U.S. Open Day 10 after dark: Federer, Wawrinka off to semifinals

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals with victories over Richard Gasquet and Kevin Anderson on Day 10.

Author:
Stanley Kay
Publish date:
Sep 9, 2015

NEW YORK — Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals with victories over Richard Gasquet and Kevin Anderson, respectively. Check out the Day 10 day session recap here, and catch up with news and results from Day 10 after 7 p.m. at the U.S. Open below.

Roger Federer eases by Richard Gasquet: No. 2 Federer advanced to his second consecutive U.S. Open semifinal with a 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 victory over No. 12 Gasquet.

Federer blew by Gasquet in under than an hour and a half. He tallied 50 winners and recorded 16 aces to Gasquet's eight and one. Federer was masterful at the net, winning 23 of 28 net points. But statistics don’t fully convey Federer’s dominance: he was simply in a different league than Gasquet.

Unsung defending champ Marin Cilic quietly returns to U.S. Open semifinals

Federer will meet Swiss compatriot Wawrinka in the semifinals. Federer is 16-3 against Wawrinka in his career, but in their most recent meeting, a French Open quarterfinal match earlier this year, Wawrinka prevailed in straight sets.

Federer and Wawrinka are friends, and they know each other well on the court too.

“Subconsciously you know he knows what your preferences are, where you like to go, where you’re probably going to go,” Federer said of playing Wawrinka. “Probably he feels the same way. That’s the weird part. I feel like we meet each other somewhere in our minds before the point is being played out.”

Stan The Man beats Kevin Anderson in straight sets: Entering Wednesday, fifteenth-ranked Anderson had recorded four straight victories against quarterfinal opponent Wawrinka. But No. 5 Wawrinka ended his slide against the South African with relative ease, advancing to the semifinals with a 6–4, 6–4, 6–0 win at Louis Armstrong.

Sloppy play doomed Anderson, who upset No. 3 Andy Murray to reach the quarters. He finished the match with 42 unforced errors, compared to just 15 for the steady Wawrinka.

“For sure the best match of the tournament for me. I was really happy the way I [played],” Wawrinka said. “I was focused on doing what I wanted [in] the match.”

Wawrinka served well, only allowing his opponent just one break point opportunity, which he did not convert, and won 94% of his 32 first-serve points.

With the victory, Wawrinka advances to his second U.S. Open semifinal in three years while vying for his second Grand Slam title of the season.

“I know it’s only two [matches] left but it’s some big challenge ahead of me,” Wawrinka said. “I’m far away from thinking about the trophy.”