World No. 4 Andy Murray reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Thursday with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory over U.S. wild card Donald Young.
Murray avenged his loss to the 84th-ranked Young at Indian Wells in March to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time since he fell in the 2008 final to Roger Federer.
The clash had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, when rain washed out all play for first time since 2006.
They played just 15 minutes on Wednesday, with Young holding a 2-1 lead when rain again brought the proceedings to a halt.
In bright sunshine on Grandstand, Murray showed no ill-effects from the repeated delays, winning seven straight games to pocket the first set and take a 2-0 lead in the second before Young managed to hold serve.
The 22-year-old American's bid to become the first wild card to reach the quarters since James Blake in 2005 was doomed by 53 unforced errors.
He handed Murray the second set with a double-fault, and after an early exchange of breaks in the third Murray gained the decisive advantage with a break in the eighth game to serve out the match, capping the contest with an ace.
In a hurry
Defending champion Rafael Nadal took out his U.S. Open frustrations on Gilles Muller of Luxembourg to reach the quarterfinals with a 7-6(1), 6-1, 6-2 win.
The second seed had trailed 0-3 overnight after just 15 minutes of play had been possible on Wednesday, but with bright sunshine replacing two days of heavy rain, the Spaniard raced into the last eight.
Nadal, whose fourth round match had originally been slated for Tuesday, had led a player revolt on Wednesday, angry at having to go on court when the Arthur Ashe Stadium surface was still damp and with rain still in the air.
He had claimed players' safety was being compromised by tournament officials desperate to clear the backlog caused by the downpours which left him having to play four days in succession if he was to make Sunday's final. “It was a tough day yesterday (Wednesday) for the players and the fans who waited for hours. Sorry about that, but thanks for still being here,” said Nadal.
Nadal has endured a dramatic Open, collapsing with cramps at a news conference after his third round win over David Nalbandian before his frustrating two-day wait for the rain to clear.
He made up for lost time on Thursday, taking less than two hours to complete the victory over the 68th-ranked Muller who he had also defeated at Wimbledon this year.
Breaks in the second and fourth games of the second set proved enough for a comfortable lead and he was quickly 2-0 up in the third.
Muller, the junior champion in New York 10 years ago, retrieved the break for 2-1 but further breaks for Nadal in the fifth and seventh games put the tie beyond his opponent's reach.
Victory was secured after 2 hours and 8 minutes with a smart backhand volley.
‘Indian Express' derailed
The Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi was knocked out in the doubles quarterfinals, losing to Poland's Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in straight sets.
The sixth-seeded Polish duo won 6-4, 7-6(4) margin in an hour and 43 minutes against the fourth-seeded Indian combination.
Playing on court No. 4, Paes and Bhupathi lost serve once during the first set and the Polish duo cashed in on the opportunity to wrap it up in the 10th game. It won the set in 34 minutes.
Service let the ‘Indian Express' down as the pair won only 86 per cent points on its first serve compared to 65 per cent by Fyrstenberg and Matkowski.
The second set also saw both teams competing on even keel.
Although Paes and Bhupathi got a chance to convert a break point in the seventh game, they failed to do so.
As both pairs held their serve, the second set went into a tie-break.
But, the Polish duo held its nerve to win the tie-breaker 7-4.
