Federer makes 26th Grand Slam QF in a row

Wozniacki wallops ­Sharapova

Roger Federer, a 16-time Grand Slam champion seeking his sixth US Open title and seventh finals appearance in a row, powered his way into a 26th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday.

In the women’s tournament, Caroline Wozniacki lived up to her top-seed status by defeating former champion Maria Sharapova in a fourth-round blockbuster.

Second seed Federer, one shy of tying the all-time record Slam last-eight streak belonging to Jimmy Connors, defeated Austrian 13th seed Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Federer, who last failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final at the 2004 French Open, will next face Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling, who fired 15 aces in dispatching Spanish 21st seed Albert Montanes 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Soderling has a 1-12 record against Federer after winning their most recent meeting in this year’s French Open quarter-finals to snap Federer’s astonishing run of 23 Grand Slam semi-finals in a row.

Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic ousted US 19th seed Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to book a quarter-final date with French 17th seed Gael Monfils, who beat countryman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.

Monfils is 0-4 against Djokovic but pushed him to five sets in round one of the 2005 US Open, to three sets at the 2008 Beijing Olympic quarter-finals and into a third-set tie-breaker before dropping last year’s Paris indoor final.

Billed as the Battle of the Blondes, the 20-year-old Wozniacki won through 6-3, 6-4, but not before a fired-up Sharapova had brought out the best in her.

Wozniacki next plays the unseeded Dominika Cibulkova for a place in the semi-finals as she bids to go one better than last year, when she lost in the final to Kim Clijsters.

Cibulkova topped Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 7-6 to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the second time in her career.

Also through was Estonian Kaia Kanepi, who bounced back from being blitzed in the first set to defeat Yanina Wickmayer 0-6, 7-6, 6-1.

She will next go up against Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva who coasted past unseeded Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-2.

Result

(Men) Youzhny bt Robredo 7-5 6-2 4-6 6-4.

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