2010 U.S. Open, Day 8: Federer Bests Melzer; Djokovic Demolishes Fish; Wozniacki Mows Down Sharapova

Highlights from Day 8 of the 2010 U.S. Open:

• (2) Roger Federer def. (13) Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
This put some bodies on seat edges, but not for too long. Polite claps to Melzer for maybe the most enthusiastic no-hope match point battle we've seen all year. Federer did need a little luck to get through this one, but through he is, and Robin Söderling awaits.

•  (1) Caroline Wozniacki def. (14) Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-4.
Today was the first day any U.S. Open opponent managed to win more than one game in a set against Wozniacki. Of course, she's had the advantage of a lofty draft position, but if her play against Sharapova is any indication, believe the hype: This girl is an absolute buzzsaw. Her next victim: Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.

•  (3) Novak Djokovic def. (19) Mardy Fish, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
Mardy Fish enjoyed a brief but storied run as America's best hope for an American U.S. Open champ. On the men's side, that hope now rests entirely with ... Sam Querrey? Wait, what? Djokovic hums on to Gael Monfils, in what may be the best personality match, by entertainment value, of the entire tournament.

•  (17) Gael Monfils def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Two Frenchmen entered. One left. The gentleman left standing, happily, is one of our very favorites, and is to be savored as long as he lasts. (He's up against Djokovic next, so enjoy him while you can!)

•  (31) Kaia Kanepi def. (15) Yanina Wickmayer, 0-6, 7-6, 6-1.
46 unforced errors for Kanepi, and she still gets to knock out the player whose name we most enjoy saying?! (Try it at home!) Kanepi will face Vera Zvonareva in the quarters. Thespis is cruel.

•  Dominika Cibulkova def. (11) Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Cibulkova will be the lone unseeded player in the women's quarterfinals. Her opponent, however, will be Wozniacki, so the length of her stay in the field is questionable.

•  (7) Vera Zvonareva def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-1, 6-2.
Zvonareva will face Kaia Kanepi for the honor of losing horribly to Caroline Wozniacki in the semis.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

No. 2 Roger Federer is undefeated in night matches, and wasn't about to be stopped at the U.S. Open -- but for a while there in the second set, anyone watching might have thought differently. After a largely uneventful first set, Melzer settled into a rapid-fire, cerebral groove, taking Federer to a second-set tiebreaker (the highlight of which was the removal of a very large moth from the court). With a little luck and a crucial shot that grazed the net at a crucial time, Federer prevailed, and closed out the match to win 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Asked in the post-match interview about Melzer's extremely energetic play, which lasted right up through match point, Federer laughed, "I don't have four legs." (Well, Djokovic has three.)

Federer will face Robin Söderling in the quarterfinals.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

All the slots of the 2010 U.S. Open women's quarterfinal field have been filled. Only one is occupied by a seeded player, and it won't be Andrea Petkovic. One year after falling in the last fourth round of play at Flushing Meadows, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva hustled past Petkovic, 6-1, 6-2. Petkovic showed some signs of life late, breaking Zvonareva's serve late in the second set, but to no avail. Zvonareva's quarterfinal foe will be No. 31 Kaia Kanepi, she of the unceremonious Jelena Jankovic-dispatching.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

No. 14 Maria Sharapova's had a very successful run at the 2010 U.S. Open. She dropped her very first set in the first round to Jarmila Groth, 4-6, and hasn't even come close to dropping another one since. Monday afternoon, however, she played error-riddled tennis against top seed Caroline Wozniacki, who's been having a near-flawless tourney run of her own. Wozniacki made it fast, 6-3, 6-4, while rocking a yellow pedicure that matched the accents on her slate dress. 

The 2006 Flushing Meadows champ goes home, and Wozniacki moves on to No. 45 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

Kaia Kanepi's improbable run continues. The No. 31 seed upset No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer, 0-6, 7-6, 6-1, in the fourth round of the 2010 U.S. Open Monday. Kanepi, who hails from Estonia, somehow survived despite making 46 unforced errors. Wickmayer, a semifinalist in Queens last year, made 42 unforced errors.

In the quarters, Kanepi will face the winner of the Andrea Petkovic/Vera Zvonereva match.

Another American bit the dust at the 2010 U.S. Open Monday. Sigh. First it was Andy Roddick, then John Isner, now Mardy Fish, who fell to No. 3 Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Djokovic moves on to the quarterfinals, where he'll face Gael Monfils.

Djokovic needed only 110 minutes to dispatch of Fish, whose normally big serve didn't seem to do much damage to the swift Djokovic. Djokovic converted 6 of 8 break-point chances, steamrolling the listless American. It's a sad end to a great summer for Fish, who as SI points out, has gone 19-3 in his last 22 matches.

If anything, Gael Monfils' 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Richard Gasquet in the fourth round of the 2010 U.S. Open Monday proves that France's elite athletes can represent their country well. Monfils hasn't done enough to erase the pitiful display the French soccer team put on this summer, but a spot in the quarterfinals in Queens is nothing to scoff at. 

Monfils, a first-time quarterfinalist at the Open, broke Gasquet five times during the match. The No. 17 seed will face the winner of the Novak Djokovic/Mardy Fish clash. So far, it isn't looking good for Fish, who lost the first set 6-3.

Dominika Cibulkova knocked off No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-5, 7-6 (4), in the fourth round of the 2010 U.S. Open Monday morning. Kuznetsova struggled throughout, making 42 unforced errors. She fought back to force a second-set tiebreaker, but Cibulkova didn't back down.

In the quarters, Cibulkova will face the winner of the Maria Sharapova/Caroline Wozniacki match.