Moya survives battle of the ages to earn his place in the last eight
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Moya won the match-up between the oldest and youngest men left in the tournament and reached the US Open quarter-finals for the first time since 1998.
The 31-year-old Spaniard dropped to his knees and rolled onto his back after he won a net duel with a cross-court backhand volley for the final point, beating 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 yesterday.
"I think it was the best point of the match. I was a bit tired, a bit nervous," Moya said.
Moya, a former No. 1 and the 1998 French Open champion, is seeded 17th at Flushing Meadows.
"I feel like 20 years old," he said. "When you're the oldest guy in the draw, you get a lot of support from the crowd, so that's a great feeling."
Moya next plays the winner of the match between No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 23 Juan Monaco.
Juan Ignacio Chela reached the quarter-finals for the first time, frustrating Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4.
The 20th-seeded Argentine sent Wawrinka to a rare five-set loss. The unseeded Swiss had been 8-0 in Grand Slam matches that went the distance.
Chela improved to 3-8 in five-setters, and won despite trailing in most every key statistic — plus broken rackets. Wawrinka smashed one racket into the ground after losing the tiebreaker, then mangled another with two mighty whacks following the loss.
Wawrinka led 65-29 in winners, 9-2 in aces and 145-142 in total points. Chela seemed to bother him by bouncing around while Wawrinka was set to serve.
Chela is playing in his seventh US Open and had never gone beyond the round of 16. He lost to Wawrinka in the opening round last year.
Next up for Chela is the winner of the all-Spanish night match between No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 15 David Ferrer.
In the most attractive match of the day, top-seeded Justine Henin was to play No. 8 Serena Williams last night.
On Monday night, Roger Federer put on a clinic against Francisco Lopez, winning 35 straight points on his serve for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory, and earning a quarter-final match against Andy Roddick.
