Roddick beats Fognini to postpone retirement

NEW YORK — Winning a second consecutive match since announcing the U.S. Open will be the last tournament of his career, 2003 champion Andy Roddick postponed his retirement a little longer by getting past 59th-ranked Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 in the third round Sunday.

What comes next could really be memorable. In the fourth round Tuesday, the last American man to win a Grand Slam title will face 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (11-9) in an all-Argentine match that featured one particularly noteworthy point. In the tiebreaker, Mayer smacked a backhand that somehow ricocheted off the top of a net post and landed in the court — but del Potro was unfazed, got the ball back and wound up winning the point.

"I'm going to have to serve well, kind of try to rush him a little bit," Roddick said about del Potro. "When he gets into a groove and has time, he'll put a hurt on the ball."

Looking ahead himself, del Potro wasn't about to get too sentimental about Roddick's impending departure from tennis.

"I know this is special, this day, for him, but I'm doing my job," said del Potro, whose major trophy is the only one of the past 30 that wasn't won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

"The crowd loves Andy here," del Potro said, "and they have respect (for) me."

Djokovic, the defending champion, beat No. 31 Julien Benneteau in straight sets and will next meet No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka. Also advancing: No. 4 David Ferrer, who got past two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and now meets No. 13 Richard Gasquet, who eliminated two-time NCAA champion Steve Johnson 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic.

In women's action, Maria Sharapova got back to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2006 title, taking control of a back-and-forth match after a 75-minute rain delay and beating No. 19 Nadia Petrova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Sharapova will play No. 11 Marion Bartoli, who came back to defeat Petra Kvitova 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat 73rd-ranked Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time. Azarenka has dropped only 10 games through four matches heading into a showdown against defending champion Sam Stosur, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain, whose breakthrough run included wins against past major champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na.

Robson beat Clijsters in the second round Wednesday, sending the 29-year-old Belgian into retirement. It was the next day, Roddick's 30th birthday, that he surprisingly let the world know he had decided to walk away as well.

Roddick and Fognini provided their own brand of entertainment, even though Roddick is not at his best because of an aching right shoulder. A couple of months ago, Roddick lowered the tension in his racket strings so he could, he explained while pointing to that shoulder, "get a little sling action in it and help the old Hamburger Helper here."

Asked how that key part of his body feels, Roddick said: "It's not great. But, you know, it's good enough. I've got, max, a week of tennis left, so it's good enough for that."

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