Davydenko bows
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Top seed Nikolay Davydenko crashed out while James Blake took back-to-back wins to book a semi-final berth at the Pilot Pen event in New Haven, reports BBC.
Third seed Blake beat Argentine Agustin Calleri 3-6 7-6 6-1 in round three before returning to see off Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
He now meets Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4 6-3 in the last eight.
Earlier, Simon had battled past defending champion Davydenko 6-4 6-4.
Davydenko said: "I have to recover mentally. I need to be physically good because they are five-set matches but I need to get confidence back."
Second seed Tommy Robredo lost for the first time to Swiss Stanislas Warinka 6-3 6-3 as he bowed out at the third-round stage.
The back-to-back matches were necessary after rain had washed out all but four matches Tuesday.
In the women's singles, third seed Marion Bartoli was humbled by sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
Dementieva now meets fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top seed, who advanced without breaking sweat.
Kuznetsova was up 6-2 when Italian Francesca Schiavone retired because of a left ankle injury.
The other semi-final will pit Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay against Greece's Eleni Daniilidou.
Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay followed her win over second seed Daniela Hantuchova by beating eighth seed Alona Bondarenko 6-1 6-4.
Jamie Murray and partner Jordan Kerr reached the men's doubles semi-finals after beating Americans Alex Kuznetsov and Ryan Sweeting 3-6 6-3 10-5.
Third seed Blake beat Argentine Agustin Calleri 3-6 7-6 6-1 in round three before returning to see off Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
He now meets Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4 6-3 in the last eight.
Earlier, Simon had battled past defending champion Davydenko 6-4 6-4.
Davydenko said: "I have to recover mentally. I need to be physically good because they are five-set matches but I need to get confidence back."
Second seed Tommy Robredo lost for the first time to Swiss Stanislas Warinka 6-3 6-3 as he bowed out at the third-round stage.
The back-to-back matches were necessary after rain had washed out all but four matches Tuesday.
In the women's singles, third seed Marion Bartoli was humbled by sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
Dementieva now meets fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top seed, who advanced without breaking sweat.
Kuznetsova was up 6-2 when Italian Francesca Schiavone retired because of a left ankle injury.
The other semi-final will pit Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay against Greece's Eleni Daniilidou.
Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay followed her win over second seed Daniela Hantuchova by beating eighth seed Alona Bondarenko 6-1 6-4.
Jamie Murray and partner Jordan Kerr reached the men's doubles semi-finals after beating Americans Alex Kuznetsov and Ryan Sweeting 3-6 6-3 10-5.