World No. 3 Roger Federer dazzled in a late-night finish on Monday at Flushing Meadows, as he dismantled Juan Monaco in just 82 minutes. The impressive performance from Federer signalled his intent as he prepares to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the US Open quarter-finals, a man he has lost to in their past two meetings.
Federer and Tsonga will go head-to-head for the fifth time this season. Federer was a comfortable victor in their first two clashes in Doha and Rome, but was stunned on the lawns of Wimbledon as Tsonga fought back from two sets down to claim victory in the quarter-finals. It was the first time Federer had ever lost a Grand Slam match from a two-set lead. Tsonga then backed up that victory by beating Federer again, this time in three sets in the third round of Montreal last month.
Speaking after his fourth-round match on Monday, Federer said, "I'm just excited to play against him, to be honest. He's a nice player to watch and so to play against him is very interesting. I thought we had a great match at Wimbledon, which unfortunately I ended up losing. He came back and proved it in Montreal how good he's playing right now. He's definitely on a good streak, so I hope I can stop him this time."
Federer has a perfect 7-0 record in US Open quarter-final matches and is attempting to match Ivan Lendl’s mark of reaching eighth successive semi-finals in New York. The Swiss is bidding to reclaim the US Open crown he won five times from 2004-2008; should he succeed he will become the first man in the Open Era to win six US Open titles.
The 26-year-old Tsonga reached his lone Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 2008, when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic. Only one Frenchman, Cedric Pioline, has reached the US Open semi-finals in the Open Era. Tsonga is hoping to surpass that and become the first Frenchman to win a major title since 1983.
World No. 1 Djokovic is also in quarter-final action on Wednesday, taking on Janko Tipsarevic in an all-Serbian affair. The Belgrade native has been in scintillating form thus far at Flushing Meadows, yet to drop a set and converting 56 per cent of his break point opportunities, the best conversion rate of the remaining contenders.
The 24 year old suffered only his second defeat of the season prior to the US Open, falling to Andy Murray in the Cincinnati final. He has been nigh on unstoppable in 2011, and is bidding to win his third Grand Slam championship of the season after victories at the Australian Open (d. Murray) and Wimbledon (d. Nadal). He takes a 2-0 career lead into the clash with Tipsarevic, who is contesting his first major quarter-final.
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