Epic victory for battling Wozniacki

World number one Caroline Wozniacki came back from a set and 4-1 down to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova and reach the US Open last eight on Monday night just as her lofty status again looked too heavy a burden to bear.

The Dane, who is still searching for an elusive Grand Slam title to support her top ranking, saw off the tiring 2004 champion Kuznetsova 6-7 (6/8), 7-5, 6-1 and will now tackle Germany’s Andrea Petkovic for a place in the semi-finals.

In the other quarter-final in the top half of the draw, three-time winner Serena Williams will clash with Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

It was a huge struggle for the 21-year-old Wozniacki on a night of fluctuating fortunes on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a gruelling 3hr 2min encounter which finished at 3.30 a.m.

She surrendered a 5/2 lead in the first set tiebreak and then slipped 1-4 down in the second set before 15th-seeded Kuznetsova’s game fell to pieces.

Wozniacki evened the contest on a third set point in the second set and then clinched breaks in the first and fifth games of the decider.

Kuznetsova, who was undone by 78 unforced errors, saved four match points in the seventh game but Wozniacki took victory with a smart backhand volley.

“I thought about the match we played against each other here in 2009. I was a set and down in the second in that one and still won,” said Wozniacki.

“I knew I could come back so I just stepped into the lines and went for my shots, tried to make fewer errors. I am in good shape. I can play for five hours if I have to. I just wanted to keep the rallies going.”

Williams reached the last eight with a 6-3, 6-4 breeze past former world number one Ana Ivanovic and will now face Russian 17th seed Pavlyuchenkova, the youngest player left in the draw.

Pavlyuchenkova battled back to defeat seventh-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first US Open quarter-final in a mistake-plagued clash.

Petkovic advances

Petkovic defeated unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-4 to reach her first US Open quarter-final having made the last eight at the Australian Open and at Roland Garros this year.

World number one Novak Djokovic set up an all-Serbian quarter-final, surviving a marathon tiebreaker en route to victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Djokovic, who has lost just two matches in a spectacular season that has seen him win the Australian Open and Wimbledon as he surged to number one, triumphed 7-6 (16/14), 6-4, 6-2 to advance to a last-eight meeting with friend and Davis Cup team-mate Janko Tipsarevic.

Djokovic said it would be difficult to play Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals, but the match-up has an upside.

“There’s going to be a Serbian in the semi-finals, which is great for our country,” he said.

Third-seeded Federer dismantled unseeded Argentinian Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to line up a clash with France’s Tsonga, the man who rallied from two sets down to beat him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Tsonga doused the hopes of eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish with a 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory, setting up a possible Grand Slam rematch with third-seeded Roger Federer.