Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick of the United States has reached the quarterfinal round in the men's draw of this year's tournament in New York.
The fifth-seeded Roddick, the men's winner in 2003, advanced past number nine Tomas Berdych Monday when his Czech opponent retired while trailing, 7-6, 2-0.
German Tommy Haas, seeded 10th, upended number six American James Blake, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6. Hass will play Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko for a semifinal berth. Davydenko defeated South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.
Among early fourth round action in the women's draw, fourth seeded and 2004 women's champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3.
Kuznetsova next faces Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who was a 6-4, 7-6 winner over Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine. Shahar Peer became the first Israeli woman to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The tournament's 18th seed ousted Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-4, 6-1. Radwanska upset defending champion Maria Sharapova of Russia in the third round.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
