NEW YORK – World No. 1 Roger Federer advanced into his 34th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal without touching a racquet Monday when American Mardy Fish withdrew from their US Open match for health reasons. The 31-year-old Swiss star, seeking his 18th Grand Slam title and sixth US Open crown, advanced into a last-eight matchup against Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1. “I probably need to have something more than 100 percent,” said Berdych, who has lost 11 of 15 career meetings to top seed Federer. Serb 12th seed Ana Ivanovic reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in four years, and first ever at the US Open, when she defeated Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-0, 6-4 Monday. Ivanovic will next face either three-time champion Serena Williams, who is targeting a 34th career Grand Slam quarterfinal spot, or Czech world No. 82 Andrea Hlavackova. Olympic and Wimbledon champion Williams has a lifetime record in New York of 61 wins against just nine defeats. On Sunday former champion Andy Roddick staved off retirement by winning in front of 20,000 of his new-found best friends at raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium. The stadium turned rowdy watching Roddick's 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 triumph over Italy's Fabio Fognini. Third seed Maria Sharapova survived a scare against Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova to reach the quarterfinals, having trailed 2-0 in the deciding set before a 73-minute rain delay allowed her to regroup and march to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Other winners included top-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and defending champion Sam Stosur of Australia on the women's draw and David Ferrer of Spain and Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka on the men's side. The party continued at Flushing Meadows for Roddick, who has become a rock star since announcing Thursday he would retire after the US Open. New York fans always enjoyed watching Roddick but it has been raised several notches. Fans in Ashe Stadium cheered the 30-year-old American's every move and repeatedly broke into chants of “Let's go An-dy, let's go, An-dy.” When Fognini's service return slammed into the net on match-point, the crowd, including Roddick's model/actress wife Brooklyn Decker, erupted. “I'm comfortable out there,” Roddick told reporters. “I'd be an idiot not to use the crowd right now. It's a huge advantage. Each match is almost like it's another memory. I'm certainly going to use them.” Roddick, whose 2003 title at Flushing Meadows was the only Grand Slam he ever won, blasted 10 aces and struck 39 winners in the three-hour match. “I've been surprised by the support,” said Roddick. “I thought inside our world (my retirement) would be something, but I don't know that I expected all of this and the crowd to react the way it has. “It's been a special experience for me. It's been a lot of fun.” Roddick will next play seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, who beat Argentine compatriot Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5,7-6. Stosur advanced 6-4, 6-4 by ending the giant-killing run of 18-year-old Briton Laura Robson, who had beaten Kim Clijsters and Li Na to make the fourth round. The Australian came from a break down to win the first set and held off a late charge by Robson in the second to advance to the quarters. Robson was “definitely disappointed” her run was over. “I felt like I didn't play as well as I did in my last three matches,” she said. “You know, I just hit too many unforced errors.” In a mild upset in a tournament with few surprises, 11th seed Marion Bartoli of France recovered from a disastrous first set to remove fifth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 1-6, 6-2, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Also advancing were No. 13 Richard Gasquet, who eliminated Steve Johnson 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who set up a fourth-round encounter against No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic by beating No. 9 John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. — Agencies
