TENNIS US OPEN: AN AILING Novak Djokovic battled past Spaniard Tommy Robredo 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in an energy-sapping fourth-round clash at Flushing Meadows yesterday.
The Serbian third seed, runner-up last year, had treatment for a right hip problem and an upset stomach but somehow fought off Robredo in the fifth set to scramble into the quarter-finals. Robredo, seeded 15th, deservedly won the first set, but Djokovic hit back to win the next two, despite having treatment for a hip problem when leading 3-0 in the second.
Robredo then hit back from 3-1 down to force a decider, but Australian Open champion Djokovic dug deep into his reserves, breaking twice to clinch victory after three hours 45 minutes.
Olympic champion Elena Dementieva left Switzerlands Patty Schnyder a breathless wreck as she reached the women's semi-finals with a brisk 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Just moments after being on the receiving end of the 76-minute battering, Schnyder tipped her hat to the Russian fifth seed.
"It's the best she's played against me. I lost to a great champion today," Schnyder told reporters after she fell 10-7 behind in their head-to-head meetings.
"I played some really good games but didn't end up winning all of them . . . there was not much I could have done differently."
