New York - Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beat France's Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 in a rain-delayed match that spanned nearly eight hours on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Ferrer withstood two rain delays before completing a straight-set win that took nearly three hours in court time but spanned nearly eight hours to improve his career mark against the 13th-seeded Gasquet to 8-1.
“We almost had to start over two times in the match,” said the 30-year-old Ferrer, a five-time winner on tour this season. “It took a lot of focus.”
It also took a lot of effort in the final game for Ferrer to end the match, clinching his spot in the last eight on his fifth match point when Gasquet sent a backhand long in the fourth-round match in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The victory made Ferrer the second Spaniard after Rafa Nadal to reach at least the quarter-finals of all four grand slam events in a season since tennis turned professional in 1968.
Ferrer will meet either eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia or 19th-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals. - Reuters