Mikhail Youzhny denied victory to fighting Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka as the Russian posted a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win to reach his second semifinal at the US Open on Thursday.
Youzhny, who played in the final four in 2006 against Andy Roddick, won a see-saw battle lasting just over four hours as his tiring opponent finally paid the price for more than 12 cumulative hours on court entering the showdown.
Wawrinka fought hard to try to break new ground by reaching a career-first Grand Slam semifinal after breaking through to the quarters two days earlier.
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Wawrinka was battling fatigue after spending five hours more on court during the fortnight than celebrated compatriot Roger Federer.
The workload included four sets over title hope Andy Murray and five sets and more than four hours in beating the last American standing, Sam Querrey, in the fourth round.
With a diabolical wind complicating play for another day at Flushing Meadows, Youzhny had to work to deny the Wawrinka dream.
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The match was dictated as much by the blustery wind as by the players themselves, with balls carried long or wide on numerous occasions.
On three occasions in the first two sets, Warwinka, who ranked ninth in the world in spring 2008, immediately came back in the next game after being broken. The resolve paid off in the opening set, which he won.
In the second, the Swiss saved three set points before Youzhny set up a fourth with a pass and levelled the contest on the next point.
Wawrinka sprinted away to 4-1 in the third set, taking the match lead again as he claimed the set with a sizzling ace after wind carried a Youzhny lob long to yield a set point.
But the last two sets only brought more frustration to Wawrinka, with the 25-year-old getting a break back for a fourth time early in the fifth set but going down again after his fifth double-fault set up a break point for Youzhny’s 5-2 lead.
The Russian finished the job on a first match point, with Wawrinka hitting the next with a return after striking 13 aces during the afternoon.