World number two Rafael Nadal avoided the same fate as Roger Federer to make the US Open quarter-finals on Monday with a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over German 22nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Nadal, the 2010 champion, stayed on course for a 13th grand slam title and will next face fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who shocked 17-time major winner Federer 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4.
“I’m going to feel like I beat myself,” Federer said. “It was up to me to make the difference and I just couldn’t.
“I self-destructed, which is really disappointing. When things came to the crunch, I just couldn’t do it. It’s frustrating.”
French eighth seed Richard Gasquet also advanced to the quarter-finals by beating Canadian 10th seed Milos Raonic 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 after four hours and 40 minutes.
Gasquet will face Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer in the quarters. Ferrer is 8-1 all-time against Gasquet.
Raonic fired 39 aces, the third most in a men’s match in US Open history, but could not become the first Canadian man into a grand slam quarter-final since Mike Belkin at the 1968 Australian Open.
Federer’s failure came on the heels of a shock second-round Wimbledon exit and thwarted a potential quarter-final showdown with Nadal, in what would have been their first duel on the New York hardcourts.
Instead, it will be Robredo, in his first US Open quarter-final, awaiting Nadal. Robredo is 0-6 against Nadal.
In the women’s draw, Slovakia’s 48th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova advanced to the quarter-finals with a rain-interrupted 6-3 5-7 6-2 victory over 81st-ranked American wildcard Alison Riske.
Hantuchova, a 2008 Australian Open semi-finalist in her best grand slam run, has matched her best US Open showing from 2002 by reaching the final eight.
The 30-year-old will next face second seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Serbian 13th seed Ana Ivanovic. Their match was postponed until Tuesday after showers halted play for more than four hours.
Unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta reached the quarter-finals for a fourth time with a 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win over Romanian 21st seed Simona Halep.
Pennetta will next tackle 10th-seeded compatriot Roberta Vinci with a place in a grand slam semi-final for the first time at stake.
Italian 10th seed Vinci beat compatriot and qualifier Camila Giorgi to make the quarter-finals for a second successive year as heavy rain brought havoc to the schedule.
Vinci recovered from 1-4 down in the first set to race away with 11 of the next 13 games to clinch a 6-4 6-2 win over the world No.136, who had stunned former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.
Halep had lost the first set 6-2 but was at 5-4 and set point in the second when a torrential downpour sent the players scurrying off court.
As rain stretched the suspension past four hours, more than 30 matches were wiped off the program while the Federer-Robredo clash was switched from the showpiece Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Louis Armstrong arena.
Vinci was one of five women over 30 to have made the last 16 this year.
“Camila played so flat but I served really well and won lots of points that way,” said Vinci.
“Camila is a great player … she is one for the future.
“I had lots of points to defend so I am happy to get to the quarter-finals again,” added Vinci, who will make the world top 10 if she wins her next match.
