The world no.2 and defending champion, Novak Djokovic, did not suffer the same fate as his compatriot, Janko Tipsarevic, who bowed out of the US Open to the the ever-tenacious David Ferrer; in fact not even close to it, as he cruised past the 7th seed and 2009 US Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro, exacting sweet revenge for his Olympic bronze medal match loss in the process. In a battle of two US Open champions, it was the one defending his title who came out on top, keeping the tall Argentine constantly off-balance with his trademark deep, penetrating and precise ground strokes. On top of that, his returning prowess made Del Potro spell-bound at times as he not only placed seemingly unreturnable bullets from the Argentine but was also able to impart enough pace and depth to put the big man on the back foot right away. Added to all that, was an impeccable serving performance, where Djokovic won 84% of his first serve points, meant that the match which was slated by many critics to be the match of the tournament thus far turned out to be rather anti-climatic as the "Serbanator" sailed past his opponent in routine straight sets, 62 76(3) 64.

The first set proved to be a walk in the park for the Serbian as he dominated play with his vast repertoire - placing acutely angled forehands seemingly at will and blasting down the line backhand bullets with amazing regularity. Meanwhile, the Argentine came out of the blocks, missing some routine ground strokes and making as many as 11 unforced errors in the set alone. The combination of the Serbian's brilliant play with Del Potro's sub par play translated into a rout as Djokovic raced through the first set winning it 62.

The 4th seeded Spanish veteran, David Ferrer scraped past an inspired Serbian in Janko Tipsarevic in arguably the best match of the US Open thus far to book a spot in the semi-finals. This is the 4th Grand Slam semifinal in his illustrious but grossly understated career and the 2nd at this very venue, the 1st coming half a decade ago in 2007. In an era where, your position in the tennis world is directly proportional to your skill set, the Spaniard had fought his way all the way till the top 5 with his sheer will and tenacity despite not possessing as vast a repertoire as other member of the top 5 nor a go-to shot to dig himself out of trouble in critical moments. However, what he does possess is a steely resolve and willingness to give it his all on every single point and an unnerving ability to track down would-be winners.

Nowhere was this trait of the veteran more evident than in the match today as it seemed for the better part of the contest that the Spaniard was simply being outplayed by the Serbian no.2, who was dictating play with his powerful groundstrokes and found himself 2 sets to 1 up. Once again, the 4th seed's impenetrable defense came into play as it weathered the Serbian's inspired play to allow the veteran to battle his way through the next two sets, which includes an epic 5th set that lasted for 82 minutes with the Spanish warrior finally emerging victorious. The final score was 63 67(5) 26 63 76(4) in Ferrer's favor.

On a day that witnessed the exit of the crowd favorite, Andy Roddick, nobody in their wildest dream would have expected the World no.1 and reigning Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer to follow suit, not after the year he has had uptil that point, which includes winning a record-breaking 7th Wimbledon title, bagging a silver medal in the London Olympics and also a title in Cincinnati a week before the US Open. However, Tomas Berdych has done this before, most notably in the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinals, and a combination of exemplary play from the Czech and subpar play from the Maestro paved the way for the biggest upset of the day, scalping it in four riveting sets of tennis, 76(1) 64 36 63.

In the initial phase of the set, the stage looked set for another Federer masterclass with the Swiss a perfect 23-0 under the lights as Federer jumped to a 2-0 lead courtesy a break of serve. However, a walkover in the fourth round match against the American, Mardy Fish, seemed to have affected Federer's ominous rhythm in the previous rounds as he promptly surrendered his serve to level proceedings. The rest of the set proceeded on serve with the Czech getting more into his groove while Federer looked far from convincing, making unforced errors with alarming regularity. The ensuing tie breaker proved to be one-way traffic as Berdych teed off on a couple of second serves to grab the first set.

The Women's semi-final line-up at the US Open was completed on Wednesday with Maria Sharapova joining Victoria Azarenka in the top half of the women's draw while the bottom half will witness a David vs Goliath battle when 10th seeded Italian Sara Errani takes on 14-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams. While Azarenka had come through a cliff-hanger against defending champion Samantha Stosur on Tuesday, the remaining three matches took place on Wednesday and witnessed no surprises whatsoever.

Marion Bartoli brought a crucial 4-0 lead into her quarter-final with Maria Sharapova from Tuesday, and the Frenchwoman made good use of it, wrapping up the opening set 6-3. The second set was a high-adrenaline affair which saw two complete contrasting personalities on either side of the net. While Sharapova was a picture of calm and serenity when she was not shrieking in the middle of the points, Bartoli was all fist-pumps and glares as she looked to keep up her intensity in what was proving to be an excellent contest.

Day 10 of the US Open will remain etched in the memories of the New York fans for many more years to come as "Black Wednesday" witnessed the curtain falling on one of the greatest American tennis player's of the modern era, the 20th seed, Andy Roddick. Roddick had the unenviable responsibility of single-handedly keeping American tennis in the limelight for the better part of the past decade. He bid farewell to the tennis world on Wednesday afternoon, losing in four competitive sets to the 2009 US Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro. The match, which was carried over to Wednesday due to heavy rains that washed out majority of the matches on day 9, resumed with Roddick leading 1-0 in the 1st tie-breaker. He was to take that tiebreak, before dropping the next three sets to go down 67(1) 76(4) 62 64.

Even though, Roddick came out of the blocks guns blazing, running away with the first set, the sad truth started manifesting itself as the Argentine started finding his rhythm on his serve and powerful groundstrokes, outmatching the American from the back of the court with both consistency and power. Nevertheless, Roddick managed to keep the match overwhelmingly close thanks in no small part to his booming serve. and his willingness to attack on the slightest of opportunities, saw him blasting a total of 57 winners as compared to 51 from his opponents. However, after 195 minutes of riveting tennis, Del Potro took the role of the villain, finishing off Roddick's career to proceed to his first US Open quarterfinal since 2009 where he is scheduled to meet the World no.2 and defending champion, Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster clash.

It was a Tuesday which held plenty of promise as three former US Open champions were scheduled to be in action, but instead turned into a bit of a damp squib as only one of the four Round of 16 matches scheduled completed more than a set of tennis. That honour belonged to the contest between the 4th seed Spaniard, David Ferrer and the 13th seed Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, which the Spaniard edged in a protracted straight-set affair, 75 76(2) 64 in a match belying the scorecard.

It was the Spaniard's unwavering determination and tenacity that proved to be decisive factor in the end, taking their lopsided head to head record to a commanding 8-1. However, it was not before the Frenchman threw everything including the kitchen sink at him, regularly firing backhands down the line and constantly bringing in some variety to the table by varying the pace of his shots. Since both player were playing at a very high level, long rallies were the order of the day as the warriors traded blows from the back of the court until one of them was metaphorically knocked out.