Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova double-faulted 10 times and was upset by 45th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5,7-6 (4) in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Monday. Cibulkova reached her first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows despite being treated by a trainer for a left leg problem between sets. She was the lowest-ranked of the 16 women in the fourth round. Her best Grand Slam result was reaching the semifinals at last years French Open. The 11th-seeded Kuznetsova won the 2009 title at Roland Garros,as well as the 2004 U.S. Open championship. Cibulkova is 2-8 against top-15 players this season,and both victories came against Kuznetsova. Meanwhile,Andy Murray hobbled out of the U.S. Open on Sunday,beaten 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-3 in the third round by Switzerlands Stanislas Wawrinka after his ailing body and his mind failed him when he needed it most. Struggling to run at full speed after requiring treatment to his legs,elbow and neck,the Briton appeared powerless to stop Wawrinka,who was battling his own injury problems but still played superbly,from pulling off the biggest upset of the championship. I was struggling physically and I got frustrated with that, Murray said. Maybe I felt like my chance of doing well here was slipping away. Ive worked very hard to give myself a chance of winning tournaments. It happens to everyone in life at different points. Murrays limp departure was in stark contrast to an incredible fightback from Australias Samantha Stosur,who saved four match points to beat Elena Dementieva 6-3 2-6 7-6 in a nail-biting centre court match that did not end until 1.35 am,the latest finish for a womens match at the U.S. Open. Thats definitely one of the most exciting match Ive ever played. The atmosphere out there was just awesome, said Stosur. I think we both played a great match. It just came down to playing good tennis. We gave it our best shot. World number one Rafa Nadal,playing before Murrays defeat,sent an ominous warning to his rivals about his plans to complete his collection of Grand Slam titles in New York. The Spaniard,getting better with each match on the back of a new and improved serve,overpowered Frances Gilles Simon 6-4 6-4 6-2 to steam into the fourth round without dropping a single service game in three matches. Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters brushed past tricky opponents to remain on course for a blockbuster semi-final showdown. Williams defeated Israeli 16th seed Shahar Peer 7-6 6-3 in an ideal preparation for the more difficult matches ahead of her. Clijsters thrashed Serbias former world number one Ana Ivanovic 6-2 6-1 in just under an hour. Like Nadal and Williams,she is yet to drop a set in the championship. Italys Francesca Schiavone also cruised through to the last eight,beating Russias Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-0. Schiavone will play Williams in Tuesdays quarter-finals. Bopanna-Qureshi in quarters Indias Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistan partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the men's doubles quarterfinals of the US Open with an upset win over second seeded Canadian-Serbian pair of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. The Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Leander Paes and Cara Black also advanced to the last-eight stage of the tournament in the mixed doubles event. The 16th seeded Indo-Pak pair of Bopanna and Qureshi streamrolled their opponents 6-3 6-4 in a one-sided pre-quarterfinal. They will next face the daunting South African-Belgian pair of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman. In the second round of the mixed doubles event,second seeded Paes and Black lived up to their billings,defeating unseeded Estonia-Swedish pair of Kaia Kanepi and Robert Lindstedt 6-1 6-4. They will next meet Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Mark Knowles of Bahrain in the next round.
