US Open 2010: Day 9 Results

Day 9 of the US Open 2010 saw some more beautiful weather, and some great tennis action. Though the singles events had just a handful of matches, they were all action packed matches and tickets to watch these matches were worth every single penny paid for them. The last Grand Slam of the year is slowly moving to the most riveting stage in its 2 week schedule, with Wednesday and Thursday being the days where the final four will be decided, at least for the men's singles event. The women's singles event is slightly ahead in schedule of the men's event, but the tennis is just as mesmerizing. Day 9 featured some of the best matches in the 2010 US Open so far, and let's go and take a look at what happened.

Men's Results - Day 9 (4th Round Matches)

Switzerland's, no not Roger Federer, but Stanislas Wawrinka, the 25th seed at the 2010 US Open put paid to the dreams of an American winning the US Open singles title, when he ousted the 20th seed Sam Querrey in a grueling 5 setter on Arthur Ashe earlier in the day. With the first 2 sets going to tie breaks, the match could have easily gone either way. However, at the end of the 2nd set, the match was evenly split at a set all. Wawrinka won the next set before losing the 4th, pushing the match into a deciding 5th set. He then took the 5th set 6 games to 4, ending the chances of an American winning the US Open 2010. While fans will be disappointed that there is no American hope at their home Grand Slam, Querrey will be even more disappointed to lose out on the chance to make it to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. It was a battle spanning almost four and a half hours, and at the end of it there was very little to differentiate between them. Wawrinka won 188 points in the match, just 2 points more than Querrey, who won 186 points. Wawrinka also had fewer winners than Querrey (66 to Querrey's 70) and more unforced errors than Querrey (59 to Querrey's 55) but managed to win points that mattered. A riveting 4th round match, and Wawrinka will hope that he can keep his form going in to the quarters, and the semis, should he make it there.

The Louis Armstrong Stadium saw an all Spanish affair where the 10th seed David Ferrer took on the 8th seed Fernando Verdasco. This was another monster of a match, that went all the way down to the wire, including a 5th set tie break. After starting strongly against the 8the seed Verdasco, Ferrer lost concentration, and control of the match, and allowed Verdasco to claw his way back in the 3rd and 4th sets. Buoyed by his game in the 3rd and 4th set, Verdasco fought hard in the decider, and managed to push it to the tie break. He then never looked back and took the tie break 7 points to 4 to advance to the quarter final of the 2010 US Open. His 4 hour plus performance saw him match his best result on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, (2009 QF) and he will, no doubt, look to go all the way this year.

Compared to these two matches, the 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny had a relatively easier match, though it took him 4 sets to get rid of unseeded Tommy Robredo. A comeback attempt late in the match didn't work for Robredo, and though he won the 3rd set, it was not enough against the 12th seed. Youzhny now moves in to the quarterfinal, and will try to better his 2006 semifinal appearance here at New York.

The most awaited match of the day, the Nadal-Lopez encounter was in progress at the time of writing this. However, Nadal was making short work of the 23rd seed Lopez, and had taken the first 2 sets comfortably. The third set was in progress, and was on serve at 2 games all. Updates will follow. UPDATE: Rafael Nadal had another 3 set victory and is yet to drop a set in what is looking like his best US Open performance so far. He now moves to the quarterfinals and is looking in great touch to win his first US Open title.

Women's Results - Day 9 (Quarterfinals)

In the women's singles event, day 9 of the US Open 2010 featured the first 2 of the 4 quarterfinals. 3rd seed Venus Williams faced a tough opening set from Francesca Schiavone, but eventually won in straight sets, to advance to yet another US Open semifinal. After playing some amazing tennis in the first set, Schiavone fell back in the 2nd set and lost 6-7, 4-6 to the higher ranked Williams. Venus Williams last won the US Open title way back in 2001, where she won back-to-back titles. She is now looking to stop the 2nd seed Kim Clijsters from winning back-to-back titles, and also for her 3rd US Open title, after a gap of almost 10 years. Though she has been alternately criticized and praised for her outrageous attire on court, her game is still top-notch. This is her 8th semifinal appearance at the US Open, and she will no doubt be looking to go the distance.

The other quarterfinal was a much more closely contested affair, with the match going to the deciding third set. the number 2 seed, Kim Clijsters, who is trying to emulate in 2010 what Venus Williams did in 2001, winning back-to-back titles, was pitted against the number 5 seed Samantha Stosur. After losing the first set, it looked like there was going to be an upset, but Clijsters clawed her way back before taking control of the match. This has been her characteristic style of play in the US Open 2010, where she needs a little time before getting her act together, but now deep as she is in the US Open, she will have to work harder to get her act together from the word go itself. Losing the first set and then coming back to take the match is different when playing against Stosur, and when playing against the likes of 7 time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. She is, however, looking good for her attempt at back-to-back titles.

Schedule of Play on Day 10

That was it for the action on day 9 of the US Open 2010. While the schedule gets lighter as the tournament reaches its end, the matches are going to be better than ever. Here is what is lined up on Day 10.

Men's Singles (Quaterfinals)

3rd seed Novak Djokovic	vs	17th seed Gael Monfils
2nd seed Roger Federer	vs	5th seed Robin Soderling

Women's Singles (Quarterfinals)

7th seed Vera Zvonareva	vs	31st seed Kaia Kanepi
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki	vs	unseeded Dominika Cibulkova

The men's singles quarterfinals start on day 10, and both the matches in the men's draw are matches that you don't want to miss. The women's quarterfinals will finish today, with the last 2 of the quarterfinal matches scheduled, and both these, too are matches that you should not miss.

Will Federer take his revenge on the 5th seeded Soderling? Or will Soderling prove that the FedExpress has finally run out of steam? Will the top seed Wozniacki be able to send home unseeded Cibulkova? Or will Cibulkova's dream run continue? The US Open 2010 moves towards an exciting finish. Stay Tuned!