the next two sets with ease to advance to the semifinals.

Andy Roddick, following the conclusion of his match against Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2012 U.S. Open Tennis Championship, addressed the crowd of cheering and tearful fans. Roddick announced earlier in the tournament that it would be his last, opting to retire after his U.S. Open run came to an end.

Roddick lost to Del Potro, 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4, in the Men’s Round of 16 in an entertaining match that saw Roddick give it his all to extend his career for one more round. The popular American was aggressive early yet appeared to tire as the match progressed and failed to take advantage of prime opportunities in the crucial fourth set to take back control of the match.

After a poignant moment on the court following his U.S. Open loss, Andy Roddick retreated to the media room for one last time on Wednesday, marking the beginning of his retirement. He teared up, took some time to soak everything in on the court following his U.S. Open loss to Juan Martin Del Porto, then delivered a nice speech to the crowd.

But in the safety of the media room, Roddick dropped a nice gem that got everyone laughing. He was talking about boobs. Because of course!

Andy Roddick lost to Juan Martin Del Potro on Wednesday afternoon, 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4, bringing an end to the career of the popular 30-year old American. Roddick stated he would retire following the 2012 U.S. Open Tennis Championship.

If this was going to be Andy Roddick’s final match of his career, then it’s fitting it was against someone like Juan Martin Del Potro, a player that matches up well with Roddick’s strengths and provided an evenly-contested match that turned out to be immensely entertaining..

Heavy rains caused Tuesday evenings matches at the 2012 U.S. Open to be pushed back until Wednesday. The match between No. 2 seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka was one of the games that was affected. Prior to the weather delay, Djokovic was leading two games to none in the first set.

When the two resumed play on Wednesday, the court belonged to Djokovic who was able to win the first two sets by a score of 6-4 and 6-1. Djokovic started the third set strong and was looking to win in straight sets over Wawrinka as he led three games to one.

Janko Tipsarevic moved on to his second consecutive U.S. Open quarterfinals after defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-2 Wednesday afternoon.

Tipsarevic led 5-2 in the first set Tuesday before play was suspended by rain, and picked up right where he left off to win in straight sets.

Maria Sharapova dropped her first set Tuesday against Marion Bartoli before the match was postponed due to rain. The two finished the match on Wednesday, with Sharapova regrouping, winning two sets and advancing to the 2012 U.S. Open semifinals. The No. 3 seed Sharapova got behind in a 3-6 first set but came back strongly with sets of 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Bartoli, the No. 11 seed from France, took advantage of her Russian opponent’s struggle to score on serve points in the first set. Sharapova scored on 12-of-19 first serve points and only 4-of-13 second serve points, but her numbers improved in each of the two following sets.

Sara Errani became the first Italian semifinalist at the U.S. Open since 1930 with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Roberta Vinci early Wednesday afternoon.

Errani, the runner up at the French Open earlier this year, eliminated her doubles partner Vinci quick, efficiently and without any sort of post-match celebration. The tenth-seeded Errani took full advantage of Vinci’s 37 unforced errors, seeming poised and determined in the hour and 12 minutes she was one the court.

Rain has been troublesome at the 2012 U.S. Open, and it suspended play once again on Wednesday. The courts became too wet and matches were delayed at 11:20 a.m. ET.

Andy Roddick continued his fourth-round match against Juan Martin Del Potro, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, on Wednesday morning. The match was halted as Roddick held a 1-0 lead in first-set tiebreak.

Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro’s fourth-round match at the 2012 U.S. Open has been temporarily suspended on Tuesday night due to rain. The skies opened up in the midst of a first-set tiebreak, with the 20th-seeded Roddick holding a 1-to-0 lead over the seventh-seeded del Potro. The set moved into a tiebreak after each player won six games.

The current forecast calls for periods of rain over the next one to two hours as a decision is made whether to resume play, according to the U.S. Open’s Twitter handle.