NEW YORK : Nikolay Davydenko needed just 36 minutes on Wednesday to end Andy Murray's hopes of a US Open quarterfinal berth.

In a fourth round tie held over from Tuesday because of rain, the seventh seeded Russian started the day two sets to one ahead and he easily finished the job off going through 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 against the 19-year British hope.

He will play the winner of the tie between Marat Safin of Russia and Tommy Haas of Germany for a place in the semifinals.

For Murray, there was the satisfaction of having reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam event for the second straight time after Wimbledon, and he will work with new coach Brad Gilbert to be ready for next year.

Murray had been badly out of sorts when the rain came to his rescue on Tuesday, and his hopes of quickly turning things around were shattered when two double faults gave Davydenko the early break he was looking for in the first game after the restart.

A successful line-call challenge turned what would have been 15-40 to Murray into 30-30 in the following game as Davydenko went 2-0 up.

That took the fire out of the Scot and his slim hopes of reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the age of 19 rapidly evaporated in the morning sunshine.

Jankovic advances

Jelena Jankovic roared into her first Grand Slam semifinal with a stunning upset of Elena Dementieva.

Jankovic, who considered quitting the sport after a long losing streak this year, whipped Dementieva 6-2, 6-1 in 62 minutes, breaking the Russian's serve seven times in a row.

That was the only match completed before rain wiped out play for the rest of the session, the third day of the tournament that bad weather has forced matches to be postponed.

Jankovic, 21, continued her remarkable run through the tournament, earning a semifinal place on Arthur Ashe Stadium by stopping her third consecutive-top 10 opponent.

Very excited

The Serbian 19th seed could hardly contain her excitement at reaching the semifinals.

"I don't know how to explain it," she told reporters grinning broadly. "You can only know this feeling when you really are there and experience it. It's a great feeling to be in a semifinal, especially in Arthur Ashe, in a big stadium. Amazing."

The 19-year-old was so busy celebrating she said couldn't even remember the final score.

"What was the score? I don't even know the total score," Jankovic said. "It's amazing. We played for 2 1/2 hours and it was a tough match. I was expecting to have a tough battle. I don't know what happened."

Dementieva, a former Open finalist, played well but was let down by her weak serve.

"She was playing great from the beginning to the end," the 24-year-old Dementieva said. "She didn't give me any chances. I feel like she was better today. For me, it was very hard.

"I was fighting for every point, but she was just better and better. It's just unbelievable, the way she was playing today."

Disastrous run

Jankovic lost 10 consecutive matches this year before reaching the quarterfinals at the Italian Open and was beaten in three sets by Dementieva in the Los Angeles Open final last month.

But the Serb recalled those dark days when a first-round exit became the norm and she enrolled in college to help her ponder life after tennis.

"It was terrible, but what could I do?" she said. "I think overall in life, you're not going to always have good times. There are going to be bad times, as well.

"I think when you go through something like this, it makes you stronger as a person. For me, as a player, I feel like I appreciate my results a lot more."

Jankovic, who beat 10th-ranked Nicole Vaidisova in the third round and number seven Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth, will play a former champion in the semifinals. — Agencies

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