US Open – With inclement weather looming in the skies, the Roger Federer (2) v Richard Gasquet (12) quarterfinal match was brought forward an hour earlier. However, when things got going in the match, Federer became like a hurricane and simply blew Gasquet off the court. Both players seemed eager to get off court as soon as possible as Federer took complete control of the match from beginning to end for a 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory in just 1 hour and 27 minutes. Gasquet looked like he ran out of gas so to speak, perhaps his late night victory over Tomas Berdych on Monday. Federer will face his countryman Stan Wawrinka (5) who knocked out Kevin Anderson in the final men’s quarterfinals in straight sets 6-4 6-4 6-0.
The match started off relatively even paced though it was clear that Federer was the more aggressive player on court. Federer’s decision to take charge early paid off as he broke Gasquet for 4-2. Federer maintained this lead to take the set 6-3 half an hour into the match. In the 2nd set, Federer continued to attack the Gasquet serve. He broke Gasquet twice in the set, in the 3rd and 9th game for 6-3 and a 2-0 sets lead in just over an hour. Gasquet’s resistance wore down as he could not find a way into the match. Federer was simply stellar on serve denying the Frenchman any break points for the entire match. Federer was earning winners from all positions of the court whereas Gasquet could barely get the ball passed Federer. Gasquet had 8 winners and 14 errors for the match. These numbers might have been acceptable had Federer not produced 50 winners and made 21 errors. This match almost became a monologue where Federer was the speaker and Gasquet barely can get a word in edgewise. Gasquet was near silent in the 3rd set as Federer in 23 minutes took it 6-1 and secured his 10th place in the US Open semifinals where he is 6-3 lifetime record.
When asked about his next opponent, Wawrinka, Federer had this to say of the match up, “I enjoy the matches, because always that means one of us moves on. For Swiss it’s huge that we have two guys in the semis of the US Open, a huge tournament, biggest arena in the world. It’s what it’s all about. I think we are both very much pumped up that’s the case. Only better scenario would have been in the finals, but this is already very, very good. We are very proud of that.
Wawrinka for his part noted that he is ready to face Federer in the semifinals, “I think the past three years, for sure, I get closer from him. My level improved a lot. I’m playing better tennis. So I was always really close from him, if we look Wimbledon last year. I will for sure need to play my best tennis. He’s playing really well so far. He loves to play. He know how to play. He had some amazing match. It’s going to be a big challenge. I think I’m ready.”
